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| Difficulty: Easy | Learning Curve: 30 minutes | Published by: sjohn | Date: 2006-06-05 |
| Gameplay | | 8
| Graphics | | 8
| Sound | | 8
| Value | | 9
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When first going into the local game store you will look around and immediately notice a few things that seem very strange about this title, first it is very odd to see the E rating next to the Rockstar Games logo, second it is really refreshing to notice the $39.99 price tag on an Xbox 360 title. With the recent price drops in some launch games, you can almost make a 2 for 1 deal with this game and one of the launch games that you missed out on.
This is where the pleasant surprises are just beginning once you load up the game, you are treated to some of the most addictive game play elements so far on the Xbox 360. The simple nature of this game makes it great to just pick up and play, but it will take you hours upon hours to truly master. The training mode will help you to quickly gain a sense of what each button does and how you should use it in a particular situation. Also by perfecting each training exercise you unlock some Rockstar gamer pictures and also an achievement, this may be the easiest achievement of the game to unlock.
There is not any true "story mode" to this game, you just have different sets of tournaments with different difficulty ratings and number of matches that you have to go through, of course both of these figures increase with the higher of the 4 levels you go to. Like most games you need to complete the easy tournament to go to the medium and continue up the ladder. While you are playing you are able to unlock alternate attire for your player by completing certain objectives during the course of play. Some of these are simple like "Finish with a Smash shot", others are more difficult "Try to not let the computer score". Doing these things will also unlock new venues for the exhibition games, and new characters for you to go through all of tournaments with again.
Each character has 4 ratings that help you determine who matches the style of play that you want to use. You can use the Swedish character Jesper if you are all about power, or one of the many other characters that are more balanced or even another character who is all about spin and accuracy. Just try each character until you get someone who matches how you want to play.
This game definitely does not look like what one would call a "budget title" the character models and venues are like those of Fight Night Round 3, the clothing moves around freely while playing much like the next-gen basketball games, and the sweat actually dampens the cloth making it seem to stick around the arm pits and neckline. This is what the new sweat technology should do, not just make the player look like they've been sprinkled on in a rain storm but more realistic sweat that is truly believable.
The first few swings of the paddle seem kind of boring in the audio department the grunts, the pings, the pongs, they all sound great but you seem to miss the background music, then at the 10th rally the music fades in with heavy bass and electronic beats which bring you into more focus with the game. No big name licensed artists on this game, nothing that will distract you from the core of the game, the ping pong. As you rally the ball back and forth even up to triple digit hits, you hear the crowd oohing and aahing at each hit of the ball, until one of you finally misses and the crowd goes wild, it makes for a very believable experience, when you miss an easy return the crowd lets you know you should have returned it, when you make a great save the crowd loves you.
There are a few things that seem to be missing, a true story mode that featured something like the table tennis scenes in Forrest Gump would have been nice, some real minigames instead of just the serving machine on the training mode, and maybe even a create a player mode so that you could have someone that was exactly how you want to play and look, but you have to remember this is a budget title and that for all of the things that may be missing Table Tennis more than makes up for it by giving you great game play, great audio, and great visuals; along with the ability for anyone to just pickup and play.
The multiplayer is probably the most addictive part of this game, whether you are having a tournament at home with your friends, or you are on Xbox Live trying to gain the achievement points, or maybe even the fame from being watched while playing in the Table Tennis Network, a mode that allows you to watch any ongoing game on Xbox Live. This game has some of the best features out there and while there are a few that I would like to see added, but nothing that really breaks the game.
Pickup and Play - 9
Everyone should be able to just pick up this game and play it, the training modes helps you determine the correct shots in the correct times, but you can easily just pick any shot return the ball.
Visual Flair - 8
The only thing I didn''''t like about the graphics were the seemingly empty arenas, everyone was way up in the stands but after seeing the ball fly past I guess it was for their own protection.
Audio Fidelity - 8
The first few hits of the ball should have at least some background music, it but once you get up to 10 hits the music really kicks in and gets you into the game. The crowd noises are very well done and really help to bring you into the game.
The Script - 5
No story at all, you have a basic world tournament style game play or exhibition matches, nothing fancy, nothing that just grab you. But the game is very fun, and that makes it enough to play over and over again.
Attention Span - 7
You will either fall in love with this game or play it for hours upon hours both online and through the offline tournaments or you will hate it and not want to play again. I found it very addictive and just can''''t really find enough time to play it.
Overall - 8
This game is one of the best on the Xbox 360, then you factor in the lower price and it makes it a Must Play for everyone. Rockstar made big waves when announcing this game, everyone thought it was an April Fools joke or something similar, but now that it has been released and is in the hands of possibly millions of players it has proven itself to be a very real game and also a very good game.
Related Link: Official Site
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