Grand Slam Tennis 2 – Review (360, PS3)

written by gazzara on 10.2.12

It’s fair to say that EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis has a lot to live up to.  Although the tennis game market is not exactly saturated, it is, however, dominated by two other titles that consistently stand up to scrutiny.

EA Sports do have a tendency to try and attempt sports that deviate from their staple franchise releases with the original Grand Slam Tennis being a paultry offering on the Wii that offered up a, shall we say, treat for the “family”.

• Likes

  • Fluid control system
  • All four Grand Slams under one roof
  • Smooth online experience

• Dislikes

  • Easy to beat A.I.
  • Repetitive commentary
  • Slow loading times

So, with Grand Slam Tennis 2 being EA Sports’ first proper attempt at a sim tennis game, hopes are high that they can at least compete with the big guns of Virtua Tennis and Top Spin.

The first thing to mention about Grand Slam Tennis 2 is that EA have played their Licencing trump card very well.  For the first time ever EA Sports have been able to bring together all four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, which include recreating the Centre Court at Wimbledon, the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open, the Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open.  ESPN has the honour of showcasing the replays and event features in game and players new and old like Djokovic, Federer, Nadal as well as McEnroe and Borg amongst others to really add some shine to the all star line up.

The game itself focuses on EA Sports tile staples and brings in the best of other EA Sports titles so you feel right at home with the menu system and all that it offers.  Play Now will give you a quick hit of tennis action in either single or doubles and games modes such as tournaments (self explanatory) and ESPN Grand Slam classics will enable you to play out classic scenes from tournaments over the years and works very similar to Madden Moments in Madden titles.  Multiplayer is a must to really get a bit of competition in and EA’s servers provide the gateway to competitive play amongst friends and strangers alike.

The staple career mode though is what will take up most of your time and once you have created your player you will launch him into a mix of training, exhibition matches and tournaments to develop the character and compete with the best.  Of course, you may want to spend a little time in the training area first to develop your skills with the Total Racket Control feature which looks to revolutionise how you control your shot and pretty much mimics systems that are in the Fight Night series.

The stick system did feel a little strange at first and I must admit to regressing back to the face buttons to find my comfort level in the first few matches I had but as my confidence grew I felt as though I should at least give it another go and I’m glad I did.  Using the Total Racket Control function started to feel very natural after a few minutes and is intuitive, but more, rewarding, than using the buttons that we’re all used to.   I felt that I could place my shots a little better as well as having more control over the power and type of shot too.

The look and feel of the game is also beautiful.  Seeing Centre Court at Wimbledon recreated with such precision, couple with the on court camera angles has the feel of the BBC presentation that airs it.  It looks real, it feels real and you actually feel part of the atmosphere.  Players themselves also have their own unique features as well as their likenesses being faithfully recreated.  You can see their little nuances stand out too and whether it be in serving actions or gestures you’ll feel more familiar with the player than before.

The commentary also packs a nice little punch and adds to the drama of the occasion with John McEnroe and Pat Cash imparting their knowledge and also commentating in synch with your match.  A perfect partnership, you say?  Well, yes it is.  It’s just a pity that there aren’t more lines for them as the commentary unfortunately gets repetitive very quickly.

This all sounds good so far, for the most part, and rightly so, but there are some real niggle that unfortunately sour the game a little and unfortunately the blame will lie with how easy the A.I. is on you.  It is just way too easy to beat and no matter how you ramp it up, although it proves to be a little more challenging, still seems easy to beat.  An example of this is my first Australian Open and my progression through it.  The first few games were easy, winning in straight sets.  Once I got the quarter finals and played a player like Tsonga I felt that this may be a challenge.  Nope, breezed straight through and also done the same with Federer, although he was a little trickier.  The main problem seems to be that tactical play seems negated.  Serve and vollying against baseliners seems void and an angled attack will always win out.  There doesn’t seem to be a need for lobbing as a well placed pass will suffice.

Overall though, Grand Slam Tennis 2 works extremely well as EA Sports first real venture into the true tennis sim.  It is more refined and simplistic than Top Spin with an ease of use that will definitely massage the ego and appeal to gamers that want to try a tennis game out.  The licencing is spot on with a great soundtrack to boot and the Total Racket Control system could be THE standard for other tennis games on the market.  All the necessary components are in place in Grand Slam Tennis 2 to put this game up there with the best and with a little more polish the Grand Slam Tennis will definitely give the 2K behemoth a run for its money.