Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis is an extremely solid game of ping pong from famed developer Rockstar. The gameplay is surprisingly solid and the character models are some of the best we have seen in a videogame yet. It is just too bad the rest of the package is so bare bones. The $40 price tag definitely works in Table Tennis’ favor, but I’m not convinced there is $40 worth of gameplay here.
Quick Hits
- Title: Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Publisher: Rockstar
- Developer: Rockstar San Diego
- ESRB Rating: “E” For Everyone
- Genre: Sports simulation
- Pros: Simple, fun, and pure gameplay; great character models; $40 price
- Cons: Seriously lacks features; questionable long term appeal
Features
The only real issue I have with Table Tennis is that it seriously lacks the features that we have come to expect from sports games over the years. There isn’t any sort of career mode or character creation or anything else beyond just playing match after match. There is an exhibition mode and tournament mode, but like I said, there isn’t any sort of character advancement so the experience is pretty much exactly the same from the first match you play until the last. There is also online play via Xbox Live, which is easily the best mode in the game. Playing against your friends and trash talking while you play is pretty darn fun. Online play is fast and smooth and works well overall. Do you get your $40 worth at the end of it all? I’m not really sure.
Gameplay
Rockstar
The bright spot of Table Tennis is just how great the gameplay is. Rockstar was smart enough to keep things deceptively simple to start with but added a lot of enhanced controls to make the game hit that sweet spot of “easy to learn, tough to master”. Each of the face buttons controls a different type of spin (top, back, left, right) and recognizing the spin (each spin has a different color) and countering it is the name of the game. The beauty of the system is that the game makes it hard to screw up and hit the ball off of the table. For the vast majority of your hits, it is impossible to hit it off of the table, but if you do get a little over ambitious and hit the ball too far (by pressing up on the left stick while hitting to give the ball more oomph) the controller will vibrate ahead of time to let you know to back off. The bumper buttons on the shoulders let you add extra spin or do short drop shots and you can adjust the power and effectiveness of your shots by holding the face button down before hitting. This game is amazingly satisfying and puts you in the “zone” the way only a good puzzler or other reflex game can. Each player plays differently so there is quite a bit of variety in the gameplay.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, Table Tennis is impressive for the most part. The character models are insanely detailed and feature extremely smooth animation. Unfortunately, the arenas you play in seriously lack detail and are pretty bland overall. The graphics are effective for what they do (it is a ping pong game, after all) but having amazing looking characters in bland looking environments is a pretty poor match.
The sound is also pretty good. The sounds during gameplay are absolutely perfect, but there aren’t any other sounds besides “hit, bounce, hit, bounce, hit, bounce, etc.”. One nice touch is that as rallies continue back and forth the music picks up and grows in intensity. The music isn’t anything special, though. There are also some crowd noises and it is pretty cool when the crowd chants your character’s name and reacts to the action. Usually you are so focused on the gameplay that you don’t really notice the crowd. At least I didn’t. It makes it exciting for people watching you play, though.
Bottom Line
Rockstar
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis is a simple, straightforward, and fun game that delivers fast paced action that few games can match. The gameplay is surprisingly deep and getting into long 100 hit rallies is undeniably satisfying. I have a couple of issues with Table Tennis, though. First off, the features list is severely lacking. There is no career mode or character editor which means player advancement is nonexistent. You play this game on Rockstar’s terms which is pretty disappointing when you compare it to pretty much every other sports game from the last five years or so. Also, while the gameplay is very good, it gets old after a while. You can play through the single player tournaments and get your fill of online multiplayer in the span of a weekend rental. The game will only set you back $40 if you want to buy it, but I would suggest renting it first to see if it has the lasting appeal to make it worth a purchase.
