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Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc. Part number: 19004
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
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Gamespot editors' review
Grand Slam Tennis (Wii) price range: $46.99 - $49.99
- Reviewed by: Luke Anderson
- Reviewed on: 06/17/2009
- Released on: 06/08/2009
It's been more than a decade since EA's last tennis outing, so it came as a big surprise when EA announced Grand Slam Tennis would be coming to the Nintendo Wii. The game features an all-star cast of past and present players, and with Wimbledon's inclusion, it's the first time we've seen all four Grand Slam tournaments together. Grand Slam is fun to play at times, but it's ultimately hampered by a frustrating control scheme and steep difficulty curve in the single-player mode.
6212135NoneEven the commentary is Australian.
Grand Slam has the foundation in place for a rewarding experience but is let down by a frustrating control scheme that makes the game a serious challenge--even on the easiest setting--to the extent that much of the game simply isn't fun. Grand Slam is one of the first games to support Wii MotionPlus and the result is disappointing; although the peripheral makes the controls feel more responsive and sensitive than a standard Wii Remote, it merely reduces the margin for error while making the game more difficult. In theory, the timing of your swing and follow-through determines whether you angle the ball to the left, right, or centre of the court, but in reality, the way that you are often heavily punished for the slightest errors makes the controls feel capricious and random. This results in the fun being rapidly sucked out of the game, especially in single-player matches where the AI almost unfailingly sends inch-perfect returns. An in-depth tutorial may have helped this difficulty curve, but Grand Slam only gives you a practice mode against a ball machine. While there are some menu animations that give a brief overview of basic and advanced shots, they're no substitute for a full-fledged tutorial.
While the Practice mode tells you what shot you're performing (for example, top spin, flat shot), Grand Slam offers no real feedback to help improve your style. This is exacerbated by the fact that your player starts with poor skills, and the only way to improve your skill and abilities is to win games against seasoned pros. Because the AI player rarely make lobs--even when you're up at the net--the easiest method to defeat the AI is with a serve and volley strategy, making the player run across the baseline to return shots. If you prefer to play on the baseline, however, you will need to return countless shots until the AI player makes a mistake, which it rarely does.
Grand Slam's single-player gameplay is split among a Grand Slam Career mode, exhibition matches, and party games. As the name suggests, the Grand Slam Career mode eschews minor competitions in favour of the four majors: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, preceded by a few practice matches. These consist of an exhibition match with a low-skilled player, a match against a tennis legend, and a skill challenge, which is a doubles match based on the Tennis Party games. If you win all three pretournament challenges, you'll also get a chance to play a bonus match with a legend. You can only attempt each match once per tournament, so if you lose, you'll have to wait until the following year to return and get that chance again. To win a tournament, you need to win five consecutive matches against seeded players. An additional mode called Get Fit tracks the total amount of calories you've burnt while playing and allows you to set goals, earn awards for meeting those goals, and view your progress on a calendar.
Choose from a healthy lineup of past and present champions who will all ignore your commands.
The game boasts a roster of 23 past or present players, including such household names as John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Justine Henin, Boris Becker, and Andy Murray. Despite the improbability of Bjorn Borg and Andy Murray playing together in a tournament, there is a certain amount of fun to be had in the novelty of seeing new and old play against each other. Though you can play as a legend in exhibition matches, when you're ready to earn a Grand Slam, you'll need to create a new player. The customisation options for your player are fairly extensive, with tweaks to your appearance and playing style on offer, which adds up to a fairly satisfying experience. Players start off with a zero-star rating and can eventually match the five-star rating of such pros as Pete Sampras by winning practice and tournament matches in the Grand Slam mode.
User reviews
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Frustrating and unlike Wii Sports Tennis
by thegrittybrit on December 1, 2009
Pros: It's neat to play against some all time greats and see what styles they used.
Cons: Delay before hitting it. Slow tempo of game. Bad commentary/announcing. Not really like tennis. Hard to control player. Hard to hit accurate shots.
Summary: I read these user reviews and was excited to play this game. Unfortunately, the game stinks: There are too many buttons to press. You have to use the nunchuk (well, ...
Summary: I read these user reviews and was excited to play this game. Unfortunately, the game stinks: There are too many buttons to press. You have to use the nunchuk (well, you don't have to, but then your player won't really move in time to get any returning shots), plus you have to hold either A or B for a lob or drop shot (the slice, flat and topspin aren't really that different from each other), plus hit the ball correctly and in time. It's just too much.
After hitting the ball, your player just stands there instead of resetting back towards the center of the court, allowing your opponent to easily hit the ball away from you.
Balls that are hit low to the ground are called as bounces, even though the in-game replay clearly shows otherwise.
Your player could be standing right next to the ball coming toward him, swing in time, and still somehow miss the ball. It's frustrating.
For some reason, even though you are standing poised to hit a forehand and actually go through the motion, the player somehow hits a backhand, and a very weak one at that.
Plus, matches are only best of 3 games. So if you struggle at first, well, you're done for.
The positive user reviews are wrong. Maybe they aren't using the Wii Motion Plus like me, but if you're not going to use WiiMotion, just get Mario Tennis. -
Ignore Editors Review - Excellent Challenge
by grege321 on September 30, 2009
Pros: The game is difficult and a tad frustrating at the start - however if you are like me and want to master the game, it becomes very reqarding.
The game plays very well and you can eventually start controlling your game even on hard mode.Cons: I agree with the Editor in that it could do with more training around precise controlling, however figuring it out for myself turned out to feel more rewarding especially when I read the Editors review.
Summary: EA sports have done a great job - the game simply is not for kids which I love. There needs to be more games like this.
It would have been ...Summary: EA sports have done a great job - the game simply is not for kids which I love. There needs to be more games like this.
It would have been great to be able to add 'line ball challenges' to create more excitement.
I hope EA sports can follow through this control through to other sports games on Wii.
People who say the controls are too difficult are used to simple games that take most of your control away. If you were about to give up using Wii, try this as it has now given me the life to keep my Wii and not sell it. -
Which game was the Editor reviewing?!
by cornico1 on September 9, 2009
Pros: A fun way to get some exercise, get my tennis "fix" everyday, lost 30lbs already without trying
Cons: would like more matches - maybe the option of starting as a qualifier if you want
Summary: I bought this game for a total of $9 after turning in old games that I don't play anymore. I can't get to the courts as much as ...
Summary: I bought this game for a total of $9 after turning in old games that I don't play anymore. I can't get to the courts as much as I want to, so this is a great substitute to get my tennis fix. Even though the grips are not really close to the real thing, it keeps me active as I make sure I use shoulder turn and serve motions while playing. I don't know why the Editor had such a problem with the learning curve. It only took me five days about an hour a day to win the final on one of the slams. I want to collect all the legends abilities, the swag, and beat all the slams and then move to a more difficult setting. I have to say that the replay value of this game is big - which makes a nice change. I also like the fact that you have a choice between using the nunchuck or not - I choose not for better realism.
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Controls need some help
Pros: A definite improvement over Wii Sports tennis. Character design also better.
Cons: Erratic control behavior makes game play frustrating.
Summary: I like that you get a lot for your money - there are a ton of different games you can play. I also like that the character design eschews the ...
Summary: I like that you get a lot for your money - there are a ton of different games you can play. I also like that the character design eschews the blocky Wii Mii style for something that better resembles a human in appearance and movement.
The controls still need a bit of tweaking though. I like that you can aim the ball and put some spin on it, but there are some glitches that just drive me nuts. Continually, I will swing at a backhand shot but my character will do some akward forehand shot that lands like a dead bird on the other side of the net. Also, when the ball is coming at you and you move the remote in a certain way, it will make your character take a swing when you didn't want to - almost always causing you to lose the point. Character movement is really sluggish. I find there is usually a good half a second gap from between when I press a left or right arrow and when my character starts to move in that direction.
I think that I'll figure out how to work around these issues in time, but it's a shame that they couldn't get it right the first time around since there is a lot of playability in this game. -
Just plain fun and more responsive
by pliskers on July 20, 2009
Pros: The new Wii Motion Plus adds a degree of responsiveness to movement that I've not found in previous games. With a little practice court time learning basic shots and movements, I was up and playing (using the nunchuck right away) in almost no time.
Cons: Would be nice if you could save a game mid-way as you can with other games. Character customizations are somewhat limited. Serve speed is slow, at least initially, though you can earn skills by winning some challenge matches.
Summary: I can see this becoming one of my favorite games, thanks to the realism of play and sensitivity of the game to movements (with a combination of the Wii Motion ...
Summary: I can see this becoming one of my favorite games, thanks to the realism of play and sensitivity of the game to movements (with a combination of the Wii Motion Plus and using the nunchuck to control player movement). I had a very disappointing experience with another tennis game, so this was a real breath of fresh air - I practiced a bit on the Practice Court and then was up and playing full-blown matches without even starting withtout the nunchuck. Would advise setting your difficulty to easy initially, or you could become frustrated by getting beat constantly. With easy settings I'm probably up to about a 50-50 win/loss record, which is enough positive reinforcement without seeming too easy.
I've had several On Line matches already, which all flowed very smoothly with no delays or image problems. It's a game that will keep you coming back to improve your performance and move through the competitive levels. Don't hesitate to buy this game, it's worth the investment - just be sure to give it the full treatment by buying a Wii Motion Plus and using the nunchuck. -
No Control
by wuzzy40 on July 18, 2009
Pros: Great characters, nice style
Cons: too hard to control... not like tennis
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gameplay terrible.
by Seamus Mckenzie on July 7, 2009
Pros: none i can think of.
Cons: Poor gameplay. Frustrating.
Summary: Bought this game two weeks ago with with the wii motion plus,Serve is non existent, characters at times dont respond when you are swinging. No chance of beating your ...
Summary: Bought this game two weeks ago with with the wii motion plus,Serve is non existent, characters at times dont respond when you are swinging. No chance of beating your ai character is non existent. overall this is a very poor effort. stick the tennis game taht came with wii sports, much more fun than this.
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Great Product. Great Fun
by sripree on June 25, 2009
Pros: I bought this last week and have not stopped playing it. The Courts are realistic. The Players are realistic. Everybody will enjoy it.
Cons: Don't use the Wii Motion plus. Use the regular Wii Control.
Summary: Go ahead and buy it.
Summary: Go ahead and buy it.
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Please ignore the no-talent cnet reviewer's comments
by Singaggie94 on June 24, 2009
Pros: 1) Excellent motion detection with Wii MotionPlus 2) Varying difficulty levels; playable by my 4-year old niece to myself 3) Good compromise on Wii graphic capability 4) All 4 major sites 5) Multiple stars
Cons: Only downside is lack of additional tournament sites other than the majors. "Full season mode" would be nice, however since they include all 4 majors, I'll let this slide for the first version
Summary: cnet reviewer must have something against EA Sports, tennis, the Wii... or possibly just has no hand-eye coordination, because this game rocks:
1) Excellent motion detection with Wii MotionPlus
2) ...Summary: cnet reviewer must have something against EA Sports, tennis, the Wii... or possibly just has no hand-eye coordination, because this game rocks:
1) Excellent motion detection with Wii MotionPlus
2) Ability to execute multiple types of shots
3) Varying difficulty levels; My 4-year old niece played an exciting match with my 74-year old mother in law. Later, I played a challenging, epic 5 set match against AI Pete using the nunchuck movement option.
4) Good compromise on Wii graphic capability
5) All 4 major sites: Name one other sports games that incorporates all of the actual major locations where the pros (are you listening TW PGA?)
6) Multiple stars, from old to new
Buy this game, it's what the Wii was made for!! I look for additional versions over the next few years from EA. -
Sorry for people who pass based on cnet's silly review.
by betz77 on June 18, 2009
Pros: Most fun you'll have with a video game
great exercise
Multiplayer rocksCons: One player mode not elaborate enough
Summary: Like many other reviewers Mr. Anderson did not take even the minimal time needed to learn the controls and is blaming the game for his own mistake. Anyone who spends ...
Summary: Like many other reviewers Mr. Anderson did not take even the minimal time needed to learn the controls and is blaming the game for his own mistake. Anyone who spends some time with the game can master the controls - at which point this game becomes a tremendous amount of fun. See my tips for this game here:
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/242348.page
Specifications
Manufacturer info
- Electronic Arts Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
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- Website: http://www.ea.com/
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