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Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis - First Look Preview
Jon Wilcox
24/09/2007
TVG returns to the table top, paddle in hand, to give Rockstar's Wii debut a quick knock around...
The surprise package from Rockstar Games when it first debuted on Xbox 360 in Easter 2006, Table Tennis provided an exceptionally playable and fast-paced experience, and for tech-heads also proved to be a first glimpse at what the developer's proprietary RAGE engine could do - ahead of its use in GTA IV and Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Eighteen months on and the game is in the final process of being ported across to Wii, in what seems to be a very natural move to make - let's face it, bat and ball titles lend themselves easily to the accelerometers built into both the Wii-remote and nunchuk.
TVG recently went for a quick knock about with the Wii version, as China's Liu Ping squared up to Jesper the giant from Sweden...
In production at Rockstar Leeds, in conjunction with the Xbox 360's development team at Rockstar San Diego, Table Tennis for Wii is set to feature three control systems: one - called 'Control Freak' - utilises both the nunchuk and Wii-remote, another - Normal - just the remote (similar to Wii Sports' Tennis), and a third called Sharpshooter that uses the nunchuk's analogue stick to direct the angle of the shot. Unlike the original edition however, Rockstar Games has confirmed that the Wii edition won't feature any online gameplay over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, citing the studio's focus on delivering a strong control system instead.
For our brief hands-on with the Wii version, we played the Wii-remote only control system, concentrating on pulling off the drop shots, top spins, and slices whilst the AI moved the characters around the table. Of course swinging the paddle is about as natural an experience as you can do with the Wii-remote, with the amount of power and the direction of the ball determined by the player's arm motion.
That's a given, but Table Tennis on Wii also integrates the various spins, executed with the d-pad, the drop shots, and the more controlled focus shots that peppered the original Xbox 360 title. Making a swing is also fully integrated with Wii's accelerometers, with a simple tap up into the air enough to start the ball rolling. This Wii-remote only control system certainly worked well enough in our brief exposure to it, though the game didn't seem to be as fast paced as the original - whether this is the same for the remote/nunchuk control system too is unclear for now, though it would make sense that the user-friendly set up is more 'paced'.
Despite its ease of use, Table Tennis is a game that oozes depth at multiple levels, something that has enabled the game to appeal to all levels of skill. It's a classic piece of 'easy to pick up, difficult to master' gaming, and one that garnered much eyebrow raising when it was announced as Rockstar's debut next-gen title...but is it looking like it'll make a successful transition to the triple DVD thick Wii?
All things considered, Table Tennis on Wii could very well quench the thirst of players tired of playing the tech demo that is Wii Sports, especially Tennis. In the same manner that Tiger Woods expanded upon the foundations of a Wii golfing experience, so too should Table Tennis create a more substantial experience for the mainstream gamer and ping pong fanatic alike. OK, so the restricted power of Wii doesn't allow for some of the advanced visuals to make the cut (such as the rather natural flowing clothing), but the main pull of Table Tennis on Xbox 360 was its speed, depth, and playability...which it certainly seems to be set on achieving when it arrives come October.
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Date Added:Mon 29th Oct 2007 11:27
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