Grand Slam Tennis Wii first looks and impressions.

Alright, so that first set was bad. So what, everyone's got their bad days. (lol)

Now, Tiger 10 worked so good that there's no way I'll ever play any Tiger Woods golf game before it with a straight face ever again. Grand Slam, on the other hand, has a LOT more stuff that it has to keep up with motion wise so there's NO way it's MP debut would EVER be as good as Tiger's outing. However, it is a valiant first effort, and one that I must applaud EA for.

So, does this FINALLY beat out Wii Tennis. At the moment I'll have to say hell yeah, and no. Hell yeah, because when it works there's no equal. No, because when the calibration gets off all sorts of jacked up stuff can happen. I'm still trying to actually figure out how long it takes before things go nuts. (I think it's at least a minute and a half actually) One thing I'm trying to get in the habit of doing is keeping the remote still every serve so that MP can quickly recalibrate (it's a 2 second deal tops). Also, maybe it's just me, but the game seems to be VERY strict on how you hold the remote with MP. There have been times I've got the wrong swing simply because of the tilt of the controller, but then again you wouldn't do an odd tilt of a real racket either.

Get around the calibration and sometimes odd occurrences, and what you'll find is a really fun game of tennis. Online works without a hitch, and there's quite a bit to do in the game even past the tennis. Just be warned, the game does have a learning curve.

Update: I still lose like a fiend online and off, but I have been messing with it more and I am seeing some progress. I've been returning to center on every hit like chrismcam2 has recommended and it has helped. However, I think the biggest thing that's getting me with the game is the disconnect between what your avatar does on screen vs. what you physically do. And the reason I say this is because after messing around with the ball shooter training thing, your actual physical motions DO determine how the shot will act and where it goes. The animation isn't 1:1 and that makes things look weird sometimes, but the results of YOUR actions sure as hell feel spot on... as long as you're calibrated properly. As I've said before, this game has a fairly significant learning curve. You CANNOT play this like Wii Sports Tennis and expect to get somewhere fast, it will not happen.

Now If they could add anything to next years game, PLZ add a mandatory calibration button or SOMETHING between points so that you're not trying to do it yourself while praying that the calibration kicked in. That and I know they said that MP sent TOO much input data, but I'd rather have TOO much input data and 1:1 tracking than the disconnect between human and on-screen avatar that tends to happen.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• EA
• Electronic
• Arts
• Grand
• Slam
• Tennis
• Motion
• Plus
• Wii

[dewster99]

I got this game for Christmas and don't have MP with it yet. I think I'll go get it today lol. It looks so much easier especially as I play tennis for real. Man your court positioning in this vid is horrible, thats why your losing

[darknight068]

I didn't deny that for a second. I've never actually played tennis beforehand so I knew that I had a lot to learn.

[tbrence]

what is that channel with the talking circles?

[darknight068]

It's the Wii Speak channel.

[DJGANESHA]

Big fan of this game. i still find it hard to find the exact good position and playing the ball straight. I'm learning but what a gameplay! Graphics are funny but it's no kidsplay game!

[darknight068]

It's all in the angles and getting a proper velocity behind your swing.

[Daniel130782]

sorry....its amazing how realistic a soccer video game can be. PES 2011 its an example of the good use of new technologies applied on video games. Its time now for a tennis game to be as good as a soccer game, in terms of graphics, licenses, REALISTIC MOVEMENTS and a good characterization of players.

[Daniel130782]

cuando va a ser el dia en que hagan un juego realmente cercano a la realidad, personalizado y con todos los torneos de la ATP incluidos? es impresionante ver como la tecnologia ha evolucionado en los juegos de futbol y apreciar una maravilla de juego como lo son el PES 2010 Y 2011.

[chrisjamessurridge]

we'll have to have a match on grand slam tennis soon

[venom400]

I really dont understand why EA feels like characters should be diving on a tennis game , that for me is the biggest turn off , you don't do this in real life and the pros do it because there is a lot on the match but even then they don't do it every point like this .

[dewster99]

yeah sorry, it was meant as advice

[tbrence]

please reply