Thrash a mate with a Wii Remote
Now the big question is, how does all this translate into the game itself?Well we’ve already covered the swing timing, which I think is the biggest hurdle anyone who plays Table Tennis will have. You basically have to swing before the ball gets anywhere near your paddle… In fact, the best option is to swing pretty much as soon as the ball leaves the opponents paddle… which does take some getting used to and leaves you feeling oddly disconnected from the actions you make compared to the actions of your on-screen character.
However, once you’ve mastered this, I thoroughly recommend going for the sharp shooter control set, even in the single player mode. Sure, you can place the ball to some extent with the way you swing the Wii Remote, but nothing beats sharp shooter for being able to stick the ball right where you want it… and if you coordinate your shots with the appropriate spin, you’ll have your opponent helplessly legging it back and forth as you slam the ball from one side of the table to other before giving them that killer smash.
But don’t go thinking that the single player modes, of which you’ve got 3 different tournaments and exhibitions play against 11 different opponents, are going to be a doddle, because they’re not. Each of the 11 opponents, all of which you can unlock and use as your character, has certain areas and abilities at which they excel… anyone whose played the Xbox 360 version will be familiar with them as they’re all here.
But where Wii Table Tennis really excels in is the multiplayer, which has to be one of the most intense gaming experiences yet seen on the Wii… it really is very, very good.
Forget the lower res graphics with less detail in the characters… forget the controls seeming a bit odd that you have to swing so early… just immerse yourself in an incredibly competitive head to head session where you and a mate face off over the table. Unlike real life table tennis where loads of practice will see you winning, Rockstar’s Table Tennis lets you grasp the basics and then, within an hour or so, be slamming the ball around the table like Forrest Gump on speed.
Throw another human into the mix and what you get is two people thrashing the ball back and forth with probably more vigour than if they were playing table tennis for real. The real beauty is the ability to have mixed control sets, so a novice player can opt for the standard set and just worry about returning the ball whilst a more experienced player can opt for the risky sharp shooter or the tricky control freak which will even things up a bit.
But where Table Tennis gets really intense is when both player fill up their Focus Bars and enter a seriously intense session at the same time. The music kicks into high gear, the lights dim and every shot becomes a frantic scrabble to return a more powerful shot than the one sent your way… Both players will be hitting harder, moving faster and slamming home power shots… It’s difficult to convey just how intense sessions like this can become but I’ll just say that every time I’ve played a two player match, no matter who I’ve played against, the air turned blue as each of us missed sitters or just managed to squeak a forehand drive with topspin past the end of each other’s paddles…
