Each tournament begins with a warm-up match against a fellow fictional rookie of average ability. The career involves travelling to each of the four Grand Slam tournaments and attempt to achieve the Grand Slam by winning every tournament. Grand Slam mode allows players to embark on a career with their created player. The player is able to select their venue, and to choose settings such as set length, number of sets, difficulty and the option of a tie-break. This mode is available for both single and multiplayer forms of play. Play Now is a mode allows players to enter either a singles or doubles match. Grand Slam Tennis offers 12 different authentic stadiums from all four Grand Slam venues to play in, and is the first video game since Top Spin 2 to feature a licensed Wimbledon. Pat Cash serves as the commentator even when he is playing in a match. Up to nine players can be created at any one time. The player can customize their created player with branded clothing, racquet styles, accessories and physical appearance. In the "Create-A-Player" mode, players can create their own unique player for use in all modes of the game. It also includes a "Create-A-Player" mode. EA’s return serve of 2K’s Top Spin 4 is good enough to hold its own in the battle for on-court supremacy.Grand Slam Tennis features 23 total players, including 10 retired legends and 13 of today's top players at the time of the game's release.
The smooth presentation as well as the game’s entertaining modes are brought down by the roster, which in this reviewer’s opinion, is severely lacking. Between the Grand Slam Classics mode, the inclusion of Wimbledon and the two types of control schemes, Grand Slam Tennis 2 has something for tennis fans of varying degree. The good thing about the commentary is that neither Cash nor McEnroe speak while the ball is in play, adding to the authenticity of the game.įinal Thoughts: Grand Slam Tennis 2 is a wide-reaching title. John McEnroe and Pat Cash provide the in-match commentary, which does tend to get a tad bit repetitive. The graphics are smooth and the partnering with ESPN makes the in-game replays and presentation some of the best we have seen in a tennis title to-date. The game’s presentation, as we have come to expect with EA titles, is flawless. Each shot is based on the direction and movement of the right thumbstick, which makes things a bit more difficult when returning a 150 mph serve from Andy Roddick.īoth control systems provide for an enjoyable experience, but more often than not, I found myself defaulting to the arcade controls when playing. These controls are similar to what you see in the simulation giant’s NHL stick controls. For those who want a more realistic tennis experience, EA has introduced Total Racquet controls. The arcade–style controls simply assign a different type of shot to each face button and you will rely more on timing than anything else. The game’s controls are simple to use and offer a balance between an arcade-style scheme and a more simulation-style scheme. As you progress, your player’s skills will increase and you will become one of tennis’ elite. Throughout your career you will have ten goals to accomplish as well as 10 additional goals for each individual year. You will guide your created character through a 10-year career, featuring two events leading up to each Grand Slam tournament. The game does feature a deep, albeit sometimes repetitive career mode. A larger roster would have truly separated Grand Slam Tennis 2 from its biggest competition, last year’s Top Spin 4. The inclusion of tennis legends such as Borg, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport is definitely a plus, but the fact that there are only 23 total players (15 male, eight female) to select from is nothing short of a disappointment. Unfortunately, after bringing up one of the game’s best modes, I need to discuss Grand Slam Tennis 2’s biggest flaw: The roster. Once the player unlocks and completes each match, they can go in and play as either athlete in a free-play mode. The fantasy matches are Grand Slam Tennis’ way of ending age-old tennis debates such as who would win in a match at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal or Bjorn Borg. In the game’s Grand Slam Classics mode, players will have the opportunity to recreate 25 different matches, five each from the 1980’s, 90’s, 00’s, All-Time and even Fantasy matches. While the addition of Wimbledon is a major perk, the game does a great job of immersing the player in the history of the game.
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