Table Tennis? TABLE TENNIS? You gotta be kidding me. That’s the reaction I got from five different people I asked to come and try the game with me. But after 2 minutes they all gave me a totally different opinion.
To be honest, I raised an eyebrow when I saw the game crop up and I also thought what an odd game for Rockstar to release first on the 360. But when have Rockstar ever disappointed me?
Table Tennis is like any sports game, you have the same modes, exhibition, tournament and Xbox Live. You have the players each with different attributes and you have the choice of arena to play in. But it’s the gameplay that takes centre stage here, not the number of modes and players. Rockstar have made a simple to learn game that anyone can join in with. The controls are easy and pretty straightforward. A is your basic attacking shot (forward spin), Y is your defensive shot (back spin), X and B are your left and right spin shots. You can charge up these shots by holding down the desired button to give you more spin. More advanced control is achieved when you combine different spins together; for example, A and B to give a more attacking right spin shot. Hold LB and you can drop shots just over the net, which is very useful against players who stand away from the table. When you start playing, you’ll notice that the ball has a colour around it (green, red, yellow or blue). This tells you what spin is currently applied to it, which is handy, because the safest way to return a shot is to apply the same spin, so if the ball is red you know it has right spin and you press B (although you can return the shot with whatever spin you like). You can alternatively use the right stick to perform all shots but this doesn’t seem to offer the same precision or immediacy. You’ll be able to learn all these moves using the informative training mode.
One problem I found with this game is that it’s a bit stale on single player and I found myself playing the tournaments only for achievements and unlockables and not for the enjoyment of the game. But completely on the flipside it’s really addictive with a friend or on Live and you’ll have a lot of fun. When you are building up a big rally, the music gradually builds up with you and this adds to the intensity - I found myself jumping around in my seat while returning smashes near the end of a 70 shot rally. There are a bunch of unlockables, costumes, arenas and characters for you to collect too.
Graphics in TT are great - the players are really detailed with clothes that look like real fabric and realistic skin (they really get sweaty!) and facial expressions. Player animation is also brilliant. The game has some neat camera angles that zoom close to the net when the ball is extremely close and the same for the edges of the table.
There’s nothing to really say about the sound because all you hear is the ball getting pinged back and forward, but the techno music that pumps up during a rally is well used and definitely works.
Overall, Table Tennis is a bit of a dark horse. The slightly lower than normal price point makes it an attractive buy. Don’t be put off by the genre, like I said, I had five different people question the game but after 2 minutes fall in love with it. It’s a brilliant little game especially with friends or on Live.
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