The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

That EA Grand Slam Tennis 2 sure is a tennis game, huh guys?

I mean, I like me some Tennis Games, to be sure. When I played Virtua Tennis 4, I was blown away (IGN.com) by how much fun I had. So I heard this was coming out with some sort of crazy stick controls, and people seem to think EA can make a sports game once and awhile, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Can I just say I hate the EA Sports way of doing things? I have not booted up an EA Sports game that I did not feel had a terrible menu and was completely uninviting. Grand Slam Tennis 2 is the first of these games on 360: you’d think they’d put more time into that shit. Then again, I guess they’re just expecting everyone to have played some other EA sports game at some point. I don’t know. Anyway, all the menus and shit are really not intuitive, and it will often throw like three screens of shit at you when it should really put all that info on one screen.

Once you get into the game, though, it’s fine, if not amazing, game of tennis. The “total racquet” control using the right stick is fine. It takes some getting used to, but it’s not a big deal. It also did feel kind of unique and got me into the game a little more. I never had anywhere near the control I have in a Virtua Tennis or Mario Tennis, though. I feel like I know those games well enough to always put the ball right where I wanted. I never quite got the hang of how to mix up my shots in this game. The game does offer button controls as well, but why am I not just playing Virtua Tennis at that point?

The campaign or whatever you call it tries to mix itself up by giving you little achievements during each match. It’ll be like “try to have a winner after a dive!” or something dumb like that. It also suggests you boost the number of sets you play per match in order to unlock more achievements. This is fucking insane. Anyone who has ever played a tennis game knows you do not want to play a virtual tournament where it takes more than one set to finish off a random player. It takes FOREVER otherwise. Save that stuff for the dramatic finals or something. Anyway, since these achievements did not always fit with my play style, I found them pretty dumb. I’m a rush the net power player, you know? I’m just not going to do some of those things, even on defense.

The commentary, too, was nice, but really repetitive. The first few games you play, it feels way, way better than normal commentary in a game like this. Very natural, and so on. McEnroe rambles on about strategy relating to what’s happening, and it feels super awesome. It’s like you really are playing a tennis game on TV! Except, again, when you lean heavily on one strategy like I like to do, there’s only so many things he has to say about power players who tend to rush the net. And once those are exhausted, which will happen before the end of your first tournament, I guarantee it, it’s not nearly as magical anymore.

If you want a Tennis game, buy Virtua Tennis 4. I bet it’s super cheap now, and that game rocks. I mean, I suppose EA Grand Slam Tennis 2 is a good first effort from EA. It’s certainly competent. But it lacks variety, and what it tries to do well, like the different controls and the commentary, just don’t hold up over long play sessions. It’s a shame, but it’s a good start, certainly.