I enjoy tennis. I enjoy playing tennis. I enjoy watching tennis on TV. I even enjoy play tennis video games (VituaTennis anyone?). That said, 2K Sports’ TopSpin 3 is a whole ‘nother story.

With a ridiculous learning curve and unexceptional graphics and presentation, it was impossible to stay interested in this game long enough to actually get good at/master it. I did manage to get the knack of it (I could at least win a couple of points versus the computer) after a day or so of playing but this game lacks the addictive pull I feel with my favorite sports video games (MLB The Show, Madden). Those games are borderline relationship-killers with the amount of time that I spend playing them but I could hardly motivate myself to play this game at all with all of the entertainment options that I have at my fingertips.

Considering the number of stellar titles available for video-game lovers, I can see no reason to recommend this game which features clunky/awkward gameplay, graphics that are neither that great nor incredibly awful, and a learning curve so steep that even tennis nuts will get frustrated and bored and revert back to mastering the vocal nuances of the Police’s “Roxanne” on video-game sensation Rock Band.

This article appears in August 1 • 2008.

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