WP reports:
''As the DS' popularity shows no sign of abating (despite the best efforts of shovelware peddlers), more and more companies are looking for ways of cramming their console stars' complexity into a tiny cartridge. You can't blame them, with a market just waiting to be exploited, but past experience tells us quite clearly that a brilliant game on a 42-inch plasma often proves to be an unmitigated disaster when given the innovation of touch-screen controls. With this worrying trend, enter Top Spin 3. It's with some pleasure that I can announce that what we have here is a solid port of the console version, which loses a little sparkle through no fault of its own. It's virtually a victory on a playing field tarnished by sloppy porting.
As a tennis game, it doesn't do anything dramatically different with the core gameplay. The rules are the same as ever, though you have the option to play three sets, rather than a much longer game. While nothing new, this is particularly important for a handheld, when quick games here and there are very much the order of the day. The gameplay it provides is good enough; you can make a variety of different shots from anywhere on the court, with the opponents offering different tactics, depending on their skills and attributes. You also have the option of unleashing a special shot, which promises to break a rally in style by careful timing on the shoulder buttons.
It's a perfectly serviceable tennis simulation, which is let down a little by the controls, but unlike so many developers trying to shoehorn a game onto the DS, this is through no fault of the designers. There are no wacky touch-screen controls requiring you to slide the stylus around like a mad spirograph enthusiast, and no blowing on the microphone to make you run or anything ghastly like that. All of the essentials are mapped to the buttons, which would be a sensible decision if it weren't for the DS' digital d-pad.''
