Ready for a realistic tennis-playing experience? 2K Games’ Top Spin 4 lets you play as one of the pros so you don’t have to be represented by a cartoon avatar that no one will mistake for John McEnroe. Instead of just having your friends clap for you as you score that winning point, the game features an attentive crowd that responds to your performance.
Perhaps the most fun part of the Top Spin series is being able to recreate famous tennis rivalries. Don’t worry if you need more time before the big game: A new practice mode lets you work on your backswing with the help of a virtual ball machine. The development team focused on making the characters look and play like their real-life counterparts. Each character retains the original player’s strengths and weaknesses.
“It might be the only time I’ll be able to beat Pete Sampras,” Andre Agassi, who is one of the featured players in Top Spin 4, says jokingly to Techland.
Another one of the bonuses of the game? You can play as vintage Agassi, complete with the neon blond mullet.
“How can you be happy when your character has to wear a mullet?” Agassi says. “Do I like it? No. Is it accurate? I regretted it when I was actually wearing it. It was definitely a time in my life, and it broadened the (appeal of the) sport. At the same time you have to move on, but you never are in a position to embrace it.”
The game is in stores March 15 for the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3.