If you have any concern that using PlayStation Move in Top Spin 4 will provide a “lite” experience, the team at 2K Czech says you can expect precise controls and the same functional gameplay as with a standard SIXAXIS controller. During a developer conference call, François Giuntini, executive producer at 2K Czech, said “One key element in motion controllers, we wanted to keep and preserve the gampeplay elements for whatever controller you are using.”
This means that you can execute the same exact shots using Move as you could with a standard controller. The only difference, Giuntini said, is that you’ll perform the gestures instead of just pressing a button. “We didn’t want to provide a lite version with motion controllers. When we received the developer kits for the PS Move, the idea was to find all the gestures that will allow us to replicate the cool new gameplay that we were working on.”
Top Spin 4, slated for release on March 15 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii, features Move support throughout the entire game. You’ll be able to use Move even in online matches. There will not be separate online rooms for those using Move. The game also features 43 courts or arenas, seven of which are licensed, and they offer different surfaces like clay or carpet.
The team decided not to include support for Kinnect strictly for design reasons, not because of any technical issues, he said. Adding Move support was obvious, he said, because “it feels and looks almost like a tennis racket.” The development studio didn’t have enough time to implement support for Kinnect, he said. “We were not able to conceive a way, in terms of design, to provide the depth we wanted in the gameplay.”
2K Czech worked hard to find a way to make sure there were no compromises in terms of the arsenal of shots available using Move. The precision of Move will allow players to adjust shot power on the fly and add slice to the ball with a pull of the trigger button. Softer and shorter swings with the Move wand will result in more controlled shots.
Giuntini said he doesn’t like to think of the Top Spin series as either a simulator or an arcade game. He said he likes to think that Top Spin 4 feels, looks, and behaves like real tennis, yet it’s fun and easy to jump in and play. “We want it to be fun and we tried to combine all those elements with new controls and swings and the PS Move to make sure we achieve all those objectives at once, and yet it is enjoyable and easy to pick up,” he said.