A surprising title from Rockstar Games; but does this translate to a quality gaming experience?
Well, i don't think it'd be scoring an 8.5, to say the least. Hype can be a dangerous thing, and in this case i think it's worked to Rockstar's disadvantage.
One immediate positive is the game's price tag. At a good twenty bucks cheaper than most "next gen" titles out there, you're looking at a bargain before you even load up the game.
Or are you? Maybe that price tag is still a little too high for what's on offer. There's no create-a-player feature. No doubles matches, no advanced features of any kind. How long can a simple one on one game of ping pong go on? Not very, is the answer. Rockstar seem to have stretched out the experience by making the latter matches brutally difficult; but this comes across as frustrating rather than challenging, and only helps to increase the feeling that this just isn't meant to be a full game. Heck, i see no reason why it couldn't have been released on the XBL Arcade as a downloadable title. It would certainly make more sense.
But enough negetives. The actual gameplay itself is there, even if it doesn't last. Games are fast, relentless and require a zen-like concentration to come up tops. The only downside to this is the sheer length of some games. On the later difficulty settings, you can find youself playing for twenty minutes at a time to score a single point. And when it's 11 points, best of three games - you're in for a long haul.
Graphically it's outstanding. The player models are simply amazing, gradually beginning to sweat as the game goes on. Clothing moves realistically as your player swings for the ball, rather than that carved out of plasticene look you get with other games.
Overall however, there just isn't a full game in "Table Tennis". It'll last you two weeks tops, if you're patient enough to not burn through the tournament mode in a few hours. Towards the end, things get stupidly hard rather than refreshing or progressive, simply screaming to you "ok, we've had enough. Time to trade this one in."
Rent it by all means; but it simply isn't deep enough or fulfilling enough to warrant a purchase.