My Take

            Rockstar’s Table Tennis is without a doubt the best representation of table tennis in a video game. Excellent ball physics highlight a game built around ultra realism. No other “pong” based game captures the speed and strategy needed to best opponents like Rockstar’s Table Tennis.  With some of the best looking character graphics on the Xbox 360, if you’re a fan of tennis and ping pong, then this game is definitely a game you need to experience.

Game Modes

• One downfall of the game is the lack of different ways to play.
• After going through a series of training exercises that will help familiarize you with the controls, all that is left to do is play in four different tournaments, each of a different difficulty.
• Amateur Circuit – Easy.
• Rookie Circuit - Medium
• Pro Circuit – Hard
• All-Star Circuit – Expert
• Training will teach you the basics of the following gameplay mechanics:
• Serve Meter
• Serve Aiming
• Returns
• Charging
• Spin
• Placement
• Soft Shots
• Smashes
• Focus Shots
• Counterspin
• The training mini games are pretty basic and a bit boring. It would have been nice to see some more difficult mini games to teach you some of the more advanced strategies.
• You can also play in any exhibition match if you just want to practice, but there really is no reason to do so, as the game is saved after each match you win in a tournament.
• This means you can retry the tournament match indefinitely until you beat it.

Gameplay

• As far as table tennis goes, the gameplay could feel more realistic.
• Also, as simple as it is to pick up and play, beating the tougher opponents will require quick reflexes and strategic placement as well as good shot choice.
• Serving:
• After moving your player into a serving position the serving meter will appear on the screen.
• The serving meter fills with spin power as a secondary marker moves up and down the meter.
• The secondary marker is used to determine power.
• Stop the meter when it’s full and the secondary marker is at the top and you will have a powerful spinning serve.
• Shot selection:
• By using either the right stick or the four face buttons you can chose the type of shot you want (Backspin, Left Sidespin, Right Sidespin, Topspin).
• You can even press two of the adjoining buttons at once to create shots such as a Left Sidespinning topspin shot or a Right Sidespinning backspin shot.
• You can also hold down the left bumper button to throw a change up soft shot at your opponent. This is a good thing to do if they are standing to far from the table.
• Shot Charging:
• After moving your character into position with the left stick, holding any of the shot selection buttons will “charge” your shot.
• This provides the power of each shot.
• More power also equals more spin, so highly charged spin shots will have more movement to them.
• The time spent charging a shot also fills your focus shot meter.
• Focus Shots:
• Once you have some focus meter filled you can activate it for making a devastating winner or for countering difficult shots.
• This will become a key to winning the harder matches.
• Shot Placement:
• Focus shots won’t win the points alone. You’ll need good strategic shot placement to put away your opponents.
• After you are charging your shot, you’re player will be stationary, and the left stick will then control where you will hit the ball.
• You can hit left, right, deep or short.
• The success of your placement depends on where your character will make contact with the ball and what kind of spin you are using against the spin that is coming at you.
• Also, the controller will rumble if you push too far in one direction. This lets you know when you’re in danger of hitting the ball out.
• There are 11 different characters for you to use. Each has their own stats in Spin, Serve, Power and Accuracy.
• This causes each of the players to play pretty differently, and will force you to learn different strategies with each.
• Some of the characters are unlocked at the beginning and require you to meet certain milestones in the game to unlock them.
• Overall, the feeling that you get when playing the game is very authentic thanks to the smooth and realistic gameplay.