It took me about two dozen tries to get out of the most basic “flat shot” class in “tennis school” because it kept interpreting my “flat shot” as either a slice or a topspin. The problem is, as you progress through the game the motion controls are way, way too finicky.
There’s an excellent part of the game called “Tennis School” that has written instructions on how to make each shot, and runs you through drills to test how well you understand them. You slice by moving the Move controller from high to low) and you do topspin by (which happens when you move the Move controller from low to high You can theoretically aim your shots the way you time your shots, position your racquet, and twist your wrist as you make shots. For example, the most basic shot, the flat shot, is done by starting and finishing the swing at the same height, swinging horizontally to the ground. Most of them feel pretty close to the real thing. On the good side, there are a a staggering number of different shots you can make based just on how you swing the controller and press the buttons. I’ve got good things and bad things to say about the gameplay itself on the Move. One slightly odd thing is that once you drag a Move controller and a Navigation controller to the same player, the two are linked together from that point on, and the only way to “unlink” them is to shut one of the controllers off. If you want to control the running via the Dualshock or the Move Navigation controller, just drag the Move controller and one of those controllers to the player. I’d definitely recommend this when you’re just beginning. If you want to have the system do the running and volleying for you, all you have to do is drag just the Move controller alone to the player you want. You assign a controller by dragging it to the player you want. You have a lot of options regarding which controllers to use. When you select Singles, you’ll be sent to a scrollable list of current tennis stars, from current players like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams to old-time players like John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert. If you plan on having two players, be sure at least two controllers (either Move or Dualshock) are turned on. With Play Now you can just right into a singles or doubles match. My Tennis: options include Settings, Save/Load/Delete, Profile Management, and EA Sports Extras.
I’ve been waiting for a tennis game that has the same “coolness” factor as Sports Champions Ping Pong, where you rotate your wrists and literally see your on-screen racquet rotate as well. And newer motion controls can detect everything from the angle you’re holding the controller to the amount of force you use to the intricate movements your wrists make during play.
After all, the way you grip a Wii remote or a PS3 Move controller is a lot like the way you grip a tennis racquet.
Of all the sports that make sense for motion controls, tennis perhaps makes the most sense.