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Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Xbox 360)

By Michael J. Catania on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 3:30 PM EST  

Rockstar Table Tennis
I never thought that one of the 360’s prime sports games would be the simulation of a sport I spent my youth playing in my basement: ping pong. Yet, Rockstar, the rebel studio behind the Grand Theft Auto series, has given us Table Tennis, one of the most intriguing and original sports simulations released in years. Whether or not Rockstar has succeeded in harnessing the fun and depth of real life table tennis is the question worth discovering.

“Innovative” is the key word I would use when describing Table Tennis. As far as I know, this is the only ping pong game ever sold to the mainstream gaming audience other than the classic Pong—that is, if you consider Pong to be a dumbed down version of table tennis. It appears that Rockstar, a pioneer in the open-ended action genre, also wants to be a pioneer in the sports genre. For $40, they did a decent job of adding their own twisted flavor to the sports videogame world. But innovation does not necessarily guarantee quality.

Let’s delve a little deeper into the price of the game and Rockstar’s motivation for making Table Tennis. In my opinion, 40 bucks seems like a fair price to ask for this brand new 360 game. Allow me to make it clear that I would not pay more than $40 for Table Tennis—there are too many features missing to make this game a complete one (don’t worry, I will alert you to its insufficiencies momentarily).

Since TT’s inception, Rockstar has announced that the same engine that powers its new ping pong game will be used by the next Grand Theft Auto game that will be appearing on both the 360 and the PS3. This message begs the question—is the $40 Table Tennis a game in its own right, or is it simply a test run for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto?
The answer to that question can only be conjecture, however, I will say this: The graphics in TT are impressive; I’m interested in seeing if Grand Theft Auto IV can exploit the same engine.

You may be wondering how gracefully the strokes of the paddle are converted to a 360 controller. The control scheme is not too complex and gives the player surprising control of the shot he wishes to make. The left thumb stick governs the movement of the player as well as the placement of the shot. Twiddling the right thumb stick or press the A, B, X, or Y buttons to change the spin of the shot. There are four choices of spin: Topspin, backspin, sidespin to the right, and sidespin to the left. Two types of spins can be combined to ferment a double spin shot, which can be more effective. The power or force behind every shot is controlled by how long the button or the thumb stick is held down. A quick tap will yield a weak volley, while a lengthy squeeze will result in an overly strong shot—one likely to land off the table. Believe me, this stuff is not rocket science.

However, utilizing the trigger and shoulder buttons, which control “focus shots,” requires some savvy. Touching the right shoulder button opens up a focus shot, which is slightly more powerful than a regular shot. Now, if you add up enough focus shots, you can pull either trigger to activate “full focus mode.” For a few seconds, full focus mode will give each of your shots that extra something so as to win the volley.

Music is an essential immersive factor in all games–Table Tennis is no exception. After the 10th rally of every point, a catchy little techno beat commences. I remember thoroughly enjoying this beat the first few times it popped up, but I quickly realized that the same tune looped over and over again. Music, I think, would have been a great place for Table Tennis to firmly make its mark, but, sadly, its techno beats don’t quite make it over the net.

On the other hand, the game’s sound effects are worth praising. Each and every shot sounds as though it was struck in reality. The ping…pong…ping…pong sound of each rally is accurately recreated by your 360. Crowd cheering doesn’t add much, but the announcer is great. Hilarity ensues when he insults you for taking too long to serve the ball (“We are waiting for the serve!”).

So, what is there to do in Table Tennis? An intuitive game must have some intuitive game modes, right? Not exactly. The single player “campaign” consists of a few repetitious tournaments against boring AI opponents. While not all that difficult, these tournaments will take some time to complete.

The fun of Rockstar’s newest child is had on XBOX Live. Here you can participate in epically long (read: epically long) battles for ping pong supremacy. Live is where Table Tennis will remind you of real life ping pong—sizzling slams, awkward spins, hectic movements, and, of course, the most important component, trash talking via your headset. All of this visual and heart stopping splendor will leave you laughing at the end of every point.

Are “lets” allowed? I would argue that for all the fun provided by Table Tennis, there are essential faults and missing possibilities that, if fixed, could have made Table Tennis great. First and foremost, Table Tennis is just too damn easy to learn well. The result? Most points played against a human opponent yield at least 25 rallies, with many ending after 50 or even 100 rallies. This makes for agonizingly long matches, even playing up to only 11 points.

Aside from the forever-ness of each multiplayer match, there are minute features, such as a player editor, that are mysteriously missing. Why must I confine myself to play as Liu Ping or another of his small array of companions? Why can’t I create myself in the game, especially since ping pong is a game us average Joes can excel at in real life? Given that I consider myself both a connoisseur of ping pong and a narcissistic bastard, this lack of a player editor is most distressing.

And, where are the other modes of gameplay? Granted, ping pong is a straightforward sport but that doesn’t mean I must be forced to play in repetitive tournaments or basic online matches. A little more creativity here would have paid big dividends.

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One Response to “Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Xbox 360)”

  1. khaled_real on November 16th, 2007 11:59 am

    hihhihi

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