Review - Grand Slam Tennis 2

Tennis has always been a vastly underrated game in our eyes. Sure, there’s the occasional increase in interest during the summer when Wimbledon rolls around, but that’s usually forgotten about within a few days after the inevitable rainclouds have settled in, and given that modern video games owe much of their early popularity to the sport (Pong anyone?) it’s always disappointing that more isn’t made of the sport on the small screen.

To be fair though, things have improved a bit in the last few years, thanks to the Top Spin and Virtua Tennis series’, but the one that really stood out for us when it was released in 2009 was EA Sports’ Grand Slam Tennis. Perhaps it was because it was the first Wii game to really show off what the Motion Plus add-on was capable of, or maybe it was simply because it was buckets of good old fashioned fun, but whatever it was, we were suitably impressed.

Despite the fact that the game did reasonably well, it we placed into hibernation for one reason or another, and hasn’t been let out to play again until now, some three years later – which is very unlike Electronic Arts, let’s be honest.

Given the fact that things have moved on a little since 2009, and that both Top Spin and Virtua Tennis have put in some impressive showings since, we were a little concerned that Grand Slam Tennis 2 would show signs of rustiness, but thankfully that hasn’t proven to be the case. Instead we’re treated to a wonderfully enjoyable romp on the court.



Much like every other tennis game in the world, Grand Slam Tennis 2’s features are split into a number of main gameplay modes. Play Now covers your “dive straight in” one off games, perfect for a quick game when you have your friends around (particularly since doubles is an option – and a mighty fun option at that).

The main one that most people are going to be concerned about is the game’s career mode. Career Mode offers the main bones of the single player experience within Grand Slam Tennis 2. Here you’ll have ten years to build your player up to become the best in the world by competing in tournaments, going through training drills and spending your XP points intelligently. You’ll start by either creating a player from scratch, or downloading your EA Game Face, which you can create online for use in the game.

The player creation aspect of the game is actually quite robust, and will offer you plenty of choices to help you tailor the on court embodiment of your real life self – or you can go crazy and create something completely outlandish, like we did. In fact, like we always do. In every single game. And it never gets old. It’s the simple things really, isn’t it.

The creation process itself is relatively fast, although it does suffer from annoying load times whenever you make a change, which can make it a little frustrating, particularly if you’re in a hurry to hit the court. A randomisation feature would certainly have been appreciated for this very reason, but for some reason EA has neglected to include it, which is a bit of a shame.



Once you’re you’ve got your character set up and ready to go, you’ll receive a brief introduction as to what is expected in order to succeed. The game is broken down into sets of two smaller tournaments followed by a Grand Slam event, and in order to get yourself onto the roster for the big ones, you’re going to need to show what you’re made of in the smaller competitions. Rather than viewing these tournaments as a nuisance, you’re as well going into them with intention of improving your character as you play. Solid performances, even if you don’t win everything, will ultimately allow your created character to grow into a much better all round player.

Before you’re able to jump into the action, you’re going to have the option of playing in a pre tournament, take a training session or play an exhibition match. Each option has its own benefits, and the decisions you make will ultimately determine how successful you are going to become during your career. We recommend a few training sessions first of all to let you get to grips with how the game plays.

There are a number of different training options to choose from, each carefully selected by John McEnroe to boost one facet of your play at a time and, to be honest, you’re going to need to work your way through them in order to really get a grasp of the game’s controls. It’s not that they’re difficult, in fact they’re actually quite straightforward, unfortunately things like aiming can prove to be a little bit counter intuitive at times, despite being quite elementary to this kind of game – or so we would have assumed.

You see, rather than using the face buttons of the controller to execute each different stroke, Grand Slam Tennis 2 instead opts to use the right analog stick as its main lynchpin of control, in a system known asTotal Racquet Control. Those of you who decide that you’d like games to be a little bit more straightforward can opt for the more tried and tested approach, but it’s not something we would recommend, given the sheer level of control offered by the new system. Spin, ball placement and stroke type are all just a flick away, and once you’ve gotten over the initial hurdles of familiarising yourself with everything, it plays like a dream.



The career mode’s difficulty curve is absolutely perfect. We started out on amateur difficulty, not really knowing if we would be able to cut it with the new control system, but found that we were winning right from the start. We emerged victorious in our first three tournaments, which included the Australian Open, before deciding to ramp things up a little in the difficulty stakes. The difference was certainly noticeable, and we went from cleaning up without losing more than a handful of sloppy points, to actually finding ourselves in real too and fro battles with our opponents. Whack things up another notch, and you’re really going to need to be at your very best if you’re going to have any chance of coming away with your dignity intact, never mind as champion!

If you're a genuine lover of tennis, then one of the other features that's really going to get you hot under the collar is EA's decision to feature a wide range of past and current pros in the game's roster. You'll be able to take on the likes of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Pat Cash, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tim Henman and countless others, making it a real stand out title for the lifelong fan.

Grand Slam Tennis 2’s real strength comes from the fact that it manages to find the right balance on almost all fronts. Players looking for a pick up and play experience are catered for, and won’t have to waste too much time learning the basics before being able to enjoy the game, while more experienced players, as well as those who want something a little bit deeper, will be able to probe everything that the game has to offer to their satisfaction.

Graphically the game looks great without being particularly stunning. It’s a tennis game after all, so there’s not really all that much you can do to make it stand out from the crowd. The important thing is that the controls are tight, the frame rate is high, and everything is smoother than a baby’s bottom; which it is. Mission accomplished EA!

Those of you looking to get stuck into the online side of things have plenty of options to choose from. You’ll be able to bring your created character into the fray in head to head matchups and online tournaments, while Grand Slam Corner lets you really show off your dominance (or lack thereof). On top of that you’ve got everything else that you have come to expect from an EA Sports title, from options to customisation.

Without wanting to really push the boat out in terms of puns, we cannot recommend Grand Slam Tennis 2 enough... wait for it... it’s ACE!

Sorry.