playing the game... :)

[VillaJ100]

wow in the UK release dates are strict, they are where i live anyway. i used to date a girl who worked part time in a games distribution warehouse, so they were delivered from there to stores. she could get games quite a way in advance, my biggest coup from her was getting GTA san andreas 10 days before general release

[Jason Fernandes]

wow in the UK release dates are strict, they are where i live anyway. i used to date a girl who worked part time in a games distribution warehouse, so they were delivered from there to stores. she could get games quite a way in advance, my biggest coup from her was getting GTA san andreas 10 days before general release

Woah that's awesome, so **** lucky!

And "used to date", please tell me you didn't break up with her? Hahaha.

[pfnerch]

wow in the UK release dates are strict, they are where i live anyway. i used to date a girl who worked part time in a games distribution warehouse, so they were delivered from there to stores. she could get games quite a way in advance, my biggest coup from her was getting GTA san andreas 10 days before general release

Woah that's awesome, so **** lucky!

And "used to date", please tell me you didn't break up with her? Hahaha.

hahaha he dated her getting videogames earlier. no love his only motivation were games

[tenjintenkai]

ok im back... but only for a short time so i just throw some random impressions here. I don't have much time, i have dinner with my girlfriend then i ditch her and go back to the guy's place before he leaves for his show at midnight

You cant even imagine what im going through to play this game. My friend is already a nutcase but you wouldnt believe what kind of freak is the radio guy...

"cut the crap" i guess? sorry...

So we played handful of exhibitions matches. It was fun, but not that much because even if they are video games nerds they just suck at tennis. They could control it well but tactic is another beast

I still think the players are more "heavy" than in the demo... couldnt bet my head on it but i really feel like it... Gameplay-wise it is the exact same except for deeper shots and line shots. So on that matter i would say it is far better than demo. Thats all good. But guess what? we played for a couple of hours and i made maybe like 2-3 unforced errors. Yeah, 2-3.

Every pro play a bit differently so its kind of nice.

You cant play with D-pad. You can't hit the ball on the floor before serve.

i also play against cpu while they were fooling around fighting and drinking... (and they are in their 40's!). On very hard it is a bit easy but still more difficult than in TS3. Endless rallies... do i hear borring? I could also get a glimpse of cheesy tactics by the way the cpu plays on very hard. Long line shots are not really your friend in this game.
Except for longline returns... you can hit winners very easily while returning long line. It felt much easier to return winner than in the demo.

Drop shots don't look too efficient even when masterfully executed.

Wrong-footing is your friend.

Easy to ace. It feels even easier than in TS3 but i have to try it playing guys like you to know that.

Stamina didnt look to have much weight in the match until the end of a close first set. Then you have a grandpa trying to run on the court. No it has nothing to do with unforced errors, just the fact that the hyper-train athlete that devoted his whole life to tennis doesnt seem able to handle more than 8 close games. These guys are trained to play only TS format of 3 games per sets So in that regards it seems very close to what we got in TS3.


There's no tournament mode. King of the court is fun but nothing special there.
Top spin academy is what you would expect... nothing very interesting for us ITST guys.
The ball machine is a funny idea but poorly executed. You can only select easy or hard balls... maybe another small option i cant remember already (must be the heavy smoke there lol). The "hard balls" are what your grandma could hit so you can imagine the boredom. Too bad i was really glad about this lil mode i thought i could train hard my serve precision or returns but no...

Creating a character is almost exactly the same as before. The same tatoos, the same grunts and options for behaviours. Some ugly stroke motions (i mean REALLY) and of course only 4 slots available. Happy?

Then you can go to career mode. Here you have to select at the begining what kind of format you want to play: Normal, Top Spin and real tennis.
Normal: each tournament has its own format so some are super tiebreaks, other a few games, etc.
Top Spin: every round is played the same: 3 sets of 3 games
Real Tennis: either 3 or 5 sets of 6 games for the most brave and dauntless not affraid to get borred to death in this mode.
You cant change format once you started career... so dont feel smart by chosing Real Tennis or you'll regret it

The career is EXACTLY like in TS3 except you have these little details that seems fun but in the end don't matter much (emails from fans, sparring partners, exhibitions, details on your opponent). I would say it is still a bit better but nothing there to make me believe im the next "thing". (I know I am!)

The attributes work exactly like they explained us so nothing new there.

The 4 created characters appear in the same list of players we already saw in the demo. So their portraits are in the bottom... and of course if you want to play against your created player it just says "not for cpu" in RED font. It's their way to say "too bad" i guess.

I saw the unlock list. Nothing much except the expert mode (you have to win a grand slam in career mode to unlock it). You can unlock other game formats (hyper tiebreak of 40 points and so on).
There are 2 new venues you can unlock. Athens and Las Vegas.
Other unlocks are cloth packs and 3rd outfit for all pros.

I tried some new venues like O2 arena and Shanghai. They llook very good... its nice to play on different courts. Shanghai is the all black court... looks very nice but you cant see the shadow of the ball so the timing is very messy on this one... thats unfortunate. I imagine ITST tournaments on this court will be a huge lottery.

The game is nice i had a good time... but as always when you are waiting so much for something like a kid you end up a bit disapointed... at least in the begining. I am sure there are lots of gameplay details and tactics to discover and master so it'll be all good.

sorry i have to go now, girlfriend is behind me on computer and she's hungry... so ill quickly go before she hurts me.

Sorry for grammar and typos and what not i typed this at the light of speed!

anyway... ill comment more later when i get back from the zoo.

p.s: my gf wants me to add that the zoo refers to the freaks and not her. Of course she's such a lovely lady...

[Cro Morgan]

So on that matter i would say it is far better than demo. Thats all good. But guess what? we played for a couple of hours and i made maybe like 2-3 unforced errors. Yeah, 2-3.

Way too much attention is being paid to Unforced Errors!!

More important: Forced Errors.

With regard to the all-important fun-factor (the only element that truly matters) forced errors are far more important that unforced errors, and in TS4, I think 2K hit the nail on the head.

Ever watch a tennis match with lots of unforced errors? Boring.

We're not seeing many forced errors in the demo cause the demo is too easy. Wait until a real (good) opponent starts wrong footing you, or has you scrambling from side to side - yeah, then balls will be dropping wide and sailing long.

I completely understand why hardcore Sim gamers want unforced errors, but you have to be realistic - 2K has to appeal to the largest number of people possible. The casual gamer will lose interest if too many balls fall outside the lines. Just a fact, but no denying. These games have to make money.

All told, 2K might have struck a perfect balance - a game that will appeal to both camps - and more importantly, a game that is fun.

[Moralspain]

Easy to ace. It feels even easier than in TS3.

Oh God, don't tell me that

[o Sinna o]

That you can't bounce the Ball before you Serve is a lil bit weird or what do you think Guys?

I mean it's nothing important what effects the Gameplay but I would like to know why they took this Possibility out of the Game.

Can you imagine why?

However, I can't wait to face the full Version of the Game and create my first Character.

[Jason Fernandes]

Awesome mate, loved reading that

[o Sinna o]

So on that matter i would say it is far better than demo. Thats all good. But guess what? we played for a couple of hours and i made maybe like 2-3 unforced errors. Yeah, 2-3.

Way too much attention is being paid to Unforced Errors!!

More important: Forced Errors.

With regard to the all-important fun-factor (the only element that truly matters) forced errors are far more important that unforced errors, and in TS4, I think 2K hit the nail on the head.

Ever watch a tennis match with lots of unforced errors? Boring.

We're not seeing many forced errors in the demo cause the demo is too easy. Wait until a real (good) opponent starts wrong footing you, or has you scrambling from side to side - yeah, then balls will be dropping wide and sailing long.

I completely understand why hardcore Sim gamers want unforced errors, but you have to be realistic - 2K has to appeal to the largest number of people possible. The casual gamer will lose interest if too many balls fall outside the lines. Just a fact, but no denying. These games have to make money.

All told, 2K might have struck a perfect balance - a game that will appeal to both camps - and more importantly, a game that is fun.

Yeah that's true and I agree.

[o Sinna o]

Hey Guys I don't want to open a special "Face-Creator" Thread to discuss this.

Is the Face-Creator really good in TS4 that you can recreate every Face you want?

And did the Developers create the real Pros Faces (like the Face of Pete Sampras) with this Creator which is in the Game?

[DRII]

Oh man, u can't use the dpad! Wtf, wtf! Why would they make such a decision??? Stupid!

[Coolhand Texas]

Oh man, u can't use the dpad! Wtf, wtf! Why would they make such a decision??? Stupid!

[KluddKalle]

Then you can go to career mode. Here you have to select at the begining what kind of format you want to play: Normal, Top Spin and real tennis.
Normal: each tournament has its own format so some are super tiebreaks, other a few games, etc.
Top Spin: every round is played the same: 3 sets of 3 games
Real Tennis: either 3 or 5 sets of 6 games for the most brave and dauntless not affraid to get borred to death in this mode.
You cant change format once you started career... so dont feel smart by chosing Real Tennis or you'll regret it

I suspected that they would do it like this without a possibility to change. It will be a tough decision to make but I'll probably land on Top Spin rules. At least for my first character...

[o Sinna o]

Oh man, u can't use the dpad! Wtf, wtf! Why would they make such a decision??? Stupid!

Haha!

No just kidding, see it as a Chance to get used to the Analogstick for Tennisgames in this Generation.

So when Top Spin 5 comes out you will never ask for the D-Pad again.

Don't cry take it like iit is and make the best of it.

[StrategyGuide94]

man, that sounds awesome.
I definetely wanna have this game NOW!!!
I really hope that I will be lucky to have it on Thursday..... I don't have any contacts -.-