Grand Slam Tennis review

The best Wii tennis game. And yes, we are serious

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Brilliant with MotionPlus

  • +

    Something to offer all standards of player

  • +

    Looks and sounds great

Cons

  • -

    Commentary gets repetitive

  • -

    Not so brilliant without MotionPlus

  • -

    Miserly character creation

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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!

After a couple of years of growing accustomed to the timing-based way of doing things, as seen in every single tennis game since Wii Sports, it’s quite remarkable. It took a while to lose the bad old habit of just flicking the remote nonchalantly from the wrist, but by the time we felt comfortable enough to really let rip, we probably had an 80% success rate putting the ball where we wanted it. Finally, the Wii remote works like we always wanted it to in a tennis game.

Of course this is all dependent on using the MotionPlus add-on, which is bundled with the premium version of Grand Slam Tennis. Without that insubstantial widget plugged into the bottom of the remote, it plays much like any other Wii tennis game, with the direction of the shots based entirely on how early or late you took a swing. You can switch between control methods on the fly, by plugging in combinations of MotionPlus and a Nunchuk during play. The game recognises what you’ve got and adjusts accordingly, with the appropriate degree of AI assistance.

The Nunchukless MotionPlus set-up is the most satisfying to use, but it means you have to pay close attention to the orientation of your player. If you swing a forehand when the ball is on the backhand side, your player will swipe at thin air and commentator Pat Cash will call you an arsewipe.

That won’t happen so much if you add a Nunchuk, as you’ll be able to run around the ball to hit it on your strongest side. Unfortunately you’ll also run the risk of whipping yourself in the face with the cord or pulling the plug out of the bottom of the remote if you swing too wildly, but at least the game won’t freeze and ask you to reconnect it when that happens.

More info

GenreSports
DescriptionIf this is an indication of the future of tennis on Wii, MotionPlus is a godsend and EA has scored a coup by getting it bundled with this game. Look no further than Grand Slam if you’re searching for something that makes Wii Sports look like a toy.
Platform"Wii"
US censor rating"Everyone"
UK censor rating"3+"
Alternative names"EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Freelance Journalist

Martin Kitts is a veteran of the video game journalism field, having worked his way up through the ranks at N64 magazine and into its iterations as NGC and NGamer. Martin has contributed to countless other publications over the years, including GamesRadar+, GamesMaster, and Official Xbox Magazine.