Via College News
Grand Slam Tennis for the Nintendo Wii strives to do what every tennis game for the console has before it --authentically recreate the sport by taking advantage of the Wii’s motion controls.
Wii Sports Tennis was a decent effort, but not only was it lacking in depth, but the motion controls were mediocre at best once the novelty wore off.
EA Canada’s Grand Slam Tennis has the advantage of being one of the first games to utilize the new Wii Motion Plus, but does the added bonus give it enough to become king of the court?
The Good
Wii Motion Plus does amazing things for the motion controls in Grand Slam Tennis.
Though not a perfect 1:1 like Tiger Woods ‘10, the Wii Motion Plus gives gamers an amazing amount of accuracy, responsiveness and precision that would be impossible without it.
It may take a little while to master the controls initially, but once players get the hang of it, it is impressive how you’ll be able to launch lobs or deliver the ball exactly where you want. Grand Slam Tennis with the Wii Motion Plus is easily the first game for the console to make it actually feel like you’re playing tennis.
Grand Slam Tennis is probably the most accurate tennis game ever to grace the Nintendo Wii.
The motion controls give you great control of the action, and the game is rife with small details that help make it such an authentic depiction of the sport.
One thing that stands out the most is court physics. Expect play style to radically change depending on what kind of court is being used For instance, playing on a grass court and a clay court will drastically effect the ball’s speed.
There is a large amount of variety in the gameplay modes.
Create-a-character allows you to walk your invented persona through the plethora of available tournaments. You challenge the game’s roster of 20+ professional athletes and are awarded with skill and equipment upgrades to better your performance.
Additionally, there is also a clever calorie tracker that monitors how many calories you’ve burned. Grand Slam Tennis also has an enjoyable offline multiplayer component that allows up to four players to play tennis (and a couple of fun variants of the sport) simultaneously.
The online multiplayer is awesome.
The online multiplayer allows gamers to painlessly search for pick-up games against random players from all over the world, and the game does a great job of setting you up against gamers who are roughly equally as skilled as you.
Additionally, the leader boards keep track of what country you’re from. Depending on whether you win or lose, the victory/loss will boost or hurt your country’s international ranking.
It’s something small, but the knowledge that you and every one of your countrymen are working towards a common goal inspires an odd sense of nationalistic camaraderie.
What’s the most impressive about Grand Slam Tennis’ online mode, though, is how easy it is to find matches and add friends. No ridiculously inane friend codes, no cumbersome menus --it’s simple and convenient to set up games and play.
Though a third-party developer, with Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods ‘10 both boasting impressive online multiplayer, Electronic Arts is quickly proving they can make better online titles than Nintendo can.
The Bad
It takes some time before you’ll be able to feel comfortable with the controls.
Using the nunchuck to control your player’s movements and modifying your shots using the Wii remote’s buttons will definitely take some adjusting, and, even with that, it still isn’t the most natural feeling in the world.
Additionally, while the motion controls work most of the time, they can be rather finicky. It never became a glaring issue, but on a few occasions swings with the remote would be entirely out of synch with the game.
A quick recalibration (achieved by just holding the control still for a second) quickly remedies the problem, but it can be frustrating when the controls act up at inopportune moments.
The game without the Wii Motion Plus isn’t very good.
Like Tiger Woods ‘10, if you take away the Wii Motion Plus, you’re left with a game whose motion controls really aren’t anything exceptional.
For better or worst, the Wii Motion Plus is such an integral component of Grand Slam Tennis that without it, the game seriously loses most of its appeal. Unfortunately, buying enough Wii Motion Plus’ to outfit a party of four can be a pricey proposition.
Game presentation is rather lackluster for a game that is otherwise in-depth. Character models have a distinctly cartoon look, but they’re bland and certainly aren’t a good representation of what the Nintendo Wii is capable of.
Also, the banter of match announcers can get incredibly repetitive, and the electronic background music is distracting.
Final Verdict
Ultimately, Grand Slam Tennis is a real treat for tennis fans. Assuming you own a Wii Motion Plus, of course.
With the help of the new peripheral and robust selection of both single player and multiplayer options, Grand Slam Tennis delivers one of the most authentic and enjoyable tennis titles for the Nintendo Wii.
It does have a few issues here and there, but if you’re willing to shell out the cash to purchase the very necessary Wii Motion Plus, get ready for an awesome gaming experience.
Final Score: 8.7/10
Rated: Teen
Genre: Tennis
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: June 08, 2009
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Canada
Grand Slam Tennis for the Nintendo Wii strives to do what every tennis game for the console has before it --authentically recreate the sport by taking advantage of the Wii’s motion controls.
Wii Sports Tennis was a decent effort, but not only was it lacking in depth, but the motion controls were mediocre at best once the novelty wore off.
EA Canada’s Grand Slam Tennis has the advantage of being one of the first games to utilize the new Wii Motion Plus, but does the added bonus give it enough to become king of the court?
The Good
Wii Motion Plus does amazing things for the motion controls in Grand Slam Tennis.
Though not a perfect 1:1 like Tiger Woods ‘10, the Wii Motion Plus gives gamers an amazing amount of accuracy, responsiveness and precision that would be impossible without it.
It may take a little while to master the controls initially, but once players get the hang of it, it is impressive how you’ll be able to launch lobs or deliver the ball exactly where you want. Grand Slam Tennis with the Wii Motion Plus is easily the first game for the console to make it actually feel like you’re playing tennis.
Grand Slam Tennis is probably the most accurate tennis game ever to grace the Nintendo Wii.
The motion controls give you great control of the action, and the game is rife with small details that help make it such an authentic depiction of the sport.
One thing that stands out the most is court physics. Expect play style to radically change depending on what kind of court is being used For instance, playing on a grass court and a clay court will drastically effect the ball’s speed.
There is a large amount of variety in the gameplay modes.
Create-a-character allows you to walk your invented persona through the plethora of available tournaments. You challenge the game’s roster of 20+ professional athletes and are awarded with skill and equipment upgrades to better your performance.
Additionally, there is also a clever calorie tracker that monitors how many calories you’ve burned. Grand Slam Tennis also has an enjoyable offline multiplayer component that allows up to four players to play tennis (and a couple of fun variants of the sport) simultaneously.
The online multiplayer is awesome.
The online multiplayer allows gamers to painlessly search for pick-up games against random players from all over the world, and the game does a great job of setting you up against gamers who are roughly equally as skilled as you.
Additionally, the leader boards keep track of what country you’re from. Depending on whether you win or lose, the victory/loss will boost or hurt your country’s international ranking.
It’s something small, but the knowledge that you and every one of your countrymen are working towards a common goal inspires an odd sense of nationalistic camaraderie.
What’s the most impressive about Grand Slam Tennis’ online mode, though, is how easy it is to find matches and add friends. No ridiculously inane friend codes, no cumbersome menus --it’s simple and convenient to set up games and play.
Though a third-party developer, with Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods ‘10 both boasting impressive online multiplayer, Electronic Arts is quickly proving they can make better online titles than Nintendo can.
The Bad
It takes some time before you’ll be able to feel comfortable with the controls.
Using the nunchuck to control your player’s movements and modifying your shots using the Wii remote’s buttons will definitely take some adjusting, and, even with that, it still isn’t the most natural feeling in the world.
Additionally, while the motion controls work most of the time, they can be rather finicky. It never became a glaring issue, but on a few occasions swings with the remote would be entirely out of synch with the game.
A quick recalibration (achieved by just holding the control still for a second) quickly remedies the problem, but it can be frustrating when the controls act up at inopportune moments.
The game without the Wii Motion Plus isn’t very good.
Like Tiger Woods ‘10, if you take away the Wii Motion Plus, you’re left with a game whose motion controls really aren’t anything exceptional.
For better or worst, the Wii Motion Plus is such an integral component of Grand Slam Tennis that without it, the game seriously loses most of its appeal. Unfortunately, buying enough Wii Motion Plus’ to outfit a party of four can be a pricey proposition.
Game presentation is rather lackluster for a game that is otherwise in-depth. Character models have a distinctly cartoon look, but they’re bland and certainly aren’t a good representation of what the Nintendo Wii is capable of.
Also, the banter of match announcers can get incredibly repetitive, and the electronic background music is distracting.
Final Verdict
Ultimately, Grand Slam Tennis is a real treat for tennis fans. Assuming you own a Wii Motion Plus, of course.
With the help of the new peripheral and robust selection of both single player and multiplayer options, Grand Slam Tennis delivers one of the most authentic and enjoyable tennis titles for the Nintendo Wii.
It does have a few issues here and there, but if you’re willing to shell out the cash to purchase the very necessary Wii Motion Plus, get ready for an awesome gaming experience.
Final Score: 8.7/10
Rated: Teen
Genre: Tennis
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: June 08, 2009
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Canada
