Althought Top Spin 2 does have respectable graphics and some nice animations, the game is flawed by an uneven career mode and awkward controls. The career mode lets you allocate 60 of 100 stars across 10 different attributes. This prevents you from creating a perfect player, but if you don't invest wisely, your character will never be able to become #1 in the world. "Reflexes," for instance, must be at least 5 stars because no matter how good your reflexes are as a gamer, your character won't be able to catch up to the 130+ mph servers that the best players bring. The result is, while realistic, are frustrating. And once you complete all the basic and advance training (which I had by my third season), there is no more training to be done, which is unrealistic itself. Even the best players train to maintain their abilities.
Finally, the game's controlls are too awkard. The left analog stick controls not only the movement of the player, but the angle of your shot. You hold down the shot button (X, A or B) and then aim with the left stick, and then release. The problem is that at the high levels of play, you don't have time to really aim. And in the case of baseline play, you may be running to the right trying to set up a cross-court backhand, but you accidentally hit left the moment before you press B, and the result is a lazy fly ball right to your opponent's forehand, with a killing shot in return. It's a pity they couldn't incorporate the right analog stick in some fashion for a more realistic experience. Overall, I found Top Spin 2 to be fun at first, but quickly grows average after about 5 hours in.
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