Rockstar’s Table Tennis
Format: 360.
Return of the Pong.
When Rockstar announced its Table Tennis game many people thought it was a joke - the creators of controversial titles like Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt had made a sports game? What’s the catch? Can you attack the opponent? Are the players going to be naked? Will it feature a rap heavy soundtrack full of explicit language? None of the above, not even a vending machine selling hot coffee. After the initial double take I wasn’t that surprised - when you look at games like GTA: San Andreas you can see they are riddled with mini games and features that traditionally could make up one game alone. For Rockstar to make what could have been a mini game a full title is no surprise.
Not that Rockstar’s Table Tennis is a mini game made big. It’s more a big game made mini. Confused? What they’ve done is take the traditional sports game and strip it down to its bare essentials - gone is the custom player creation, gone is the lengthy rags to riches single player campaign, gone is the stat management and gone is the complex controls. They’ve opted for something far simpler and purer and it comes as quite a refreshing change.
As a modern day Pong (arguably the first video game) it certainly works - online play, a tournament mode and some unlockable characters is pretty much all it has over the original in terms of content and this minimalism means that you can just get straight down to playing.
Given the simplicity of the game and its relatively static virtual environments, Rockstar have been able to channel the 360’s power into some truly stunning graphics. Clothes ripple and flow with life like subtlety, sweat shines and builds as the game goes on and the players themselves are beautifully rendered and animated although they do reside a little in the ‘uncanny valley’ - that place where almost-real avatars can be unsettling to the eye.
Aside from the visuals the first thing you’ll notice is how the game plays - It doesn’t matter when you press or release the button to return the serve, just as long as you do it in time because the game automates the hit. This initially makes the game easy to pick up but also allows for a focus on its hidden depths.
With four types of colour coded spin, identified by the ball’s motion trail, the game rewards you with a better hit if you return it with the same spin as your opponent. Pressing the button as soon as possible for a stronger hit isn’t necessarily the best thing to do as the emphasis is on placement of the ball and clever use of the spin to out play the opponent. The fact that holding the spin button down for longer to charge your Focus Meter for super shots adds another part to the strategy of play.
Innovative use of vibration (soon to be conspicuous in its absence from the PS3), varied characters, a refreshing electronic soundtrack, polished design and tense multiplayer mean it’s certainly a great package for the price (£25). Whether it has longevity probably depends on the size of your friends list.
7/10