Rockstar Presents Table Tennis - Hands On Preview

Ok, a quick show of hands. How many of you thought that Rockstar was playing some kind of early April Fool's trick when they announced that their debut next-generation title would focus on the minority sport of Table Tennis? To be honest even Rockstar themselves admit that a table tennis game was a bit of a departure for the developer/publisher more infamously known for the Grand Theft Auto and Midnight Club franchises. However that's exactly what the company is currently gearing up for with the release on May 26th of Rockstar Presents Table Tennis on Xbox 360.

When the announcement was made to confirm development of Table Tennis it was made clear that the aim would be to create a title that was "...addictive in its focused simplicity..." Recently TVG had the opportunity to check out the latest build of the game, with the aim of seeing whether Sam Houser's ambitions to deliver an addictive and tense title was being achieved.

Currently in development at Rockstar San Diego (the home of Midnight Club), Table Tennis is set to bring around a dozen characters for players to choose from. Explaining that none of the characters are based upon or licensed from real-world Table Tennis stars (who to be fair aren't exactly household names in key territories such as the US or the UK), Rockstar described how the main element of the game was to bring the speed and visceral experience of real-world Table Tennis into a gaming environment, something that hadn't been accomplished by anybody else successfully to date. So why choose Table Tennis? According to Rockstar representatives, one of the key reasons is that there are many in the company who play the sport to a high standard (a valid point, though hopefully Rockstar North's don't take their research as thoroughly), and it's this enjoyment of the sport that led them to develop the game now known as Rockstar Presents Table Tennis. We've heard of developers creating games they want to play before, but this is something else, shining through in the passion evident whenever they talk about it and representing a real labour of love for the publisher (let's just hope Mr Thompson doesn't have anything against Ping Pong).

Despite there being Tournament and Career modes (Rockstar representatives confirmed that further information on both would be released in the future), the demo wholly focused on one-on-one table top action, the result being that we were left with the realisation that we'd just been playing one of the most competitive titles for a long time.

Although final figures are yet to be confirmed, around eleven players and around nineteen arenas will make their appearance in the final game. Like the players, whose final names are yet to be hammered down ("Solay!"), the arenas have also been designed specifically for the game and are set in Table Tennis hotspots around the world including Egypt, China, and Japan. Each of the arenas have their own type of table surface so that one location may be the venue for some fast play, whilst another would have a rougher surface that would slow down the ball, allowing for a more strategic game to develop. Back to the characters, and it was explained to us that since the game's focus is on two people knocking a ball around a table, the developers at San Diego have been able to achieve exceptionally high-polygon counts in every character (around 30,000). In addition, the team are currently working on the physics of the clothes worn by the two players, in order to ensure that Table Tennis sits proudly as a next-generation sports offering.

Getting to grips with the control system takes next to no time at all, ideal for gamers seeking an instant fix. Using the left thumbstick to move the player left and right across (and beyond) the table, and pushing the stick and up or down to determine the length of the shot, gamers can then decide on the type of spin to place on the return - and there lays the science of Table Tennis. Designating the face buttons to different directions of spin (X and B become left and right spins, whilst Y and A buttons become backspin and topspin respectively) makes the control setup simple yet deep, especially when combinations of shots are played. Furthermore, the longer that a combination of stick and button is held, the more power is generated, with a rumbling controller telling you when there's a bit too much gas coming in the next shot. However, when such shots are achieved and the point is awarded, the result is a feeling of great satisfaction and one-upmanship. So with the game running at such a fast pace, how can player's counter attacks efficiently? Each return sees a slight aura surround the ball, the colour depending on the spin of the ball, which is all the more prominent during a Focus shot (more on those shortly). This allows players a very slim split second chance to use the correct shot to counter with although the reflexes can be pushed to maximum at times. At the moment Rockstar San Diego are working on balancing out the visibility of the aura although for the most part it worked really well.

Building up the power of the shot does more than just give a little bit more strength in the return ball, it also increases a player's 'Focus' bar. When enabled with the press of a button, Focus slows down the speed of play for a single shot, allowing players to concentrate on hitting a more deliberate return. Beginning with a red bar, before progressing to a yellow and ultimately a green bar, which when filled allows for a short period of focused shots to be played, the feature enhances the experience with players now having to concentrate even harder than before in turn solidifying the tension.

Serving is also a technical point in the game that, when mastered, can really help to turn the tide of the game. Rather than just hit the ball in a particular direction with a certain amount of power, there's a real sense of depth to the function, especially when the amount of spin is taken into account. Besides marking a level of power, players are also given the opportunity to decide on the amount of spin in the serve though it has to be said that some characters are better than others when it come to serving the ball - conveyed by the increased pace of the power meter.

One thing that does have to be repeated is the sheer enthusiasm for the game from the Rockstar representatives. Far more than most other demos and events, it was easy tell that this was a game that generated genuine excitement and it was a real pleasure to see that such enthusiasm was being let loose. Yells of frustration when a point was lost, and the threat that an Xbox 360 controller would be thrown in annoyance after an 11-1 hammering forever loomed during the course of the demo, which only exacerbated the tension and the atmosphere of a match. You can only imagine what this game is going to be like in the company of friends after a trip to the local watering hole, or over the always-competitive Xbox Live.

However at a time when gamer's are looking for more and more exciting experiences, it's vitally important that Rockstar manage to get as many people as possible to try out the game - especially since it's all to easy for the gaming snobs to turn their noses up at what's on offer. Hopefully Table Tennis will have a demo on Xbox Live Marketplace around the time of its release, which would enable gamers to sample the tense and addictive gameplay that the title is soon to offer.