Top Spin 3

Console Monster writes: Today sees the release of the last Arcade title, Castle Crashers, classed under the Summer of Arcade but the fun doesn't stop there. Next week there is Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball and Shred Nebula and RocketBowl is set to release on Wednesday 10th September. There's also some Castle Crashers content including a rather nice theme, available to download for free and various themes and trailers. Name: Castle Crashers Price: 1200 Microsoft Points Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions Name: Castle Crashers - The Cyclops Picture Pack Price: 100 Microsoft Points Availability: All Xbox Live Regions Name: Castle Crashers - Knight Picture Pack Price: 100 Microsoft Points Availability: All Xbox Live Regions...

Console Monster writes: To coincide with Wimbledon kicking off, a Top Spin 3 demo has been released on the XBOX Live Marketplace. Don't forget to check out the review here. There are also some Facebreaker pictures and a World of Warcraft song. Here is the full XBOX Live Marketplace update for Thursday 26th June 2008: Name: Top Spin 3 Demo Price: Free Availability: All XBOX Live Regions Name: FaceBreaker Picture Pack 1 Price: 200 Microsoft Points Availability: All XBOX Live Regions Name: FaceBreaker Picture Pack 2 Price: 200 Microsoft Points Availability: All XBOX Live Regions Name: Guitar Hero III: I am Murloc World of Warcraft Single Price: Free Availability: All XBOX Live Regions More details can be found at the source.

Top Spin 3 Demo is out on Xbox Live Marketplace, the demo is free and the size of demo is 394.14 MB and is rated E for Everyone. The following is some information about the demo: Grab your raquet and prepare to be totally immersed in every game, set and match in the most visually and physically realistic tennis experience ever!

2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., announced today that Top Spin 3 is now available in stores in North America for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Wii home video game system from Nintendo, and Nintendo DS. Developed by 2K's PAM Development studio, Top Spin 3 offers players the most authentic and true-to-life video game tennis experience available on consoles and handhelds.

Top Spin 3 features better graphics, gameplay with new improved controls, signature player animations and styles, and online multiplayer. VGB's look at the game includes a video preview too.

Console Monster writes: Make space on your hard drive, there's a lot to download from the XBOX Live Marketplace today. The pick of the bunch is the Don King Presents Prizefighter Demo, closely followed by the free Call of Duty: World at War Theme. Here is the full update for Tuesday 24th June: Name: Call of Duty: World at War Theme Price: Free Availability: Everywhere Name: FaceBreaker Molotov, Voodoo, Romeo & Ice - Theme Price: 150 Microsoft Points Availability: Everywhere Name: Top Spin 3 Theme Price: 150 Microsoft Points Availability: Everywhere Name: Don King Presents Prizefighter Demo Price: Free Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions except Austria, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Switzerland...

Chart Track reports that Metal Gear Solid 4 has lost its place at the top of the All Formats All Prices UK video game chart after only one week at No.1. It's Activision's LEGO Indiana Jones which returns to the top for a second week. Atari's Alone in the Dark debuts at No.3, and is followed by GTA 4 at No.4 and Wii Play at No.5. Other new entries include Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII at No.10, Top Spin 3 at No.12 and Cooking Guide at No.19.

A packed videogame release week ahead. See what's new this week for the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.

Console Monster writes: The weekend is upon us and so is new content. Here is the XBOX Live Marketplace Update for Friday 20th June 2008: Name: Alone in the Dark Making Of Video 3 Price: Free Availability: Everywhere Name: Bravado Rock Vault - DRAGON FORCE Theme 2 Price: 200 Microsoft Points Availability: Everywhere Name: Bravado Rock Vault - Iron Maiden Theme 2 Price: 200 Microsoft Points Availability: Everywhere Name: Bravado Rock Vault - Slipknot Theme 4 Price: 200 Microsoft Points Availability: Everywhere...

Sports games are often considered one of the most mainstream game genres, and yet most truly deep sports titles are as difficult to master as even the most hardcore shooter, fighter or RPG. This is particularly true of 2K Sports' much-admired Top Spin series, which is for hardcore tennis fans what Madden is to ravening sports fans. The controls traditionally have a steep learning curve, but fans of the games would staunchly defend its realism, deep online play, and create-a-player options against the more accessible but arcadey action of a Virtua Tennis 3. If you enjoyed Top Spin 2, there's not much point in reading this preview; you're probably already buying Top Spin 3 regardless of what I say. Those of you who aren't hardcore tennis fans but may still be curious, perhaps after spending quality time with Virtua Tennis 3, read on. If you've never played a Top Spin game before, then your first stop when you fire up the game needs to be the Top Spin School. This is a series of challenging tutorials that walk you both through the basic controls, and fairly advanced applications of those controls. The basic tutorial covers serving, returning and even volleys. It's not enough to successfully hit the ball (though that's where the tutorial starts). After introducing a mechanic, the game expects you to be able to serve, return or volley such that you hit a specific area of the court. This will seem impossible at first, since the game merely lets you know that you can hit the ball or serve by pressing and releasing the A, B or X buttons. What isn't made clear is that each of these buttons represents a different kind of swing. Later in the tutorial, it's explained that A is used for flat shots, X for slices, and B for lifts. In addition, you can drop shot or lob by using Y in combination with the left analog stick.