GameSpy Review of Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis

It's funny how no matter what Rockstar Games does, it always manages to grab the attention of the public. Maybe it's all of the years of viral marketing in combination with their knack for never shying away from controversy. Having said that, it's funny how the publisher's first title for Xbox 360 is something so minimal and so innocuous that it's managed to have quite the reverse effect on the respective sides of the gaming coin. Rather, politicians and figureheads couldn't care less about their new game, but hardcore gamers everywhere are completely up in arms about... table tennis. Some find it to be a brilliant middle finger to reactionary industry critics, while others have taken to lambasting the game -- before its release -- as a glorified tech demo. As of release date, it's not necessarily anything so clear cut, except that Rockstar San Diego has managed to recreate their favorite office game in all of its professionally authentic glory. And ultimately, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis is really nothing more than a fun game that, in spite of its simplicity, is still a much better buy than quite a few of the full-priced titles for 360 that claim to do more and deliver a lot less.

Again, minimalism seems to be the driving theme of the game, from its simplified gameplay to the stripped-down Detroit techno on the soundtrack. There are a small number of characters from the outset, with more to unlock through tournament play. Each has attributes in regard to spin, serving, power, and shot accuracy. And that's really all anyone needs to counterbalance the skills of another character. For example, France's Luc or Japan's Kumi have the spin stats to thwart Jester, the Swedish powerhouse. Jester is a formidable match for the well-balanced Liu Ping from China. The nice thing is that in spite of these leverages, anyone with enough skills can still overcome a statistical handicap.


Gameplay is very easy to pick up and play, and while detractors have called the game "Glorified Pong," it's an inaccurate description. "Simplified Top Spin" is a much better one. Oddly, Rockstar San Diego's game feels like it captures more of the spirit of the Xbox tennis classic than its mediocre next-gen sequel did. Top spin is on the A button, backhands are relegated to Y, left and right sidespin are mapped to X and B, respectively. The learning curve is simple enough that most people can figure out the ins and outs of gameplay within twenty minutes, and due to the liberal splintering of Achievement points, it pays off, even for the shortest attention spans, to go through the tutorial, even if it's for five points. Of course, the simplicity of gameplay doesn't really shine until one gets to the multiplayer, which is truly the core of this game.

From the time spent with the preview build last month in LA up until now, it seems that Table Tennis works at its absolute best as a game to play with a lot of friends around. Sure, Madden tournaments can pull in a lot of buddies to go head to head, but that's under the assumption that everyone's well-versed in something other than "Ask Madden" and getting sacked on every play. Thanks to Table Tennis' ease to pick up and play, anyone can jump into a game after a short period of time. However, it's against other people that the fast-paced nature of real table tennis starts to shine. Sure, the computer A.I. will teach players a lot about strategy, hitting the ball, and understanding the balance between characters, but the CPU isn't going to get into a 60-hit rally. It's against friends that the action will get most heated, and honestly, that's the strongest appeal of this game: The offline multiplayer is excellent. The online multiplayer is pretty good as well, although it's got some creaky flaws that can't go unmentioned. After breaking down the number of games played, somewhere around twenty percent of the games had some form of lag to them, usually in the form of both players running around the table with no ball in sight. Other times, a character would be on one end of the table while the ball was flying from another direction. Occasionally, it would cost either player a point, although more often than not, it was primarily just a visual irritation that few opponents griped about until I brought it up. However, the games that went off without a hitch, including a match against one of my best friends in Atlanta, were more about showboating and obnoxious bragging than complaining about server lag. The interface for finding opponents isn't bad, although there were a few games where people jumped out of the match early. Douchebaggery, unfortunately, can't be helped. While the Xbox Live experience isn't the same as looking over at your friend and performing an obnoxious victory dance after nailing a match, it's still pretty good on its own, laggy moments notwithstanding.

Multiplayer makes up the lion's share of this game, but how does the single-player experience add up? If anything, the single-player tournaments will provide enough of a challenge to help solo paddlers learn better skills to take to their friends. Honestly though, it's a bit sparse for such a simple game, and those looking for a meaty experience might find themselves disappointed, save for unlocking characters and the Achievement Points that will accompany that. In this case, minimalism backfires a little bit. For better or worse, the main reason to play solo is for unlocking, practicing for multiplayer, and getting that Gamerscore above a shameful number.


If there's one thing that's not minimal in the game, however, it's the visuals. There is no denying that Table Tennis is one of the best-looking titles in the young life of the Xbox 360. From the detailed lighting effects (wait until a heated game when all of the lights in the arena drop down to just the players) to the animation and facial expressions of the characters, the title manages to juice out some intense visuals from the hardware. Like the other visual masterpiece Fight Night Round 3, the premise of Table Tennis -- two people competing onscreen with not much else going on behind them -- is part of why it's able to shine so well graphically. There are also other little things that add to the experience. Presentation is set up subtly so that players don't even notice the load times during the versus screens. The sound is quiet enough that players can focus even more on getting good shots in. As the action ramps up, the game's minimal techno soundtrack begins to fade in as the intensity ensues. It's a good implementation, and it helps the stakes feel higher without distracting the player from the action.

So, is Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis going to blow people away? Yes and no. The single-player experience is pretty sparse and really only worth playing to gain more characters, Achievement Points, and practice. Multiplayer is at the core of this game, and honestly, the experience of having a bunch of people over for couch warfare is where this title gets its legs. The online experience, while flawed in spots, is still quite good, and as of the first two days of release, seems fairly low on epithet-hurling pre-teens and pretty high on good matches. Factor in a price that's $20 lower than some of the crappier titles floating around your local game store, and it's a no-brainer. If you own a 360 and you ever play video games against other human beings, this title is likely a good choice for you.

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