Table Tennis (Xbox 360)
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26 August, 2006 07:01
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Table Tennis, as it is aptly named, is a simple game, which concentrates mainly on gameplay.
I buy games, so I can sit down in front of the telly for either 1# hours and hours and get deeply involved in a another world or 2# for a brief yet satisfying bash of pure adrenaline filled excitement, you see games are fillers for the moments of boredness. The majority of the games so far for the 360 have been average and slightly above but not quite next-gen, as with most new console launches, but with the bump up in prices of games compared to the previous box, I am hesitant about how much I spend, so i like to make sure i get a good game when i buy one.
I'm glad to say that Table Tennis by Rockstar is one such game that hooks you line and sinker, especially playing it 2 player or online. The character models are excellent, everything is well presented but somewhat dry on the menus and there are a lack of modes but this doesnt detract from the addictiveness.
Some of the first impressions I took of the game were that the game is pretty darn easy to pick up. The controls are well laid out with common sense in mind, each of the four main shots makes noticeable difference, and isn't a mission to time your return shots. If you've not played table tennis to a good level in real life, some of the curves might seem unrealistic, but I was very impressed to see extreme curves, silly spins, off the corner bounces and generally exactly what you see on TV when you watch the pros.
This game really gets intense as the rallies progress, music starts pumping, the crowd get very rowdy and when you perform a special shot, camera angles change, slow mo's of the ball trickling over the net, close ups of the ball skimming the edge of the table and all inter-twined with the actual playing of the game. So don't think a cool replay means you've lost that point! Hit the right buttons on the return and next thing you know it's slow mo's and fancy camera angles all the time, making the game very captivating to play and watch.
I do agree with criticism about the limited options, but feel the price makes up for the lack of game modes and i do feel to some extent this game was made just to test Rockstars abilities on the next gen machine, with the extra special character models and superb game engine, boy did they apply them well to this concept.
Surprise hit!
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