Table Tennis - Xbox360 Surely you can't be serious? Rockstar ditches violence for ping pong. So have they got it right?

Reviewer: Stuart Miles
Review Date: 28 May 2006
Manufacturer: Rockstar
Price as reviewed: £30
Latest price: £4.99

Our score

8/10

See more with this score

Reader score

?/10

Rate this product

Full review

28 May 2006 - When the creator of Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne decides to recreate Table Tennis for currently the most powerful console on the market you've got to question whether someone has lost their marbles.

I mean ping pong? Come on. That was until we played it. That's not to say this is the best game since Half Life 2 or GTA but it certainly was pleasantly surprising.

Players get to choose between 11 characters all with varying skill sets and play around 19 different tables (well venues actually) across the world in either exhibition matches or a straight knockout tournament.

Sounds simple, and the beauty of it, is that it is, well until you pick up your paddle.

Rather than just be about hitting a ball filled with air over a small net on what seems an even smaller table you have to master tactics and of course spin.

Don't worry there aren't any crazy power-up options or special moves such as "He's on fire" but merely four different types of spin (top, back left and right) on offer and the chance to determine how much speed and speed you want to apply.

Furthermore you can control whether you want to drop or smash the shot and all this builds your focus points. Once you get enough you can then opt to use this to make an almost unstoppable shot similar to that in the Fifa Street series.

As we said at the beginning of the review this makes for a surprisingly, and hard game that we found ourselves saying "Let's just have one more go".

Aside from the simple, but effective gameplay the graphics, while not really having to do much are highly polished with plenty of detail on the characters as they bounce up and down at the end of the table.

In an attempt to spruce up the game Rockstar have introduced a series of slow-mo action shots and of course the chance to replay any of the action at any time at the flick of a switch.

Verdict

While this won't be everybody's cup of tea it is certainly better than we expected it would be when it landed on our desk. The game is very well polished with good gameplay and graphics.

If you are a tennis game fan then this is a definite must, however for everyone else we would still recommend hiring it out, or playing in store first.