Featured Video Game /‘Grand Slam Tennis’
Take ‘waggle’ out of Wii, put rocket in your racket
‘Grand Slam Tennis’ (with Wii MotionPlus) EA; Wii; $49.99 ESRB Rating: Everyone (6+) ★★★★½ out of 5
If you haven’t yet heard of Wii MotionPlus, it’s a little, white $20 dongle that snaps to the bottom of a standard Wiimote. New sensor technology embedded within offers (not quite) “true” one-to-one motion detection six ways to Sunday.
The accessory adds a couple of inches and a couple of ounces to the hand-held Wii-mote, but the added control enhancement is massive.
In short, MotionPlus takes the “waggle” out of Wii. Or can, if developers choose to assume you own one. If not, they can develop games with an option to play with or without the new snap-in technology.
Such is the case with Electronic Arts’ new “Grand Slam Tennis,” a bang-on tennis simulation with MotionPlus, a lackadaisical wagglefest without.
Without Wii MotionPlus, “Grand Slam Tennis” is just a typical Wii tennis game, albeit one featuring marquee characters like Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal, and legends like John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
But with the expected selection of game modes, unremarkable, cute and slightly cartoony graphics in lieu of the photo-realism that the high-def consoles deliver, and the familiarity of well-timed twitches in lieu of actual racket emulation, “Grand Slam Tennis” without MotionPlus is better described as “Grand Twitch” or “Wafting Slam” tennis.
Play it with Wii MotionPlus, on the other hand, and you’ll want to glue that dongle on there with the permanence of eternity and vow to never play a “waggle fest” again.
It’s that good; not totally “one-to-one” exactly, but appreciably interpretive of racket rotation and a stand-up swing, smash, lob or backhand—albeit weightless and a bit “whiffy” for it.
Of course, that also makes “Grand Slam Tennis” very hard if you don’t know boo about tennis, or the nuances of a good grip and a deft smack.
Fortunately, MotionPlus also makes the game’s gaggle of otherwise worthless mini-games totally worthful, er, worthwhile.
Without MotionPlus, for example, practice mode with a ball launcher is an exercise in sit-there-and-twitch. With MotionPlus, however, standing up against a launcher is a great way to hone your tennis skills and strategies—and it’s a pretty addictive workout to boot.
On top of that, of course, are numerous modes supporting one to four players, online play, party gaming, custom-character creations, leaderboards and the like.
Better still, the learning curve for “Grand Slam Tennis” and its MotionPlus subtleties isn’t too severe.
Footwork, furthermore, can be set to fully automated (Wii Sports-style), control with the d-pad on the Wii-mote or by way of the nunchuck thumbstick if attached. The average gamer should get a playable handle on it in about an hour . . . a winnable handle, maybe a lifetime.
JumpStart Sport Travel Charger
DigiPower; portable devices; $49.99 ★★★★ out of 5
Until someone invents a technology that pulls electricity from spare brainwaves, every portable technogizmo yet made needs to jack in to a power source to recharge.
Usually, that’s a wall outlet, though slow-tech options like mini solar panels and hand-crank generators are available.
So is the JumpStart Sport Travel Charger, which is a faster and simpler solution.
Basically, it’s a rechargeable, 2200mAh Lithium Ion (Li-ion) battery that will transfer power to the rechargeable battery in any given hand-held device.
Housed in half a handful of (optionally colorful) curvaceous stylishness, it fits nicely in your pocket, hangs on a key fob or sits tidily in the included belt-clip pouch.
The JumpStart Sport is innately compatible with all USB to USB-charged devices, assuming you have the original cord, but it also comes with seven different adapters suited to the proprietary plugs of the most popular hand-helds, i. e. iPhone, Blackberry, et al.
Sadly, that does not include a plug for the Nintendo DS or DSi, which only come with special wall chargers, and DigiPower currently offers no third-party adapter. That’s a pity.
The PlayStation Portable (PSP), on the other hand, does have a USB/DC power cord available (courtesy of Sony), so you’re in luck in that case, because JumpStart Sport is all about the USB.
The JumpStart Sport itself is recharged via USB or an AC-to-USB adapter (included, and handy for USB power to any other device, too).
It holds enough juice to recharge a typical cell phone or little MP3 player three times; a bigger device, like a dead PSP, once (requires about three hours). Conveniently, there’s also an onboard gauge displaying just how much power is left in the thing.
Utilizing separate power in/out USB ports, you can recharge both the JumpStart Sport and the device connected to it at the same time.
Reportedly, JumpStart Sport can be used up to 500 times and will hold an unused charge for a year.
While back-up battery solutions are a no-brainer, Jump- Start Sport Travel Charger stands out for ease of use, portability and flat-out style.
Donate old games, systems to charity
If you’ve got some old games or game systems kicking around, consider donating them to charity. After all, EB Games might give you a whole $4 in store credit, but that’s not always worth your time.
Instead, a newly launched charity called Pixel Equity (www.pixelequity.org) is asking for donations of used games, game systems and, of course, cold, hard cash.
The not-for-profit organization works with youth centers that serve children from households unable to afford video games. Making a game out of game donations, Pixel Equity contributors can choose a game archetype avatar—warrior, cleric, mage, etc.—for posting on Facebook (or wherever), thus showing just how much you don’t need EB’s lousy $4 for that old copy of “Roof Poodle II.”
Ask the expert
Having troubles with your game? Post questions on Shaun Conlin’s message board at www.ageofplay.com/forum. Responses may also appear here in the coming weeks.
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