Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis – Review

Let’s begin this review with the obvious approach: ‘this is a game bearing the Rockstar label and there’s not a gun in sight’. There, we have it out of the way. Rockstar’s Table Tennis is an odd departure for a studio renowned for bringing us violence aplenty through its back catalog of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Revolver, Midnight Club, and others. What on Earth possessed the lovely lads (and odd lady) at Rockstar to make a game about table tennis? Well, a moment of madness probably. Still, they certainly went for it, and those lucky people with an Xbox 360 now have the chance to ping and pong as much as they like without an ugly-looking table stuck in the centre of their games room.

What can possibly be said about a table tennis game? Not much really since we all know how to play it. Essentially, it’s a parlour game to some and an Olympic sport to others. Whether you’re a serious player or just someone who enjoys hitting the ball about with a friend, Rockstar’s Table Tennis is a pretty good replica of the actual game—but without the intrusion of dodgy rubber-coated bats or the net collapsing mid-game. You can simply pick a ready-made player from the off and jump right in—one of whom is female, but more on that shortly. There’s an in-game training system to help with the basics, but you won’t really need to spend much time on this as everything is pretty straightforward; namely that you play the best of three sets, with each set being played to 11 points, or by a clear 2 point winning margin. As the game progresses, you’ll gain new outfits, new playing arenas, and other unlockable content. These all give the game a little more depth, but the real core of Table Tennis is in its multiplayer, either on Live or with friends at home. If it weren’t for these modes of play, this would be just another tennis game—and not a particularly great one. There’s no doubles to play and there’s no career mode either, both of which would have been a nice addition; however, since Table Tennis is selling for a mere £30, it’s obviously not meant to be a highly detailed game but perhaps more of a side project for Rockstar.

The controls in Table Tennis are pretty simple, but to get the most from them you’ll really have to practice. This allows things to become more second nature, and means you can play without necessarily thinking too hard about which buttons need to be pressed or which way the analogue stick needs to be moved to garner the best shot. When you get to that point in control familiarity you’ll be able to enjoy the gameplay more and hopefully outwit your opponents. The 360 controller’s face buttons (X, A, B and Y) are each assigned a different type of ball spin, but the right analogue stick can also be used to execute the same moves if you’re not comfortable with their individual placement. The left analogue stick moves your player and can also be used to position the ball when serving. A neat little gameplay touch is that the controller’s vibrate function acts as a shot selection warning mechanism; if it’s vibrating madly then you have a microsecond to rethink and reapply a selection or run the risk of over hitting the shot. This is good in theory, but initially it can be fairly difficult to always alter the shot within the restricted time frame, and as a result it’s not unusual to see the ball flying away without even touching the table. Table Tennis is still certainly a game that can be picked up and played, but the more you play the better you’ll become—and you’ll need all that amassed skill for some of the game’s tougher opponents like Liu Ping and Jesper.

Table Tennis isn’t exactly a huge budget game and therefore you might expect the graphics to be slightly below par. To be fair, they’re not that bad at all and are actually fairly decent throughout. The character models are pretty good and the customisation is a nice touch. The speed of the ball is depicted well on screen and the backgrounds are adequate. There are a few instances where you can slow the camera down and, again, this is another visual touch that stands out and makes the game a little more memorable. Overall, there’s very little slowdown on show, other than when on Xbox Live, and the graphics are excellent for a budget title.

The sound in Table Tennis is also pretty good. There’s not much happening during the game until you strike up a rally of over 10 shots. At this point, some fast-paced techno music kicks in and it adds to the overall tension and excitement. A small counter in the bottom right hand corner will show the shots building up during a rally and the music continues until it’s all over. This is a nice feature that makes the game a touch more stylised. There are also some decent sounds throughout, but the deaf gamer won’t be at any real disadvantage here and can enjoy Table Tennis just as much as those with unimpaired hearing.

Hurray for Rockstar, they’ve only gone and included female playable characters. You can choose one female player at the beginning of the game, and there are more to unlock along the way. It’s nice to know that we’re included and it’s also reassuring that Rockstar remembered that Table Tennis can be for everyone. The female players don’t have any disadvantages when compared to their male opposition and that again is a welcome addition to a new game.

Overall, Rockstar’s Table Tennis is a fun game if you’re playing with friends or on Xbox Live, but it’s a little shallow and boring in single-player mode. You have to judge this as a budget title though, and kudos to Rockstar for realising that the single-player game wasn’t worth a full price tag. Aside from the fairly weak single-player experience, another problem of note arises when your player occasionally moves inexplicably, thus letting your opponent set up shots that you simply can’t get to. This is an annoyance that can become frustrating after a while. The game’s learning curve is also slightly skewed, and even when it’s set to rookie mode you can be steadily progressing through matches and then suddenly meet an opponent who is seemingly impossible to beat. At this stage, it’s fair to say that patience is fully tested with the single-player component and most gamers may well prefer to just hit the ball around with some friends. If you’re looking to grab a value Xbox 360 title for £30 then Table Tennis is decent enough, but if you’re looking for a game to fall in love with and play constantly, then save your extra money and buy something else instead. Table Tennis is a good attempt, but not something that’s likely to set your console on fire.

Review by Tracy