EA Sports is the preeminent creator of sports game titles. Their roster of franchises includes, among other things, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Fight Night, NHL, Madden, FIFA Soccer, and NBA Live. Why wouldn't they try to add a tennis game to that roster? And, if they were adding a tennis game, why not make it for the Nintendo Wii? After all, the Wii's motion-sensing controls are a perfect fit for a sport that requires swinging a racquet. The result of this new addition to the EA Sports lineup, Grand Slam Tennis, is a title that could make for the start of a very promising franchise, but that by itself certainly leaves something to be desired.

Grand Slam Tennis can be played with either the new Wii MotionPlus accessory or without it. Before we get into the specific successes and failures of the game, let me make this very clear – if you want to play the game, play it with the Wii MotionPlus (and the nunchuk which allows for better control of where a player is on the court). Playing without the add-on, which enhances the player's precision and provides more immediate feedback when turning the Wii, is a hugely frustrating experience. With the WiiMotionPlus, one gets a good sense of what effect turning the Wii remote has on the racket – it turns on instantly onscreen. But without the add-on, the controls feel incredibly sluggish and the direction of the ball following a stroke is far more random.

As with many sports titles, the game has both a "season" mode and a quick play one. The season mode here, is called "Grand Slam" and consists solely of the four Grand Slam tournaments – The Australian Open, The French Open, Wimbledon, and The U.S. Open. There are some matches played at the various venues prior to the main tournaments themselves, but there are no smaller tournaments or invitationals available in the mode which makes the entire process very repetitive, very quickly.

Traditional gameplay (there are some non-standard games available) unfolds exactly as one would expect from a tennis match, with the human player always appearing at the bottom of the screen even after the in-game players switch sides on the court (a move that makes complete sense). Swinging the Wii remote at various angles and movements causes different types of shots – topspins, flat shots, and slices — while pressing a button as the Wii remote is being swung can allow for the play of drop shots and lobs.

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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