EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis Comments by Kristan Reed

Kinda thought this was going to be good.

Whoops. Virtua Tennis Wii for TEH win!

Oooops! I expected this to be 7/10.

This doesn't bode very well for Virtua Tennis 2009 played with a Wiimote!

Looking forward to seeing what Virtua Tennis can do with and without WMP now...

It's at times like these, when games get different scores on reviews, that I'd really want my Wii to be able to access game demos.

Alas, that's not going to happen. I'll have to check if I can find some demo station or something, so I don't have to spend 59€ blindly.

It's at times like these, when games get different scores on reviews, that I'd really want my Wii to be able to access game demos.

I agree, Wii games get incredibly diverse scores depending on whether the reviewer 'got' the controls or not. I've seen reviews on here and elsewhere that destroy the control mechanics for certain games, but I've given it a go and wondered what on earth all the fuss was about.

One of the big discussion points in the WMP thread in the forum was whether the controls may be too accurate, because at the end of the day, very very few people can actually play tennis well. Whilst this doesn't seem to apply to this game in particular, it's something worth keeping an eye on.

HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Shit/10

Slightly concerned that the WMP in itself might be flawed. Some more reviews of other MP games should show either way.

I get the feeling this game is actually a lot better than the review suggests, just that it requires some skill to play properly.

Possibly. There is always the possibility that I'm just crap at the game, but that should be taken in the context of other tennis titles where I generally do exceptionally well.

HMM.

Well, I played tennis for a couple years, so if this game is "too realistic" I should be able to get the hang of it relatively quickly. Still, I'm not going to give away my money like that without some sort of insurance. So I'll wait until someone else who has actually played tennis can tell me whether this game is realistic or not.

Though I doubt it. This is a party-oriented game we're talking about. I don't think they wanted to make it so that nobody would be able to play it properly unless they're Federer's family or something.

Kristan, since or any other of the mods - any ideas when Virtua Tennis Wii review comes out? It's worth knowing because some of the advance buy places like Amazon raise their price the minute the game comes out, so if I'm waiting on the Eurogamer review I'd like to know whether it's worth waiting a day or two more to buy...

Damn, I was expecting this to be good! Oh well, maybe wait for a few more reviews to come in before cancelling the pre order...

Wow, a shit EA game. Didn't see that coming.

hitting late or early to define the direction of the shot sounds exactly the same like Wii Sports. And tis is a no go for me... The direction of the shot should be determined by my swing or at least by the analog stick...
this is an epic fail on EAs part... let's see if virtua tennis is better

I can't believe anyone expect a Wii Tennis (and one made by EA) game to be good.

Its had good (or at least better) reviews elsewhere.

And an EA sports title being completely rubbish is pretty much a big surprise nowadays actually.

"And an EA sports title being completely rubbish is pretty much a big surprise nowadays actually. "


Erm.. look back in history.. the FIRST iteration of any EA sports game is almost ALWAYS shit.

They only seem to spend a year making a game, then push it out... Then they improve it the next year.. push that out.. etc etc until they FINALLY get it right about 5 or 6 versions down the road.

Look at early fifa games - they all sucked balls.

shame, I was hoping this would deliver... guess it's Virtua Tennis (360/PS3) for me.

/Gutted...
:'(

Really krudster, I was counting on this and Tiger to be the games that would get me 2 Wiimotion pluses as a side-effect.
Also, tennis really is hard...
/Sucks at it in real life....

Yeah, the early FIFA games were terrible... God you talk some rot smelly.

Ooh, sounds shite. Guess I'll be getting Virtua Tennis again.

and the early NHL games. They were stunning.

^^^ +9,000

Although NHLPA '97 (Mega Drive) is still the greatest hockey game ever made.

Oh dear...

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... should have released this game for the 360, PS3 and PC where it would have worked better with a conventional controller and benefitted from some spanking HD visuals too. Not that those machines need another tennis game, although the licenses would be welcome, but then the way things are going on the Wii such games are being squandered on a platform that doesn't have an accurate enough controller to mimic the sport anyway. For shame. Wii Tennis worked... just.

I absolutely trust this review.
I've seen a review on Official Nintendo Magazine that basically stated the same problems ("your player is often facing the wrong way thanks to the slightest flick of the Remote in the wrong direction"), but eventually gave it a 90%. It clearly looks like an inflated score, for reasons that are probably not worth mentioning. And btw Nintendo Power (!) gave it a 75/100.
Eurogamer's score looks like the one anyone would give this game, once the novelty wears off. And once you consider that the price for a full controller (wiimote+nunchuk+wmp) is now dangerously close to the 100 EUR mark and this is a big issue multiplayer-wise, although the game is hardly to blame for this.

Kind of embarrassing for EA to have messed up the control system, what with it being the reason for the game's existence and all. Then again, I suppose the problem could be with Motionplus itself, but it would seem unlikely for Nintendo to release it without making sure that it actually works like it's supposed to.

Review reads like 2 or 3 out of ten, totally bottled on the score.

"There is always the possibility that I'm just crap at the game, but that should be taken in the context of other tennis titles where I generally do exceptionally well"

So you're telling everyone that you're not sure if the problem is the controls or your inability to grasp them? Isn't this something you should sort out before you write a review and publish it. That's bad journalism at best. Also, how does your experience with other tennis games even factor into the discussion when this is a completely new tennis game with a totally new and different control scheme. Seems to me you should try reviewing this again after you've decided whether the problem is with the game or your lack of skill. And based on other initial reviews (IGN, ONM, Nintendo Power) the problem does seem to be you.

more like WiiMotionFail, amirite?

Another review from a guy who don't get motion controls and whining about he wants his gamepad back.

A very bad written review. Shame on eurogamer.

That the reviewer considerate that WM+ doesn't work exact is absurd. Other reviewer tested the device with different games and are thrilled.

And by the way. The Developer of this game said that M+ was to accurate and they don't use all the input the device created. They said also that they could have done a simple 1 to 1 control, but that seems to exhausting for the player.

By the way 2: ign said it is one of the best tennis games they ever played :)

Yes because suddenly IGN are not a bunch of cheerleaders and make the most trustworthy reviews in the entire universe.

facepalm

>Yeah, the early FIFA games were terrible... God you talk some rot smelly.

Did you actually PLAY the early fifa games?

back to tennis..

i've just read the ign review... and now dont know whether to get this or not.

changing shot direction in this game is just RUBBISH. it is the same like in Wii Sports.. totally unintuitive...

totally unintuitive...
Except it's not. I play tennis in RL and it makes sense.

@Darren

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... should have released this game for the 360, PS3 and PC where it would have worked better with a conventional controller and benefitted from some spanking HD visuals too.

Change scares you, doesn't it?

I've just read the 8.5 IGN review and it comes across like a different game to the one EG reviewed. But that purely down to how two different people get on with the controls. If someone doesn't think the controls work then how can they honestly praise the game they're playing? The controls are your only means of interacting with a game, if you don't think they work then the whole game falls flat.

For every Wii, there are people who love the controls and others who don't. Resident Evil 4 Wii is another good example, EG didn't like them especially but I thought they worked fine. Mind you, having gone back to the GC original a few months back, I actually found I preferred the original GC controller but there you go.

I noticed the IGN review pretty much slated the original Wiimote controller in the opening paragraph for every game except Wii Sports bowling, something I agree with. The Wiimote is perfect for pointing at the screen and all that jazz as well as tilt games such as Super Monkey Ball but it's always been pretty hopeless at detecting precise movement, something which is apparent from all the borked up Wii games I've played over the past few years since I bought it in December 2006.

Now we hear that games using this new add-on might not be that great either, that's not really very good news really when you think back to IGN's comment about how Nintendo are the only ones who used the Wiimote properly. Is this new add-on going to suffer the same fate?

Dan234 - "@Darren

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... should have released this game for the 360, PS3 and PC where it would have worked better with a conventional controller and benefitted from some spanking HD visuals too.

Change scares you, doesn't it?"

Considering I've owned a Wii since launch, I'd say no otherwise I wouldn't have bought the machine in the first place. ;)

But, yes, there's something about the EG review that disturbs me... it's bad controls!

@ Darren

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... should have released this game for the 360, PS3 and PC where it would have worked better with a conventional controller and benefitted from some spanking HD visuals too."

ERM, you do know it is coming on the PS3 and 360 later in the year don't you?????

Actually no I didn't but I do now. :)

Unless EA seriously mess up the controls then I suspect they'll prove to be the better games anyway. I hope they stick with the cartoony visuals though, I think they'd help the game stand out from Virtua Tennis and Top Spin and give it a bit of personality. :)

i think i'm going to go with ign on this one, i tend to agree with the majority of their Wii reviews as they seem to be the only reviewers that can grasp the controls properly most of the time, ssx blur comes to mind immediately as a game i really enjoyed but was slated a bit for its controls most places. Even if without motion plus this game incorporates the same controls as wii tennis but allows you to move your character then i would be convinced, i just gather no satisfaction pushing buttons to play tennis after playing wii sports.

@xking

I based my opinion on the review... where it was stated that shot direction is based on timing only, not on position or nunchuck stick... is shot direction timing based or not? I wonder....

cheers,

The fact that you have to press a button for a lob or drop shot puts me off right away. Can't the game tell how you're positioning and moving the racquet using the WMP anyway?

Is there a rival WMP tennis game out soon? Maybe that'll nail it, and get me buying.

The IGN review has me confused also. I think I'll probably take the plunge and get this. I'm a little bored with Wii sports tennis and could do with a proper tennis game. It'll be fun to play against the grand masters of tennis.

Also, I'm getting the feeling that there might be a bit more skill to this one instead of the swing and whack approach of wii sports so maybe it just a little more "hardcore" than Kristan might have expected or had time to get into :)

"Can't the game tell how you're positioning and moving the racquet using the WMP anyway?"

Virtua Tennis 2009 is supposed to work like that and should be out this month.

Hahahahaha
This is what always bothers me about previews, everyone including Eurogamer have been saying "the controls for this game are really good" Eurogamer recently did another preview and mentioned some slight problems with it but that was it. As soon as the review comes out it basically says its complete crap. This applies to all games where the game gets glowing previews and the game turns out to be turd. Do game companies hold the games journalists hostage until they give them a good preview or something?
I would love to read a preview where the writer just said this is a terrible game and only the powers of heaven could save it before release.

Quote from "Gamesradar"

You can tell the difference immediately. You open up the invisible face of your ‘racquet’ to drive an imaginary forehand down the line, and that’s exactly where the on-screen ball goes. Put a bit more angle on the swing, aiming for the opposite corner, and the ball goes that way, too. Impressive!

So - perhaps the review of this just wasnt any good at it?