ping pong table: Table Tennis loser has to jump the Net

BY BILLY O'KEEFE
McClatchy Newspapers
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"Rockstar Presents Table Tennis"For: Xbox 360

From: Rockstar San Diego/Rockstar Games

Rating: E (Everyone)

It seems just a little bit bizarre that any publisher -- never mind "Grand Theft Auto" purveyors Rockstar Games -- would harness the power of the Xbox 360 to give us what essentially is a fancier game of "Pong." But no one would blink at a traditional tennis game, so what's so bad about table tennis on overdrive?

As it turns out, not much. Judged exclusively on the merits of gameplay, "Table Tennis" takes the best part of video gaming's oldest hit recipe and makes it exciting again. Simply by reducing the playing field to the size of a ping pong table, "TT" becomes a game of speed, inches and especially anticipation. You'll need to respond to your opponent's shot as soon as (and ideally before) he or she takes it. The game offers its share of strategic means -- multiple shot types and control over spin and power -- but instinct is the true name of this game.

That alone not only legitimizes "TT," but also hoists it into a league all its own as far as sports sims are concerned. The first time you force a mistake out of your opponent after a 40, 60, 80 or 100-something-shot rally -- a cocktail of hypnotic and edge-of-your-seat gaming if ever there was one -- you'll understand.

Those who milk the gameplay for all its worth will eventually get their money's worth out of the $40 "budget" price, but it's worth noting that "TT's" single-player offerings leave something to be desired. There are several tournaments, but no career mode to glue them together.

The game's roster of fictional players looks fantastic and is surprisingly copious in the personality department, but you'll lament not being able to create your own player. Unlocking bonuses and accumulating achievement points do plenty to boost the game's longevity, and none of the aforementioned gripes are enough to offset the game's many pluses. But it'll take a sequel for "TT" to complement its gameplay with the kind of creative depth it deserves.

Billy O'Keefe writes video game reviews for McClatchy-Tribune News Service.