Grand Slam Tennis 2 Initial Reviewer Impressions

[bakan723]

So what's the best tennis game out ? I'm pretty unfamiliar with the new tennis games. Last one I was into was on the Sega Genesis.

[Scottsomnia]

I just played my first 2 games with the move and thought it was really fun
Plenty of unforced errors and balls going out

[bomccready]

killer miller & Scottsomnia, I should note that I'm reviewing the game on the 360. When you're using the Move, do you and the CPU hit the ball out, or just you? On the 360, I hit the ball out and into the net plenty - it's the CPU that doesn't. If it's more realistic with the Move, though, that's great news.

[crashjbv]

I actually couldn't disagree with this review more, and i'll thoroughly explain my reasoning. I could be way off, but based on you're review, I don't feel like you've really given this game much time.

To be fair, though, I will say that when I played the demo, I thought this game was going to be terrible. Moreover, i'm about as harsh of a critic as you could find as i played collegiate tennis, and am a 4.5 tennis player. While I will still say that TS4 may offer the best tennis sim to date, GST2 has enough to it that makes it as good of an overall experiance.

First and foremost, if you play on the second hardest difficulty, it's a fantastic experiance. I just finished playing the grand slam classic between Justin Henin and Anna Ivanovich, and it turned into a 3 setter with stats that accurately represented an actual tennis experience more than any video game i've ever played. The computer finished the match with 20-something errors while i finished with 15. While that's not staggering, i've played a 5 setter on top spin 4 and had maybe two unforced errors. maybe in the easier levels of this game that won't happen, however, to say that the computer never hits the ball out is a completely unfair critique.

Aside from that, if you are a true hardcore tennis fan, the fact that create a character has an intense selection of actual equipment (double the ammount seen in top spin 4) will really stand out to you. From every brand of head band or bandana, to almost every major racket brand, and 4 to 5 different outfits for each professional player, it's easily the most realistic representation of the presentation of professional tennis.

Yes, the game has some flaws. The forehand animation is pretty weak, nadal doesn't hit one handed backhands, the first year of you're career is really easy, I get it. But keep in mind, this is basically EA's first ever attempt at a real tennis game. I would hate to think that if enough people read inaccurate reviews, they will chose to not make another game. EA Sports MMA was actually a decent game, and had alot to build on... but because of poor reviews and poor sales, it's likely that they will never make another one. I really hope this does not happen with this game because i feel like another year could produce an incredible game.

If you are a big tennis person, this is a must buy IMO. Playing on court 16 at the french open really has that early round of a grand slam feel. Playing center court at wimbledon with federer vs nadal while not perfect, is as fun as i've ever had in a tennis game. In closing, I think comparing top spin 4 and ea tennis is totally unfair. Both offer alot of good and alot of bad. However, if you like tennis, you need to pick this up.

[crashjbv]

And let me say, I don't mean to say you're review is bad or that you haven't played it. Hell, maybe you've spent hours with it. I just know that going in, I simply bought it because i'm a die hard tennis guy and i'll pick up anything that is put out. I had very low expectations after playing the demo for at least an hour. I just know that after spending a couple of days with it, it totally exceeded the expectations I had for it. Give the espn classic a try on one of the harder levels, especially on clay, and I truly believe you may have a different opinion.

[killer miller31]

Quote: Originally Posted by bomccready

killer miller & Scottsomnia, I should note that I'm reviewing the game on the 360. When you're using the Move, do you and the CPU hit the ball out, or just you? On the 360, I hit the ball out and into the net plenty - it's the CPU that doesn't. If it's more realistic with the Move, though, that's great news.

i dont believe they had more errors but i cant test that now because my move no longer works so =\ but yeah i dont think the cpu had more unforced errors...i have just heard some people say even the human player doesnt get unforced errors so i was just pointing that out.

[bomccready]

Quote: Originally Posted by crashjbv

And let me say, I don't mean to say you're review is bad or that you haven't played it. Hell, maybe you've spent hours with it. I just know that going in, I simply bought it because i'm a die hard tennis guy and i'll pick up anything that is put out. I had very low expectations after playing the demo for at least an hour. I just know that after spending a couple of days with it, it totally exceeded the expectations I had for it. Give the espn classic a try on one of the harder levels, especially on clay, and I truly believe you may have a different opinion.

crashjbv, thanks for the comments! This was an "Initial Impressions" piece based on the first few hours of play, not the full review, which will run soon. I'm glad you're seeing unforced errors on harder difficulty levels. I'm still not, but I'll accept that maybe there's something about my play style that's affecting what I see.

I also agree completely that another year could produce "an incredible game." I'm also a very harsh critic of tennis games (I'm not a 4.5, but I've played a lot and also coached a few years), so I might be a little too critical. But my overall impressions of the game are more good than bad, as you'll see when the full review runs.

[SteelerSpartan]

I haven't seen one vid on youtbube yet that doesn't reinforce all the negatives from the demo(In terms of Sim Perspective)

-Cpu Hardly ever misses a 1st serve
-Net Hugging out the endo
-No stamina drain
-Nadal x5 Speed for practically every player
-1 Handed Back Hands
-Unforced errors at a Premium



^^^Looks like the same Demo Gamelplay to me....and that might be ok for some...It was for me for the 1st week and a half that I played the demo but the more I played the more shallow and predictable it became..

Hope this game doesn't go the way of NCAA Basketball 10 and gets a good patch that at least makes the Superstar level more sim and challenging/True to life....