Topic: EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis w/ M+

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

lol EA

[BlackNMild2k1]

I was thinking about getting this but not too sure anymore.

Don't let my little outburst deter you, the game is fun, and I must be out of shape because my legs hurt just from playing.

One thing that really makes no sense about this game is where the frak is the fricken pointer controls?
I gave thisgame to my mom as a b-day present and she was dumbfounded as to how to get around the menu and character selection since there were no pointer controls.

When you go to input your name for custom character creation there is pointer controls, but not for the ingame menus and that is a serious WTF for EA right there.

Other than that, my character is created and I'm doing grand slam. if you hold the controller regularly and remember to re-calibrate often then things work fine. The sides of the wiimote are the face of the racket by the way, but would it really hurt EA to have mentioned that somewhere in the controls help menu?

[BlackNMild2k1]

My mom was having so much troublwe with this because her character just wouldn't swing when she wanted. I removed the M|+ and now the problem is solved. Now it plays more like WiiSports Tennis and she is happy.

I got the M+ to work for me, minus the random miscommunication, but I guess its just gonna take some time for it to click.

[D_Average]

3.) remember to re-calibrate M+ inbetween points to avoid awkward non-control moments.

What exactly do you have to do to re-calibrate it?

[BlackNMild2k1]

just hold the remote still for two seconds. The game actually tells you to lay it flat on a table face down for 2 secs.
There are replays after point, so you always have time to do it.

And for the record, the game does tell you the proper way to hold the remote(sides of the remote are the face of the racket), but its during one of the tip screen that flashes by quickly if you press a button too quickly.

And this game just became soooo easier to play once I removed the M+. Its like WiiSports Tennis only alot more challenging and with the control options that should have been there from the start. M+ takes some getting used to for Tennis, but is alot more intuitive for Golf.

[D_Average]

Weird, I wonder why you don't have to do that w/ Tiger M+.  Its not a huge deal, but I could see that getting annoying after awhile.

[BlackNMild2k1]

In Tiger Woods the M+ is only used during te swing/putt portion of the game, and you have to point straight down before hitting B to activate it.
So I'm guessing it calibrates a the pointing down part when you press B.

In GST there is a little trick you can do to tell if you are calibrated or not.
While waiting on a serve hold your controller left or right and see if the character follows. If not you need to callibrate ASAP or most likely lose the point.
I'm not sure if you can pause to calibrate or not though, I haven't tried it out yet.


EA made a good effort this first time around, but I could make a laundry list (actually already have) of improvement for the sequel. Some are inexcusable  WTF oversights (where are the pointer controls for the menus :backofheadslap:), but nothing is game breaking, and it is still a very fun title to play. Now I'm off to go play some Tiger Woods.

[Caliban]

Someone change the thread title because M+ isn't bundled with this game.

I got the game.
I got it because WSR does not include Tennis. I also wanted to get an early feel to M+ before WSR came out.
This game can be tough because I'm still not used to M+, but yet at the same time it feels as though I'm still playing with the Wii remote. I guess a few more playtime hours should give me the perception and feel of what I should be doing.
Love the visual style.
Turned off the commentary track.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Are you in Europe? Because its supposed to be bundled with M+ in Europe(like the OP says )

If you're in Europe and its not bundled, then I will happily change the title.
& I didn't get the hang of M+ in this game either. I spend all my Wii time with TW right now, but I plan on perfecting GST at some point too.
Have you taken it online yet?

edit: I forgot that I complete deleted and changed the OP a while back when I added all the pics.
So I will change the title now to reflect that.

[Caliban]

I haven't tried online, but I will as soon as I can get me new rechargeable batteries because the current ones I have are almost dead.

[NWR_insanolord]

I played this for a while today and really enjoyed it, though so far I get how some people have said they're not sure if Motion+ is really doing much. Reviews are making me think I maybe should have gotten Virtua Tennis 2009 instead.

[tommyfusco]

Ok

heres some tips from the GST forums.

these helped me immensely.

please, hang with this game thru the ups and downs!

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/242348.page



I too, took out motion control, then got Po'd when the guy didn't get to the exact spots I wanted him too.
SO i got back to basics. destined to figure out the Motion Plus.

Any problems anyone is having, ask your questions here. I'll try to help as I have seem to have gotten over the storm.

[NWR_Neal]

Thanks for this. Hopefully I'll be able to figure this game out a little more instead of wanting to burn it at a stake.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Ok

heres some tips from the GST forums.

these helped me immensely.

please, hang with this game thru the ups and downs!

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/242348.page



I too, took out motion control, then got Po'd when the guy didn't get to the exact spots I wanted him too.
SO i got back to basics. destined to figure out the Motion Plus.

Any problems anyone is having, ask your questions here. I'll try to help as I have seem to have gotten over the storm.

Thanx for the link, but since most people here are lazy like myself, I'm gonna copy/paste the info .

I have collected a few thought by myself and others about achieving good control with WM+ , please add your own tips below.

Here goes:

-Be aware that the face of the (imaginary) racket is the side of the wiimote. That would mean that for the most part you want the wiimote to be parallel to the ground while you are swinging (i.e. the buttons are facing the ceiling). The index finger should be over the b button and the thumb should be over the a button.

-if you seem to only be able to backspin/topspin the issue is likely with your wrist on the follow through - you are twisting it. Go to the practice court and work on that.

-if you seem to only be able to slice you need to work on keeping your swing level. Trust me, its possible to hit straight - go to the practice court and work on that.

-use defined swings (this is not wii sports tennis were you can just waggle, you really need to bring you arm back). This may sound like a given but it is actually one of the hardest things to realize if you have gotten used to wii sports tennis.

-start your swing as early as possible (just when the ball has been hit by your opponent, and you have determined what direction it is going to go), and follow through when the ball has reached you. Mastering this ability will markedly improve your game,and you will also have less instances where the WM+ is confused about if you are trying a backhand or a forehand.

-when you are waiting for the other guy to serve hold the wiimote still and parallel to the ground, don't worry about what your on screen character is doing.

-serving in GST is not 1:1 - it is the same as wii sports tennis. You swing the wiimote when the ball is at its apex. You can control the direction of the serve (while the ball is in the air) using the d-pad.

- you can only do lobs and drops using the a and b buttons.

Additional tip a few people have suggested:

- return your racket hand to the middle of your body after each shot.



daithiblair's tip:
Go to the practice court, plug in the nunchuck to give yourself full control of the character. If you prefer to play without the nunchuck during actual matches, that is fine, but when on the practice court you want to place your character where you want and know that AI wont interfere. This way you know the only thing affecting your character's movement is the wiimote +. Set the ball machine to slow, serving up only flat shots to your forehand. Bring the raquet back and deliver controlled swings across your body. Instead of trying to hit a specific part of the court. Simply use consistent swings until the ball bounces in the same place, or at least close to the same spot every time you swing. Once you know where your hitting the ball to, try to hit specific parts of the court. remember consistancy and control, not power, are the most important aspects of the swing.

[NWR_Neal]

I spent a good hour or so last night following these tips and I had a lot less trouble with it. I still am annoyed with the ridiculously high barrier for entry. It looks like EA doesn't understand the fundamental rule of Wii Sports (easy to pick up and play) with GST and to a lesser extent, Tiger Woods.

I still have issues with my player going across court and getting into a near impossible backhand shot when I'm ready with the more realistic forehand.

Right now this game went from being the spawn of the devil to passably ok in my book.

[tommyfusco]

I spent a good hour or so last night following these tips and I had a lot less trouble with it. I still am annoyed with the ridiculously high barrier for entry. It looks like EA doesn't understand the fundamental rule of Wii Sports (easy to pick up and play) with GST and to a lesser extent, Tiger Woods.

I still have issues with my player going across court and getting into a near impossible backhand shot when I'm ready with the more realistic forehand.

Right now this game went from being the spawn of the devil to passably ok in my book.

nron, glad to see the game has gotten a bit more enjoyable for you.
it is a tough steep learning curve, i think Ea didnt want to make it easy, there is an option to take out motion plus and play with no nunchuk, which makes it very forgiving.

But there are loads of tennis fans looking for a closer representation of the subtle pro actions that is done in tennis.

for a debut, this is a very good game.
i cant wait to see how far along it is when its in the same itineration as Virtua Tennis is at now.

Hang in there nron!

try to think of the controller as an extension of your hand.

any questions ask away.

[NWR_Neal]

To be fair, I don't find the MotionPlus-less controls to be much better. It's like a crappy Wii Sports.

While there are loads of tennis fans, there are also loads of non-tennis fans, casual tennis fans, or Wii Sports tennis fans that will probably just want to burn things when they try this game for the first time.

This all gets back to my original issue when I first tried out MotionPlus. Is this new layer of "realistic" control fun? It seems like these new-fangled motion controls just makes games more difficult.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Motion+ elevates simplistic casual motion controls to demanding non-casual motion play.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Realism =/always/= Fun.

Sometimes its more fun to actually do it in real life.

But now that I have a guide on how to play this game, I guess I'll give it a second try.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Eurogamer reversed their score of this game after finally figuring out how to play it.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/grand-slam-tennis-review

And in Grand Slam Tennis's case, they may be entirely moot, for this is a game which absolutely requires a WMP to unlock its potential. Despite our initial - and entirely incorrect - reservations and problems with Grand Slam Tennis, our re-assessment of EA's new brand couldn't really contrast more heavily. Far from being "crippled by unintuitive controls", the reality is that it's beautifully intuitive, and just about shades Virtua Tennis 2009 on Wii by simply having a more satisfying feel to it. It might feel a little lightweight as an all-round package, but as a multiplayer game it's hard to top. It's a close-run thing, but as far as tennis titles go right now, this sits right at the top of the pile, and is a cracking advert for the Wii MotionPlus.

8/10

[BeautifulShy]

I'm curious what they gave it before.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Hmm, I'm waiting before I buy this one.  Reviews are all over the place right now.  Eurogamer gave it a 5/10 and had this to say:

Grand Slam Tennis is an underwhelming representation of tennis, crippled by unintuitive controls, and just makes you want to go back to the precision of Top Spin or Virtua Tennis on a control pad. You can't blame Wii MotionPlus for this failure, because it's almost impossible to tell whether it's helping or hindering. What you can say is that Grand Slam Tennis isn't very good either way. Bring on Wii Sports Resort.

5/10

Hopefully, Tiger's reviews are more consistent.

According to impressions from IGN & an interview with EA themselves, it seems more like Eurogamer had a case of user error.

It doesn't help a great deal, either, that the player you create is a bit of a chump at the start. Beginning with a zero-star rating, the only way to improve is to beat opponents - either in one-off matches or through tournaments. Winning points and games (even when you lose the match) will eventually contribute to your star rating, but the problem is just that - winning games is disproportionately and unfathomably tough.

As something of a tennis gaming veteran, I kicked off on the game's medium level to see how I got on, but was forced to drop it down simply to see if I'd fare any better. The difference was minimal, and, again, the problem was nearly always down to actual shot-placement rather than fierce AI. In the heat of a lengthy rally, you might be doing fine, but one misread shot and you're another point down. If that happens a couple of times in a game, you're not only left frustrated, but probably defeated. The AI hardly ever makes mistakes. Being able to unlock special moves, such as Serena Williams' serve, by beating them in one-off matches is largely inconsequential when the outcome of so many matches is apparently random.

Soiunds like the reviewer wasn't as much of a veteran as he thought. Appeared to be too challlenging for him.

[NWR_Neal]

There is a definite trick to this game, but the barrier for entry is so high and so frustrating that I couldn't really recommend this game to anyone besides hardcore tennis video game fans.

I can now actually win while I play the game, but I'm not having a lot of fun. Hell, I might be getting tennis elbow or something.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Funny thing is, I was winning when I was using M+ from the start, but it was so frustrating to have to recalibrate the the controller every 15 seconds because my character would spaz out and miss what should've been an easy shot. Yet I still won 2 of my first 3 matches in the Grand Slam Challenge.

I really wanted to have fun, but I was so concentrated on how I would make a movement and the onscreen character would not do what I was trying to make him do, that it became overly frustrating making it impossible to have fun. The day after I bought it is the last time I played it, but I will give it another shot now that I have some gameplay guidelines.

[NWR_Neal]

I still think having it be neccessary to read a guide to play this game is ridiculous. It could've been covered in a training mode or something. Maybe they could've splurged and had 15 pages in the manual instead of four.