With Wimbledon in full swing over in jolly old England, I figured it was high time for the second “Head 2 Head” feature.

This feature will pit the two new tennis games touting WiiMotionPlus controls against each other to see who takes the match.  On one side of the court, The next installment in SEGA’s venerable Virtua Tennis series: Virtua Tennis 2009. On the other side of the court, an upstart newcomer: EA’s Grand Slam Tennis. This review will be one set, one game. Ready? Play!

GRAPHICS

Which game’s graphics you prefer will depend on how you like your player to look. Virtua Tennis 2009 features realistic looking players and a scale sized ball. The courts are nicely drawn as well. Grand Slam Tennis opts for a more stylized “deformed” for it’s player models. However, it is still easy to recognize your favorite stars. In addition, the courts have been amazingly accurately recreated. All four Grand Slam venues are recreated in their entirety, including the smaller courts. There is no clear winner here, as both games have exceptional graphics, especially considering the fact that they are Wii games.  15-15 TIED

CONTROLS

Here’s where the difference between the two games emerges. Virtua Tennis uses the WiiMotionPlus to enhance the standard controls, giving you more control over the shots. However, it is NOT true 1:1 movement, as the WiiMotionPlus is designed to provide. The controls are not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Some of the shot types, however, require complicated positioning of the Wiimote. This, quite frankly, takes away from the fun of playing the game. Grand Slam Tennis, by contrast, is probably the best game you could pick to demonstrate full WiiMotionPlus 1:1 control. It is literaly as simple as this:  you swing the Wiimote and the character on screen swings his or her racquet. In fact, the character can even move the racquet when waiting for their opponent to serve. The only frustration for some will be that whatever your swing is like in real life, that is what it will be like in the game. THAT IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION! This game will teach you to swing better! Movement in both games is automatic if there is no Nunchuk attached. If you prefer to control the movement yourself, simply attach the Nunchuk to the bottom slot on the WiiMotionPlus. The full 1:1 motion control is the difference here, and it is a big one. 30-15  GRAND SLAM TENNIS

CAREER MODE

Both games have a robust and satisfying Career Mode, that requires you to create a player. Viruta Tennis starts you at the bottom of the ladder, after selecting a home base. You scroll around the world choosing different challenges and tournaments. As you win tournaments, you move up the ranks and can enter more prestigious tournaments. Grand Slam Tennis throws you right into the action. You begin playing at the Australian Open. YOu first play several warmup matches on the tournaments, som against tennis legends. Winning these matches get you extra abilities you can use to enhance your player. Winning all of the challenges opens a bonus match. After that, it’s on to the actual Australian Open. Win each match to proceed in the tournament. Lose a match, and it’s on to the next Grand Slam. You won’t have an opportunioty at the Australian Open title again until next year. The ultimate object is to win all four Grand Slam Tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open) in one year, becoming Grand Slam Champion. There is no contest here. Grand Slam Tennis is the only game that allows you to play at Wimbledon. 40-15  GRAND SLAM TENNIS

EXTRAS

These games are both full of extras to keep you coming back.  Virtua Tennis features an online career mode, in addition there are a slew of entertaining and really fun mini-games. Also, Virtua Tennis has an exclusive license to feature the Davis Cup tournament, which is a contest between teams representing different countries of the world. It features singles and double matches. With Grand Slam Tennis, the extras are also awesome. First off, Grand Slam Tennis is the only tennis game to feature boith Wimbledon and John McEnroe, who is making his video game debut. But, EA went a step further, getting the real athletic companies to join on, supplying their names and trademarks. In addition, you can play all four Grand Slam Courts for the first time. Also, actual audio of the line judges and chair umpires has been recorded and is venue sepcific. For example, at the Freench Open, all of the line calls and umpire speech is in French. In addition, there is also limited commentary from legendary player Pat Cash. This creates a level of realism never before available. In addition, there are twelve multiplayer mini-games and online play. Also included is a fitness mode that allows to track the calories you burn per match and set fitness goals for yourself. All of the extras really ace it for Grand Slam Tennis. GAME< SET AND MATCH: GRAND SLAM TENNIS!

Now, don’t get me wrong, Virtua Tennis is, on it’s own merits, a fantastic game. But, it is not better than Grand Slam Tennis.  In terms of review score, Virtua Tennis hits 4 winners out of 5. Grand Slam Tennis aces a 5 out of 5. Congratulations to EA for a job well done in this first game of, I hope, many in this series.