Grand Slam Tennis: EA Sports Tennis Game

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:13 pm

JRod wrote:What's the "career" mode in this game.

Is it like the other Tennis games, play some mini-games, increase your stats, try to make it to Wimbledon or the French?

Who are the other legends? NM found this.
http://tennis.easports.com/blognews.act ... r%20Lineup

I think in a nutshell, you only play in the major tournaments. You create a player and try to advance and win the championship of each major. That's really about it, however the game is supposed to be great online.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 4:28 pm

Don't look now but Tjung has picked up Grand Slam Tennis...guess i'll have to give this one more than 10 minutes of play time. I don't have the motion+ yet but will probably get it tomorrow or so. I've read some things where people prefer the game without the M+ so I figured I'd try it without it first and see how it plays.
I also picked up Tiger Woods for the 360

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:29 pm

tjung0831 wrote:Don't look now but Tjung has picked up Grand Slam Tennis...guess i'll have to give this one more than 10 minutes of play time. I don't have the motion+ yet but will probably get it tomorrow or so. I've read some things where people prefer the game without the M+ so I figured I'd try it without it first and see how it plays.
I also picked up Tiger Woods for the 360

My only word of advice would be to not get too used to it without the M+ or you could fool yourself into thinking it plays better without it and be missing out on the true beauty of the game.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:01 pm

Ok...after 10 minutes of play...I can't believe there are actual complaints about this game. Ima call it right now....SGOTY! Im not even using the M+ and it plays great. I don't even play my damn Wii!!!!
Great game and there is potential that this turns into an amazing series by EA...

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:24 pm

I appreciate the tips you guys have posted that help make sure the controller is calibrated correctly. Making sure I pointed the controller at the sensor bar prior to each play worked really well, and I'm not sure any of my mistakes were caused by mis-calibration.

I lost 3-1, 3-1 to Pat Cash but had a lot of fun in the process. It seemed a lot easier to go cross-court instead of trying to sneak it down the line, so once Cash got settled in at the net I had a hard time finding a way to win the point.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:31 pm

For some reason everything I learned went to sh*t. I changed the way I hold the controller. So I switched to a two hand grip. Every now and then I get a wiff ball and at the worst possible time. I'm playing it on easy and still haven't beating the CPU.

Maybe i'm the new Tjung.

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:32 am

I finally got around to playing this game this afternoon with some friends. My impressions are mixed after 2 hours + of play time/watching but overall its a pretty decent tennis experience. I'm not sure it deserves the supreme praises that you guys have been throwing at it but it ain't that bad. For me it still feels a bit too much like the Wii Sports tennis game of old. Maybe I'm just too old school but I'd much rather pick up a controller and play this game which obviosuly defeats the whole purpose. I found it very difficult to know exactly how hard to swing or where exactly to swing so that the ball would go where I wanted it too. Oh and playing with the nunchuk was an absolute must for all of us.

I love the cartoony graphics and this has actually got me excited to see what Wii Madden 2010 and the other Wii EA Sports titles are going to look/play like this year.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:01 am

macsomjrr wrote:I finally got around to playing this game this afternoon with some friends. My impressions are mixed after 2 hours + of play time/watching but overall its a pretty decent tennis experience. I'm not sure it deserves the supreme praises that you guys have been throwing at it but it ain't that bad. For me it still feels a bit too much like the Wii Sports tennis game of old.

Are you using the M+?

If so are you sure it's plugged in all the way? I cannot see how this is even close to Wii Sports with the M+. Once again last night I went online for a bunch of matches and my jaw was on the floor from how crazy accurate the M+ controls are. I still cannot believe how different it is from when I really take my racket way back and swing with a fast, but full smooth swing cross court to when I get lazy and do a kind of half swing or flick at the ball trying to get it cross court. They are TOTALLY different shot types. I cannot tell you how many times I was getting tired and not hitting very powerful baseline shots and then I'd get to a point where I'd get pissed and literally swing so powerful and hard that I grunted like a real tennis pro and the shot was completely different. Not my imagination.

There really is a difference between nice, easy, smooth stokes and fast, powerful (yet smooth) hits. The is also a huge difference between 'flicks' and swings. So many times I would be off my swing and keep hitting back to center court and I always knew why. I was not turning my body enough in my swing. Every-time I realize that I would make a more pronounced (real life) across the body swing and 'bam!' a perfect cross court shot. Also the actual flick of the remote does some incredible drop shots and redirects when at the net. Just mind blowing stuff and very intuitive once you play a lot.

Oh, and my shoulder is way sore (but in a good way).

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:04 am

On the subject of the Motion +, not only people need to be sure it's snapped properly into the Wii controller but also make sure that on the back it's locked as well. In the heat of a rally, that MP may come loose.

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:13 am

Spooky wrote:
macsomjrr wrote:I finally got around to playing this game this afternoon with some friends. My impressions are mixed after 2 hours + of play time/watching but overall its a pretty decent tennis experience. I'm not sure it deserves the supreme praises that you guys have been throwing at it but it ain't that bad. For me it still feels a bit too much like the Wii Sports tennis game of old.
Are you using the M+?

Both of our controllers were using the M+ but perhaps they came loose or weren't working properly because I swear I wasn't getting the same feeling from the game that you guys are. I'm going to be playing more of this in the near future so I'll have to check that out. Both controllers also had the plastic jackets (aka condoms) on too. I also haven't played Wii Sports for over a year so perhaps if I throw that into my Wii I'll see the difference.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm excited about M+ (We also played some Tiger Woods disc golf, that was pretty cool!) and GST was a lot of fun but I didn't get the full control feeling that you guys are getting. Great game though no doubt.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:39 pm

Spooky wrote:Oh, and another concern I had is gone as well. Family and friends can easily pick up and play this game as a casual gamer (I think(. As long as they are not expecting to be hugely competitive it should be okay.

Yep. No concerns here. I played my 6 year son last night and he had no issues at all without the M+. That said, the kid has hand eye coordination I can only dream about (he crushes me in Wii bowling, has been swinging a golf club since age 3, and has been able to hit an overhand pitched tee ball since age 4). I didn't teach him how to aim a serve yet so we were both serving down the middle but it was GREAT fun.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:19 pm

Okay...I am beginning to get worried about my shoulder and maybe getting tennis elbow (kinda not kidding...).

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:11 am

My shoulder is doing fine, I just wished there was a video review as in real life when the calls are close. Especially on clay, it would be so cool to have Mac ask the Ump to check the line bringing a new dimension to the game. I guess, next year.

Doubles is fun.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:30 am

Spooky wrote:Okay...I am beginning to get worried about my shoulder and maybe getting tennis elbow (kinda not kidding...).

P*ssy. (definitely not kidding)

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:53 am

10spro wrote:My shoulder is doing fine, I just wished there was a video review as in real life when the calls are close. Especially on clay, it would be so cool to have Mac ask the Ump to check the line bringing a new dimension to the game. I guess, next year.

Doubles is fun.

All the line calls appear to be called out. It gets a little frustrating at times.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 8:23 am

sportdan30 wrote:
10spro wrote:My shoulder is doing fine, I just wished there was a video review as in real life when the calls are close. Especially on clay, it would be so cool to have Mac ask the Ump to check the line bringing a new dimension to the game. I guess, next year.

Doubles is fun.
All the line calls appear to be called out. It gets a little frustrating at times.

Not for me...I have had a ton that looked out to me that were not called. I think the game does an amazing job of creating that human judge element on the close calls. It would be nice to have a replay but at least it's fun and realistic to get frustrated when you think something was clearly in/out and the judge/game saw it otherwise.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 8:45 am

I do love the McEnroe "You can't be serious!" that shouts from my wiimote when playing with him. That's funny stuff.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:52 am

Damn...I wish I had more time to play this. After the first night, I haven't had a chance to play anymore. Stupid kitchen remodeling.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:15 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Damn...I wish I had more time to play this. After the first night, I haven't had a chance to play anymore. Stupid kitchen remodeling.

That sucks because if you're feeling anything like me I am super addicted. First game, especially sports game, that I have felt like that in a long time. Played a bunch of online doubles with my step-daughter last night. Great stuff.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:36 pm

Last night, I played a quick women's match offline. I was Chris Everett going up against someone who's mind escapes me now (blonde hottie who was known more for her looks than her skills on the court.)

Anyways, this was the first time I played with the gals. I saw more unforced errors from my opponent than play with the men. She hit balls wide, hit one in to the net, she even double faulted once! Maybe it was an aberation, but it was nice to see a game that depicts the women's game so well. Plus, they had the grunt of my opponent down quite well. I was expecting the game to play out similar to the men, but it was different.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:02 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Last night, I played a quick women's match offline. I was Chris Everett going up against someone who's mind escapes me now (blonde hottie who was known more for her looks than her skills on the court.)

If Anna Kournikova is that blonde hottie and you've forgotten her, your man credentials are in serious jeopardy ...

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:04 pm

Spooky wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:Damn...I wish I had more time to play this. After the first night, I haven't had a chance to play anymore. Stupid kitchen remodeling.
That sucks because if you're feeling anything like me I am super addicted. First game, especially sports game, that I have felt like that in a long time. Played a bunch of online doubles with my step-daughter last night. Great stuff.

Just remember, though: The Wii is a kid's toy, not a serious gaming platform.

P.S.: I feel the same way about Wii Sports bowling that you do about Grand Slam Tennis. I've never tired of playing it. I'm very eager to try Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger 10 with M+.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:33 pm

I don't remember Anna being in the game. Hmmm...but like I said, I only played once. Here ya go, in case you forgot what Anna looks like...best picture I have ever seen of her:

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:40 pm

Agreed, DB. That is a stunning pic, and it's not like she's a hag from the front. Hardly.

Yowza ... You could cut diamonds on that ass.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 1:51 pm

Oh Anna, best chic who's never won anything but her looks. Do miss her, but I think Dan was referring to Maria, as in Sharapova.

Ahem...