'something completely different'
 Developer: Rockstar Games -San Diego
Publisher: 2K Games
Category: : table tennis
Platform: X-Box 360
Might look like: /
Date posted: 23 August 2006
Written By: Ian
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Famous company, dodgy idea?
Back when this game was announced in January of this year, there was, frankly, an 'interesting' reaction.
IGN made it public they had a big 360 announcement to make, and internet forums chattered eagerly with expectation. What was it to be? Some guessed Goldeneye on the arcade with online capabilities, others a new Killer Instinct. Still more speculated about GTA; at least they got the company right.
Instead, the gaming world dropped its jaw at the birth of "Table Tennis" ... oh yeah, from those famous sports developers, Rockstar, that have made great sports games like ... well ... none actually.
At least Rockstar have a pedigree associated with them, having created Midnight Club and GTA to name two awesome game franchises.
However, most, including myself, were undoubtedly suspicious that table tennis could be implemented well.
Single player ... face melting speed
But, for a mere £25 with my student discount, I could not help but want to try the game, especially at such an awesome price.
Now, after having put a good 10 hours into the game, I can say that it was very much worth that price; also worth the RRP, but £50, no.
The single player lacks any features that have come to be expected from the sports genre.
There is no career, the training is very basic and there are no minigames.
There is also no option to play doubles, which is very disappointing. In fact, there are just four single player tournaments.
Furthermore, in a clear attempt to alleviate the brevity of options and make the single player more lengthy, Rockstar have made the AI fiendishly difficult. I am yet to complete the third tournament, despite about, oooh, 97 tries in the semi-final.
At least you can restart any game without penalty to lessen the frustration, but considering the fact that I have quite a high rank online, it is clearly not just me having this problem; indeed, I expect many are suffering more than I am.
The game is therefore way too hard, and I would rather, for once, have a slightly easier game, despite the current trend for sprawling but easy games.
  
Play that Game
The gameplay itself is excellent, particularly the rumble feature.
This is a neat and innovative touch. Depending on where you aim your shots, the controller will vibrate; if it starts to rumble away violently, then you will probably miss, so you can compensate back somewhat. It is easy to learn; frankly I am surprised that no-one had thought of it before.
The way the game adds tension to long rallies is also excellent.
However, the characters seem very unbalanced, and this can be seen online, where no-one but newcomers play as Cassidy or Lui Ping, who look on paper the best, but their jack-of-all-trades stats leave them open to the specialist techniques of the other players.
Therefore, most online players use either Jesper (power) Kumi (spin) or Mark (power/accuracy), which is a shame, because the character list for a budget title is decent enough.
Gorgeous Graphics
However, if you do not destroy your Xbox360 in frustration, you are in for a truly next-gen graphical treat.
Player models are excellent; crisp and detailed, with good clothing and hair movement. They get sweaty as the game goes on, although this reaches a saturation point, which is odd, because no-one ever gets really drenched, which after some of the 100-shot rallies you will be soon pulling off is kind of surprising.
Events get really cool when both players are in focus mode, as the game goes into a bullet time effect on the outside, yet the rallies get faster than ever. The court also gets very dark, apart from the table and players, which become brightly lit; the whole ensemble works very well.
The animation is very lifelike, and the courts, whilst lacking in detail and imagination, are again very crisp, although it would be nice to see more of the crowd, who seem to make an appearance only in the replays, which whilst cinematic, are too long, and there is no fast forward option.
The sound however, is basic to say the least. Whilst it helps to build tension in long rallies with music that rises, there is no commentary, and the crowd and umpire sound uninterested. The players make a few noises and phrases, but nothing special.
The music is bland techno of the kind that makes you turn to the custom soundtrack option fairly swiftly; while the music is licensed, it is a very sub-par selection for a Rockstar title, who normally use music to great effect, like Michael Mann does in his movies.
  
Multiplayer Madness
Multiplayer is where the meat of this game is however.
Despite the fact that only a handful of characters are generally used, this doesn't stop the game from coming into its own.
Setting up matches is pain free, the lobby system works pretty well and there is a server list too which really helps. In game, there has been virtually no lag on my 2MB connection, which is excellent, as Perfect Dark Zero has been the only other consistently good game online so far on the 360.
When there is a small spike however, it can shock you into losing a point. Rather than slowing the game down, like in Topspin 2, the other player stands still, but the ball is magically returned, which makes returning the shot very tricky. However, this has only happened only 3-4 times in 20 matches even on my pretty average connection, so don't let this put you off, as 99% of the time has been pure enjoyment.
When played with an 8MB connection, these problems, slight already, were virtually non-existent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, "Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis" is an excellent game, but one that can only truly be recommended if you are a gold subscriber to Xbox live.
The single player is way too shallow and disappointing to make this worthwhile if you do not or cannot play online. I would also not go so far as to say that this game would warrant the subscription alone, although it is a great deal of fun.
If you already have gold, then you are in for a multiplayer gem that is well worth the price charged for admission, but it is a good thing that the game is so cheap; as it is neither good enough nor long enough to warrant £50 spent upon it.
-Ian
Ratings
Manual:
/ % |
Graphics:
91% |
Music & Sfx:
48% |
GamePlay:
81% |
|
This game scores
on our 5-point Rating System
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