Product Description

Developed specifically for the Wii, EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis delivers the deepest and richest tennis experience ever developed for the platform with real life tennis strokes letting anyone quickly pick up a racket and use every shot type and inch of the court. It is the exclusive home of Wimbledon and includes all four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. The player line-up features some of the greatest and most accomplished ever including John McEnroe in his exclusive video game debut. Joining Mac is an impressive roster of current and legendary men's and women's players who collectively own 135 Grand Slam singles titles, making this the most accomplished group of players ever assembled for a tennis video game.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #429 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Model: 19004
• Published on: 2009-06
• Released on: 2009-06-08
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .58" h x 5.43" w x 7.57" l, .36 pounds

Features

• Hone your skills on the practice courts with controllable ball machines at every venue.
• Utilize Nintendo MotionPlus to hit a variety of shots such as top spin, slice, flat, lobs and drop shots.
• Create your own player then set off to conquer the various skill and legends challenges to accumulate skills and try to win all four Grand Slam titles.
• A dozen party games can be played, using seven core Tennis Academy style games with group friendly scoring and presentation.
• Play against new opponents online. Every win contributes to your country on the Battle of the Nations leader board.

Amazon.com Product Description

Developed specifically for the Wii, EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis delivers the deepest and richest tennis experience ever developed for the platform. Supporting up to four players both online and offline, utilizing the MotionPlus Wii Remote accessory and packed with real life tennis strokes which allow anyone to quickly pick up a racket and use every shot type and inch of the court, it is serious fun for both casual players and serious tennis fans alike. Hit the court as Johnny Mac or a slew of other Grand Slam champs. View larger. Utilize player-specific styles. View larger. Attack opponents with MotionPlus. View larger. The New Home of the Slams At its highest level, success in professional tennis is all about how you perform at the most prestigious events on the circuit. The Grand Slam tournaments are the biggest and most important of these and EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis now gives gamers an exclusive home where they can play all four of these: the Australian Open, the French Open at Paris' Roland Garros, the championships at Wimbledon in London and the U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. As players step onto center court at each tournament they can expect a realistic Grand Slam experience from the details of the stadiums and its surroundings, to the scoreboard, crowd, differing playing surfaces and more. Playable Characters: A Whose-Who of the Tennis Elite Success at the Slams is what elevates top-ten players to the rank of the elite on the tour. The character lineup of EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis features some of the greatest and most accomplished tennis players ever, including John McEnroe in his exclusive video game debut. Joining bad boy Johnny Mac is an impressive roster of current and legendary men's and women's players who collectively own 135 Grand Slam singles titles, making this the most accomplished group of players ever assembled for a tennis video game. Just a few of the additional faces players can expect to see in your bracket are Rafael "Rafa" Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras, Ana Ivanovic, Andy Roddick, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and many more. Wii MotionPlus EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis is one of the first games compatible with Nintendo's new Wii MotionPlus accessory for the Wii Remote. Working in conjunction with the Wii Remote's existing motion control technology, MotionPlus further enhances the player's experience with added shot depth and precise ball placement on the court. Racket rotation is also recognized so you can spin your stick just like the pros do, whether you choose to strategically pick your opponent apart from the baseline, or aggressively attack the net using serve and volley techniques. Key Features: Swing the Racket Like a Grand Slam Champion - Users feel like they are actually playing tennis as they swing real forehands and backhands. Hit a variety of shots such as top spin, slice, flat, lobs and drop shots. Grand Slam Career - As the only video game licensed to feature Wimbledon, users can play all four Grand Slams. Authentic stadiums and venues are recognizable as the real grounds. Wii MotionPlus - One of the first games compatible with the new Wii MotionPlus. When the peripheral is added, the experience is enhanced with added shot depth and precise ball placement. Racket rotation is also recognized so you can spin your stick just like the pros do. Social Tennis Party - A dozen party games can be played, using seven core Tennis Academy style games with group friendly scoring and presentation. Connect Online* - Play against new opponents online. Every win contributes to your country on the Battle of the Nations leader board. Practice Makes Perfect - Hone your skills on the practice courts with controllable ball machines at every venue. Take advantage of the instructional pop-ups to improve your abilities and beat the pros. In-Game Challenges - In your quest to win each Grand Slam, conquer the various challenges to accumulate more skills for your created player. * Online play requires user provided Internet connection.

Customer Reviews

A video game that is the closest thing to real tennis - so do not expect to master it immediately!
I have a feeling that many people will pick up this game and be initially frustrated. They may feel the game is not completely tracking their movements. Or that when they try to swing in a particular way it is not reflected in the game. Now, this game is by no means perfect, and some of these frustrations are real.

But I strongly urge you to keep with it and not give up. If you spend some time with the game you will quickly realize how brilliant and addicting it is. The point where you come to this realization will likely be when you are able to achieve a degree of consistency in your swing and direct the ball where you want it to go, and I provide tips for this at the end of this review.

I will say this - above all else this game is very, very fun. Some of the rallies you will have with your friends or while playing online will stick in your mind long after the match has been won or lost. You will agonize over missed shots. You will cherish your winners. In that sense this game captures the essence of what is great about playing tennis.

It is an addictive game that will keep bringing you back to play it until your arm hurts (and trust me, if you are not used to the exercise your arm will hurt).

As I said, this game is not perfect. The career mode should be more elaborate. Online play, great in itself and usually lag free, lacks tournament modes. And even when you have mastered the controls you will at times be frustrated. But that's tennis.

Here are some hints for achieving good control in Grand Slam Tennis using Wii Motion Plus. If you are waiting for the game to arrive at your door I recommend you keep these handy for your reference, since they will very likely be of help when you start playing:

-Be aware that the (imaginary) face of the racket is the side of the wiimote. That would mean that for the most part you want the wiimote to be parallel to the ground while you are swinging (i.e. the buttons are facing the ceiling). The index finger should be over the `b' button and the thumb should be over the `a' button.

-use defined swings (this is not wii sports tennis were you can just waggle, you really need to bring you arm back). This may sound like a given but it is actually one of the hardest things to realize if you have gotten used to wii sports tennis.

-start your swing as early as possible (just when the ball has been hit by your opponent, and you have determined what direction it is going to go), and follow through when the ball has reached you. Mastering this ability will markedly improve your game, and you will also have less instances where the WM+ is confused about if you are trying a backhand or a forehand.

-if you seem to only be able to backspin/topspin the issue is likely with your wrist on the follow through - you are twisting it. Go to the practice court and work on that.

-if you seem to only be able to slice you need to work on keeping your swing level. Trust me, its possible to hit straight - go to the practice court and work on that.

-when you are waiting for the other guy to serve, hold the wiimote still and parallel to the ground, don't worry about what your on screen character is doing.

-serving in GST is not 1:1 - it is the same as wii sports tennis. You swing the wiimote when the ball is at its apex. You can control the direction of the serve (while the ball is in the air) using the d-pad.

- you can only do lobs and drops using the `a' and `b' buttons.

A comparison to Virtua Tennis. Motion Plus. Actual tennis player.
I've had Grand Slam Tennis and Virtua Tennis for one day and played them about 3 hours each. I've played tennis for years. I'm using Motion Plus.

Here's a comparison.

Tournament mode: Grand Slam wins by a kilometer --- In Grand Slam Tennis you play the Grand Slam tour and do some exhibitions. No stupid "shopping races" like in Virtua Tennis. This part of Virtua Tennis is highly annoying. I don't want to run around a court on a shopping spree and jump through arbitrary hoops in order to play in a tournament. This part of Virtua was so annoying it took Virtua from 5 stars to 4 stars for me. Grand Slam exhibitions / mini games are fun while Virtua is annoying. On the other hand, you can just press "play" and choose tournament in Virtua but the experience is not as full as Grand Slam.

Graphics: Virtua Tennis wins by a meter. The crowd is better and players movement's are much more realistic to the player's style. Grand Slam's graphics are more cartoonish but with the announcers and the angles and replays it is more like participating in a match while you watch it on television... the presentation is better but does not make up for the better Virtua movement and detail.

Speed of play: Virtua Tennis by a kilometer. Your character moves at a more realistic pace and the match is just a more entertaining, fast action pace.

Controls: Grand Slam by a centimeter: Grand Slam's controls are easier to master. Virtua's controls have less tolerance for error. You MUST complete the training coach with Virtua to master any advanced shots, even then the drop shot leaves me wanting to smash the controller! Grand Slam's topspin, backspin, and fade are more true to real tennis, while Virtua's serve, lob, and dropshot are much more true. Grand Slam allows you to "cheat" somewhat by using the nunchuck to help with your crosscourt winner, while Virtua requires you to nail it perfectly. While I appreciate Virtua's effort, sometimes my intentions do not translate, but I suppose that's true in real tennis too.

Overall experience: A tie. Really. I appreciate Virtua's pace and effort at control realism, but Grand Slam gets the top spin and back spin nearly perfect... and that's a huge part of a real tennis player's game. Grand slam lets you cheat using the A button for a lob and B for a drop shot, and the nunchuck for crosscourt slams. Virtua has great realistic smash and lob controls, but the drop shot is just too hard and overambitious. The tennis stars in Virtua are more current and broader. Grand Slam gives you classic stars and current stars. Virtua's graphics are killer but the career mode is like throwing Jar Jar Binks into Star Wars... annoying and distracting. I want to play tennis, not the Sims! They both have room for improvement, but for a quality virtual tennis experience both beat the "plug and play" Wii Sports. Both require a bit of patience to learn. I'll come back to both for different reasons. 4/5 stars for both!

4/5 for Grand Slam. Note: I originally gave Virtua 4/5 stars. After playing it more see my warning below! And I now have to say if you are just going to by one, buy Grand Slam.

Edit after playing both for about 1 week: I can't win one game playing Virtua with a nunchuck. It is meant to only be played with the Remote. If you want to play a souped up, fast paced version of Wii Sports Tennis, Virtua is for you. If you want to play a game with the nunchuck that requires thought, anticipation, and Strategy, play Grand Slam Tennis. If I could re-rate Virtua tennis after one week. I'd give it a 2.5 or 3 stars. If I could re-rate Grand Slam after one week, it would get a 5 star rating.

Put the time in and this game will reward you!
I bought Tiger 10 w/ Motion Plus and Grand Slam the same day (yesterday). This is a review for advanced players. If you play w/ Motion Plus and the nunchuck...and you put in a couple of hours...it will click for you. Many of these reviews are clearly from people that are expecting an improved Wii Sports Tennis experience. It's not that...and that takes some getting used to. And many people (in the other reviews) seem to think Motion Plus will translate 1x1 in every scenario...when you are not controlling the player movement...that won't happen and it makes sense that it won't happen. Before using the nunchuck, I found myself complaining about the same thing...I go forehand and the game goes backhand...then I began to realize that the position of the player in relation to the ball directly affects what swinging options are available, makes sense right? Once I got used to controlling the player with the nunchuck I was responsible for everything and was having a blast. It took me a couple of hours to win my first match on easy mode. Found myself at 6 to 6 against one of the pros and sweating my butt off...but smiling the entire time. Played online, flawless framerate. The game has a great rewards system and great career mode to keep you going as a single player. As far as multi goes...I haven't played the party modes yet. But overall, this is a very deep and rewarding game if you put the time in...it's not Wii Sports and it's not casual (if you want real control). Enjoy.