| The company who made a name for themselves with GTA, have entered the next-gen with...a table tennis sim? |
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I already spooged all over this on the boards recently, yet I'm still playing it for multiple hours a day without fail, and thus just can't shut the hell up about it. Yeah, it's just table tennis. And of all people, it comes courtesy of those who invented the concept of video game hooker slaughter. Overlook these two minor "quirks" however, and you'll not only reap wonderful rewards in Table Tennis, but also find some of the most thrilling online action yet seen on the 360, period.
The setup's basic. A table. 2 Paddles. Two dudes. A ball. They hit it around. That much you saw coming I bet. The game's just so much damn
fun though, it's almost hard to put into words. I was always a big table tennis fan growing up - I'll be honest - which perhaps explains
some of my massive admiration for this game...but frankly, I think non ping pongers will still find just as much here to enjoy, if from perhaps more of a light-hearted and giggly perspective. You know what though? That's what's great about it.
On the face of it, it seems pretty simple. You move around with the left stick, and fire off a simple top spin with "A" - Table Tennis' most basic of returns. Kids, newbies and, well, girls can easily play entire games this way, needing not delve too deep into the more complex side of the game, but for me the truly amazing thing about Table Tennis is the sheer amount of depth on offer the more you start to experiment with it.
Complexities
| The coloured arrows around the ball are part of the tricky counterspin system. Arguably the only area where TT gets overly convoluted |
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As you get the hang of it, you'll start noticing extra little abilities, like the way you can direct your shots with pin point accuracy if charged up before hand, then aimed in tandem with the analogue stick. Or the fact that if you're up against an aggressive bastard who's constantly slamming power shots at you all day long, you can play a nice defensive back spin with the "Y" button to slow him down a notch. You'll also realise early on that you can start swerving the ball to either side by holding down the "X" and "B" buttons for some super bad arse side spins that can often catch your opponent off-guard, or if you're lucky, just clip the edge of the table and bounce off awkwardly to much amusement. My fave trick however, is simply dropping the ball just ever so slightly over the net with the left bumper and watching as your nemesis makes a desperate dive forward to catch it at the last minute before that dreaded second bounce of doom.
There's also a crazy focus mode, fired off via the right bumper and trigger buttons. This gives your shot extra oomph and speed, making it ideal for smacking the ball really bloody hard and winning those elusive match winners, but what
really impresses is what happens when both you and your opponent fire it off at once. It's almost like the rest of the world dissolves away...with the two of you pulling off the most ridiculously high speed returns imaginable, so much so it all becomes a joyful blur of reflexes and sheer instinct. Some of my most tense and memorable moments have been thanks to this system; it's quite the sight, and a major adrenaline rush.
Then there's the rather exceptional rumble system, a subtle but absolutely crucial mechanic which almost subconsciously lets you know how close you are to hitting the ball out via the strength of the feedback felt through the controller.
Finally there's also a crazy and overly complicated colour-coded counterspin system, which I won't even bother getting into here due to the fact that...okay, I'm crap at it.
As I say, huge amounts of depth here. And yet...it's still just ping pong when all's said and done. Crazy, no? But jesus, it sure as hell works. Whether a light-hearted newcomer who just wants to pick up and play, or a competitive mentalist, the game adapts beautifully, it really does. Table Tennis is a game you can enjoy perfectly fine within your first 5 minutes, but will take you weeks if not months to fully master like a pro.
Next-Gen Pong
| Click this picture and take in the amazing detail of that hand. Do as I say |
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Let's chat graphics too, because somewhat surprisingly, Table Tennis' visuals are bloody amazing. Faces are rendered with impeccable detail, and more importantly, they actually emote (and even sweat). Their clothes really stand out for me in particular, folding and bouncing around perfectly in sync with their motions, in a way I'd not really noticed in a game before. You also get some nicely detailed (if rather dark) environments to play in, including fully animated 3D crowds in the background. It even makes use of motion blur and depth of field, all of which culminate in about as good a ping pong game could ever look. The constant 60 frames per second is not only visually pleasing as well, but kind of integral to the high speed requirements of the gameplay.
One lesser talked upon aspect is the sound, however. Not only are the effects beautifully realistic - bouncing and echoing around your 5.1 system as if you were sitting in that hall yourself - but I also found the use of music rather exceptional on top. Games are played out in silence for the most part you see, but if you start racking up a long rally, tunes will slowly begin to fade in, building and ramping up as the shots get faster and faster. This music - of the electronic and techy style - is also right up my alley, so much so that Table Tennis is a rare 360 game where I don't bother whacking on custom soundtracks.
Mutual Ball Paddling
Downers? Sure. While the shot controls are beautifully designed and real fuckin' fun, it's a shame that the actual player movement feels a little unresponsive and janky in comparison. Used to full blown tennis games like Virtua Tennis and Top Spin, I initially wanted to move my toon around constantly when playing Table Tennis, but the game isn't really designed with that in mind. Moving in this game is just as slow and cumbersome as in real life - you can't really dart around the table like a mad man between shots, here you need to almost stake out a position and let your bat do all the moving. It's a little hard to get to grips with at first...but then again, is really about the difference between a 1 minute learning curve, and a 5 minute one.
| Sadly Table Tennis doesn't offer up a "create your own character" feature, instead making you pick from pre-defined toons all with varying strengths and stats |
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The single player mode is also a wee bit simplistic. There's no career or league mode, just exhibition games and some simple knock-out tournaments that won't last forever. There's unlockable costumes and stages - awarded for pulling off specific victories and so on - but really there's nothing too in-depth on that side of things either. DOA4, this ain't.
Really, the single player mode is just simple practice for what really matters when all's said and done though; the utterly thrilling online component. This simultaneously manages to be hugely competitive and amazingly rewarding, yet distinctly enjoyable and just downright relaxing at the same time. You really don't find the anger and backtalk often prevalent on Live here, players just seem so darn happy to be playing...whether it be winning or losing. That's the sign of a game with genuine character if you ask me...players just like being a part of the experience, regardless of score.
Online is far more fleshed out than offline actually, with a very cool tournament mode in which multiple players partake in tons of matches simultaneously, accumulating points and such in the process, as well as a Gotham TV-style broadcast channel which allows you to spectate other games in 100% real time. You may ask yourself how often peeps would ultimately use a feature like this, yet in
every single online match I've had so far, I've had fellow players spectating through this thing. Very cool.
Ping Pong GOTY?
| Table Tennis is a huge surprise all in all, and with very little else due out before September, you could do a heck of a lot worse than pick this baby up |
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One may argue that Table Tennis could almost have shown up on Live Arcade instead of store shelves, in that it's a rather basic concept that bares more resemblance to the likes of Bankshot Billiards, than the usual mainstream blockbusters that Rockstar are known for. That said, I do think the sheer polish and brilliance of the online game has earned Table Tennis the right to charge ?25 for the honour of its ownership, and heck, it's still half the price of a regular 360 game.
All in all, this game's fab. Not only is it fun as balls, but in its own unique way, rather innovative and downright different too. I doubt we'll be seeing a PS3 port, simply due to the fact rumble is such an integral part of the core game, but in a perfect world I would however be over the fucking moon to see a (perhaps somewhat scaled back) translation show up on the Wii further down the line.
Now that'd burn off some calories wouldn't it?