IMPRESSIONS

[Y Enzo Y]

This isnt the most impressive point i have had but still fun !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5SE1ym_eP8

OFFTOPIC: im not sure but didn't you play VT3? i remember i had some epic matches against you

[Puttu puttuu]

Yep man !

I remember playing you a lot on VT3.See ya on TS4!

[Hawkeye Miihawk]

For the sake of discussion, my bro and I had a long set of games yesterday.

I just realized how fast paced the game really is. If anything, in the initial days people are going to complain about offensive baseliners again and how the problem wasn't fixed. Serena's offense is beast. Off baseline is very effective, and it's so easy to execute. The main difference from TS3 and TS4's offenisive baseline game is that in TS4 you can't camp 20ft behind the baseline and be effective like you could in TS3. You have to stand your ground on the baseline cause she doesn't have the speed to chase down balls from that far back. It's a rush against time with serena as her stamina depletes. Once that goes, or you push her just far back enough, she simply can't win the point or will have to pull out a spectacular shot, which she can, to give her the advantage. She can bully nadal, fed, and ivanovic from the baseline very effectively. More so nadal and ivanovic than federer. She has to be careful with fed cause he can match her offense every now and then. You can go offensive against serena if you want, that isn't the problem. The problem is that when you go offensive with her, the ball gets to her side quicker, and the next shot she hits will be faster than yours. If you aren't nadal/ivanovic then you aren't going to get to it. Even if you guess right sometimes the sheer power from her shots will cause you to hit the ball out. Her power can be overwhelming.

I'm really starting to see how godlike Fed can be in the right hands. Not as fast as nadal, but can be as offensive as serena. Add to the fact that he can also come in to volley. I really saw how good he was yesterday. People won't use him because they'll see serena as a "better" baseliner, even though he isn't an offensive baseliner. Lol, if you want to camp on the baseline and blast the ball from left to right effectively, then serena is the way to go. If you want a more subtle aggression, while not being weak in other areas, speed and volleying, then fed is your pick.

At first, just like every body else, I started off believeing nadal was the best in the demo. This is far from true. Serena can take a lot of time away from him. As fast as he is, he just can't chase down everything she hits. Same with ivanovic. They can get a lot of balls back, but you have to play smart defense, and not try to hang back too much cause of the occasional drop shot.

Online Predictions:
In the beginning, there will be legions of Nadals. Until a couple people show them how effective Djokovic, Agassi, and Serena are. Causing them to jump ship. I've yet to see how good s&v/big server can be, but I just have this feeling that s&v could be really strong. I see online looking like this:
Off baseline
Big server
S&V/Def Baseline
All-rounder

This is not based on effectiveness, no. I don't think anyone is stronger than the other, yet. Rather, it's based on what I think will be the most popular because of how easy it is to execute their gameplan.
-Off baseline is really strong and really easy to use.
-Big server is a toss up. If sererna's serve is just a preview of how good it the can be, then they will be 2nd most used style after the wave of offensive baseliners sweeps xbl/psn. Offensive baseliners could have trouble with the 1-2 punch cause they don't have the speed to track down the ball after a good serve.
-With the influx of offensive baseliners who are also great returners and have skills like return serve counter, and diesel returner, s&v could be tough when the return is constantly coming back faster than the serve. Luckily, volleying is actually good in this game so they can end pts quickly. This is the same thing defensive baseliners will face cause their serves won't be too good. They can track down the blistering return every now and then, but it can be hard to play good defense against an offensive baseliner. People will find it easier to counter power with power, rather than defend then strike.
-Most will try and play an all-rounder like he's an off/def baseliner, only to no avail, and most likely end up switching to an offensive baseliner.


I hate playing the demo cause it makes me want to game so bad . 5 more days .

[djarvik]

Meh. Nadal is the best in demo. Even a wall of text wont convince me otherwise Sorry, just disagree with you.

[Baghdad Baghdatis]

Meh. Nadal is the best in demo. Even a wall of text wont convince me otherwise Sorry, just disagree with you.

Man, Al, if your head was any further up your own bottom it would be sticking out of your mouth

But thats why we all love ya i guess

[djarvik]

No seriously. I simply disagree with Hawkeye. I have enough experience to see that Rafa and defensive style is the strongest style at the moment. Plus it is Hawkeye who puts thru this argument, and frankly, he is not experienced enough it ITST competition so I take his opinion with a grain of salt. I trust my own instincts more; mine and Norbertos, and Xavi and others that were actually competing here and know what it takes to win or lose matches at high level

No disrespect Hawkeye, seriously, I just don't agree with what you say in this regard.

I would love to hear from you Baggy thou!!! Your thoughts?

[Hawkeye Miihawk]

:lol:

No seriously. I simply disagree with Hawkeye. I have enough experience to see that Rafa and defensive style is the strongest style at the moment. Plus it is Hawkeye who puts thru this argument, and frankly, he is not experienced enough it ITST competition so I take his opinion with a grain of salt. I trust my own instincts more; mine and Norbertos, and Xavi and others that were actually competing here and know what it takes to win or lose matches at high level

No disrespect Hawkeye, seriously, I just don't agree with what you say in this regard.

I would love to hear from you Baggy thou!!! Your thoughts?

Hahaha, no prob. I'm not the final say in anything, and we all have our opinions. The thing is I'm speaking from human vs human play, and not cpu vs human, which is what people are basing their opinions on. It can be hard to understand what I mean if you haven't played a human. So I don't blame you for doubting. You'll see what I mean when you face human competition. Ofcourse, I could be wrong in the end, but if anything, opinions based on human vs human is what should hold more weight. I'm not a noob by any standards. I just didn't care about TS3 enough to continue further because of how broken it was. I'll tell you this, TS4 is very different when you play a human. The demo you keep playing with the cpu is another game. You'll find out in a couple days

[djarvik]

But here is the thing, I did play VS human. ...and still disagree.

Big part of why Defensive basleiner will be better is tap shots. Top spin taps are actually better then top spin holds. And are very powerful with little charge. Hence anyone can generate a "pop" using them, hence a faster player will be better.

Anyway, lets wait and see.

BTW - I didn't mean you are a noob. I am only saying that playing friendlies now and then is much different then ITST competition and what may seem like a strong setup for friendlies - may actually end up being a weak setup on the tour.

I played in friendlies with a lot of variety, a lot of shots that that you simply dont see on the tour. When it came to play real matches, for the most part, I stuck with a few plays that work with a limited back up plans.

So you have to look at what will win matches in ITST, and based on what I see now, it will be a defensive setup, simply because it could be both - Attacking and defensive, like Rafa.

BTW - I think it is a good thing thou, it will make for funner matches for sure. Plus, by no means I am saying that this is the only winning setup, I am only saying this is the most effective one. For now. When final version released it could all change thou.

[Sherlock 117]

Well, if the advantage ends up going to one style in particular, I hope it goes to a defensive baseliner or all-rounder, not S&V, big server, or offensive baseliner. The points would last longer and be much more creating. I definitely want the other styles to be effective, but I don't want any of them to be the best.

One thing you need to consider Djarvik, is that on tour players will find the most effective way to play defensive (i.e., footwork, movement, shot selection), and usually this means that a defensive player ends up with little to no advantage over a somewhat offensive player with a few defensive stats.

[Y Enzo Y]

Meh. Nadal is the best in demo. Even a wall of text wont convince me otherwise :lol: Sorry, just disagree with you.

man i died

[o Sinna o]

I'll bast these average Noobs away with my Kafelnikov.

Oh and the Compition with you ITST Guys will be the hardest damn thing. But I will learn many things in my TS4 Career if I stay focused and be consistend.

[Baghdad Baghdatis]

:lol:

No seriously. I simply disagree with Hawkeye. I have enough experience to see that Rafa and defensive style is the strongest style at the moment. Plus it is Hawkeye who puts thru this argument, and frankly, he is not experienced enough it ITST competition so I take his opinion with a grain of salt. I trust my own instincts more; mine and Norbertos, and Xavi and others that were actually competing here and know what it takes to win or lose matches at high level

No disrespect Hawkeye, seriously, I just don't agree with what you say in this regard.

I would love to hear from you Baggy thou!!! Your thoughts?

Hey man,

Well I must say that I am quite a bit behind the rest of you guys it would seem. I have played the demo tie break about 10 times shall we say. More due to commitments at the moment but believe you me I will be there in TS4 right from the word go - tourny after tourny. ITST is my second home, you know that, always will be

So whilst I have not had chance to read the hundreds of threads and comments I will give you my first "impressions"....

The first few minutes I was like "oh no, this is terrible, not a patch on TS3, then a few minutes later, I was like hmmmm, ok, then after a few more tie breaks I was like "HELL YEAH"!!

I honestly nearly creamed my pants and a warm fuzzy feeling of joy swept over my body and i turned to my financee who was on the computer and said "baby, I found myself a new girlfriend, sorry" and she said "honestly, I was hoping you didn't like it as much as the other one (i.e. TS3)" Classic.

So whilst my next analysis will not add any new depth to the time a select few have gone to in threads and gaming I can say this:

OVERALL APPEARANCE:

1. Animations are sublime - can't be bothered picking out any drawbacks because there is too many positives to comment on. Player detail is great, animations especially swinging is SO much more realistic than TS3, more sharp and whilst there is an element of "arcade" in, there is the right balance and the "Topspin" feeling is still very much there - the two mix very well together.

2. Crowd reactions seem a lot nicer and player noises + grunts seem far more impressive and well thought out - quite impressed with the ladies as well to be fair.

3. Loving the net calls, just loving it.

SHOT SELECTION / PROGRESS SO FAR:

1. Nice to see all the same CORE buttons.

2. So pleased that flat out risk has gone (although i already knew that one before playing it)

3. Slice approach is great.

4. Inside forehand is, well, I am bit speechless really - lets just say leave that to me to demonstrate using a guy called Jimmy Courier (see my play spotlight). F'ing A.

5. Ability to get back in a point and reach seems like it will be an important
factor and that just suits my game down to the ground.

6. Enjoying still using the stick to serve, flat and kick serve are still there, having good success across court and hitting the lines but not so much down the T at the mo? Always seem to double fault if I try to hit the trunk of the T.

7. Can we bounce the ball in the main game, please god let it just be the demo?!

8. Rallies are intense and I can see it is going to appeal to gamers who want a quick fire and pick up tennis game but I am sure that this game will have the depth that TS3 had and much much more.

9. Struggling to find short acute angles across courts at the moment with the topspin shot.

10. Struggling to hit down the lines.

Al, you know when the game comes out I will be in the heart of the conversations and analogies, I just need more time to explore, and that, like most, will come when the true experience begins.

Looking forward to being part of it again, from day 1 this time

P.s. great job on your interview with the 2k game developer chap, you slick man

[Y Enzo Y]

did anyone hit a return winner yet?

When i play my brother and he gives me a slow serve i fail to nail a return winner

[djarvik]

did anyone hit a return winner yet?

When i play my brother and he gives me a slow serve i fail to nail a return winner

I did a few, but, not of the slow serve. Somehow it is easier to hit a return winner of the faster serve by timing right and blocking down the line.

Didn't hit a winner cross yet.

[djarvik]

P.s. great job on your interview with the 2k game developer chap, you slick man

thank you