Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Wii)
- Publisher:
- Rockstar Games
- Developer:
- Rockstar Games
- Release Date:
- 16.10.2007
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Sport Type:
- Alternative
- Sport:
- Tennis
4 movies
We play Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis...
In a complete turn of events, the developers who brought us the Grand Theft Auto series made a sports game. Not only a sports game, they made Table Tennis. Rockstar Games is known for a very specific type of game, so it came as quite a surprise a year and a half ago when they released Table Tennis for the Xbox 360.
In the standard attempt to port everything to the Wii, now we have ping pong on the less powerful system. At least a year late.
The game is almost identical to its sophomore brother. The few differences revolve around the lesser graphics, changed controls and, of course, additional training to make sure using the Wii remote doesn’t go awry.
Don’t be fooled like we were. The Wii remote can be used as a paddle, but not even close to the real thing. All it can do is be swung forward and backwards, so the only muscle reflex necessary is twitching. Everything else is accomplished by holding down certain buttons while swinging. How you swing has no influence on the game whatsoever.
Which means that if you swing hard, the ball doesn’t get hit harder. If you swing with the Wii-mote turned slightly, it won’t put spin on the ball. All you’ll get is the ball hit back in the most normal of ways.
This, however, is no downside, though it certainly was an expectation. The controls that Table Tennis has work great in their own right; they just don’t actually make use of the Wii’s full capabilities.
Table Tennis has three forms of control, two with the additional nunchuk controller and one without. Without the nunchuk swinging is performed by actually swinging the Wii-mote left and right. As stated earlier, how hard or in what direction the Wii-mote is swung makes no difference. With the nunchuk there are 2 different control schemes, one identical to the 360’s and the other that switches the sides of the control. Meaning that one way will have spin controlled by the left analog stick, and the other will have it controlled by the D-pad.
The choice of how to control gameplay is great to have, especially if there’s a lack of nunchuk attachments collecting dust. The choice between the Wii and 360 version is also great because it seems almost superfluous for anyone who owns a 360 to ever buy it for the Wii. Current listings show Table Tennis on the Wii for $40, whereas brand new for the 360 is under $20.
Gameplay is identical and follows a tournament style championship. After choosing a character to play as based on what kind of game they play, either strong, spin or more neutral, jump into a match and play up to 11. The more tournaments won, the more you progress to harder and longer stages. Nothing extremely stimulating about it in particular, though the gameplay remains somewhat fresh throughout the experience, so long as it isn’t overdone.
Bearing in mind that it looks better, plays the same and goes online on the 360, there is very little reason for anyone who has that console to ever look in the general direction of this title. Those without a 360 who are looking to play it undoubtedly have the next best thing, but with no updates and no online play whatsoever, it is really a stretch. The lack of true Wii controls is also a huge downer considering so much could have been done in this area, and yet nothing was.
The complete lack of a career mode and any sort of minigame doesn’t give any appeal to the game, and with no online support, one would hope to have friends over to ever enjoy this game fully. Nothing new and in fact worse looking than its predecessor, or more specifically its non-mutated brother, Rockstar Table Tennis for the Wii is a fine addition for those who’ve never owned it, but almost a waste for those of us who have.
Top Game Moment: Winning the longest recorded match ever (36 minutes) where each game was at least 30 strokes back and forth.
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| The toned down graphics have a huge impact on what once was great. Just look at Luc’s puny arms | Before Lui Ping had a look on his face that showed determination. Now it just looks blank |
In the standard attempt to port everything to the Wii, now we have ping pong on the less powerful system. At least a year late.
The game is almost identical to its sophomore brother. The few differences revolve around the lesser graphics, changed controls and, of course, additional training to make sure using the Wii remote doesn’t go awry.
Don’t be fooled like we were. The Wii remote can be used as a paddle, but not even close to the real thing. All it can do is be swung forward and backwards, so the only muscle reflex necessary is twitching. Everything else is accomplished by holding down certain buttons while swinging. How you swing has no influence on the game whatsoever.
Which means that if you swing hard, the ball doesn’t get hit harder. If you swing with the Wii-mote turned slightly, it won’t put spin on the ball. All you’ll get is the ball hit back in the most normal of ways.
This, however, is no downside, though it certainly was an expectation. The controls that Table Tennis has work great in their own right; they just don’t actually make use of the Wii’s full capabilities.
Table Tennis has three forms of control, two with the additional nunchuk controller and one without. Without the nunchuk swinging is performed by actually swinging the Wii-mote left and right. As stated earlier, how hard or in what direction the Wii-mote is swung makes no difference. With the nunchuk there are 2 different control schemes, one identical to the 360’s and the other that switches the sides of the control. Meaning that one way will have spin controlled by the left analog stick, and the other will have it controlled by the D-pad.
The choice of how to control gameplay is great to have, especially if there’s a lack of nunchuk attachments collecting dust. The choice between the Wii and 360 version is also great because it seems almost superfluous for anyone who owns a 360 to ever buy it for the Wii. Current listings show Table Tennis on the Wii for $40, whereas brand new for the 360 is under $20.
Gameplay is identical and follows a tournament style championship. After choosing a character to play as based on what kind of game they play, either strong, spin or more neutral, jump into a match and play up to 11. The more tournaments won, the more you progress to harder and longer stages. Nothing extremely stimulating about it in particular, though the gameplay remains somewhat fresh throughout the experience, so long as it isn’t overdone.
Bearing in mind that it looks better, plays the same and goes online on the 360, there is very little reason for anyone who has that console to ever look in the general direction of this title. Those without a 360 who are looking to play it undoubtedly have the next best thing, but with no updates and no online play whatsoever, it is really a stretch. The lack of true Wii controls is also a huge downer considering so much could have been done in this area, and yet nothing was.
 |
 |
|
| Spinning the ball remains a vital part of gameplay. Just don’t spin it off the table | Just like in real ping pong, the chance to swat it can make you too excited. Stay focused |
The complete lack of a career mode and any sort of minigame doesn’t give any appeal to the game, and with no online support, one would hope to have friends over to ever enjoy this game fully. Nothing new and in fact worse looking than its predecessor, or more specifically its non-mutated brother, Rockstar Table Tennis for the Wii is a fine addition for those who’ve never owned it, but almost a waste for those of us who have.
Top Game Moment: Winning the longest recorded match ever (36 minutes) where each game was at least 30 strokes back and forth.
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Gameplay Trailer #3
Posted 25.10.07
Length 00:53 Views 319 -
Gameplay Trailer #2
Posted 25.10.07
Length 00:55 Views 186 -
Movie Trailer #1
Posted 23.10.07
Length 01:05 Views 171
