Review: RockStar presents Table Tennis - Wii Pong?

Mike Bantick
Monday, 03 December 2007 15:49

Opinion and Analysis

From the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt comes a refined and loving approach to a gentler way of life, Table Tennis makes the leap from button pushing on the Xbox 360 to the motion detection controls of the Wii.

RockStar Games presents Table Tennis for the Wii is a difficult game to talk about.

RockStar presents Table Tennis
	Developer	RockStar
	Publisher	RockStar
	Rating	G
Xbox 360, Reviewed on Wii

On one hand you have a obviously lovingly created sports game that has been created to try and squeeze as much authenticity into a sports simulation as possible, but on the other you have a title that may not contain the depth of options required to capture a broad market.

RockStar Games may not care too much about the latter part of the paragraph above.  Already they have made their name with the extremely popular GTA series, and have also found Table Tennis to be a hit on the Xbox 360 last year.

But on the Wii, games such as Table Tennis have a chance to shine.  The motion sensing Wii-mote has been such a hit, especially with the debut Wii Sports, that we should expect more titles like this to hit the shelves over the next few years.

Table Tennis offers a number of players to choose from a number of avatar players and take to the intense world of championship Ping Pong.

Like all good Wii games, the game is pick up and play.  In the Wii version you have three different styles of controls from "control freak" to "sharp shooter" though essentially the game plays the same.

I would have liked to have seen even more made of the Wii-mote control system, as it stands it is a matter of swinging the controller at the right time, with the motion determining the placement of the ball, swing left and up for a deep shot to the left.  Pressing the directional pad controls spin.

There are also focus shots - giving a larger likely hood of making that difficult return.

As a rally progresses, a players skill can increase to make power shots or further spin control easier.

On the easy levels, any player of Wii Sports Tennis will do okay, but as the game progresses things become a bit more "sweaty" with some rallies topping out at 200 passes over the net.  The music will pump along with each rally, and really build the pressure as the point reaches its zenith.

The Wii gains on controller use in such a game, but loses to the Xbox 360 in having no online play.  It also loses out on the somewhat subdued graphical presentation.  The 11 different characters and multitude of venues come across as somewhat lack lustre.

But in the thick of the action, it doesn't matter; it is all about the spin, power, placement and sweat of a close intense game of ping pong.

Then there is the other argument that will be thrown at fans, for the price of a Wii and RockStar's Table Tennis you could get a heck of a real table tennis table and equipment.