As mentioned in our preview, there are three control schemes available in Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis, one which only uses the Remote, and two which also use the nunchuck attachment. While Wii Tennis veterans may think they know what to expect from the Remote only option, they'll quickly be surprised. The biggest difference is that the game simply doesn't use the motion control in the same way. Instead of taking a realistic swing, you have to flick the Remote with a wrist motion in a set direction (either up-left, down-left, up-right or up-right) to select where on the table your ball will be placed, discarding the Wii Tennis angular timing system of ball placement. As a result, the Remote has to be facing forward before you take each swing, meaning your swings do not really approximate real paddle/racquet swings, but form a more abstract motion. We had some problems with accuracy when we were not directly facing the screen, as it was hard to judge this 'pointing' without any point of reference (a task made easy with games that have an on-screen cursor). This was remedied by simply moving to a position more directly in front of the screen, but is a point worth noting for those whose playing position is usually at an angle (based on your couch layout etc).
Furthermore, as long as it is after your opponent's swing, your timing does not matter, as you are 'selecting' your shot which will then be performed by your player at the appropriate time. It's almost like you are simply 'charging' your player's shots rather then controlling them, although the 'power' element is retained, and a harder (or larger) flick of the Remote will result in a harder shot. The abstraction goes further, as instead of a wrist motion to put spin on the ball, spin is controlled by selecting a direction on the d-pad, and the A and B buttons are used to drop a shot and add 'focus' (power) to a shot respectively. Like Wii Tennis, in this control mode your player moves automatically to a position where they can hit the ball, although given the smaller amount of ground to cover it's a little more realistic here, not to mention reliable.
You can take your shot anytime after the opponent hits the ball
There seem to be two reasons for the more abstract controls here. The first is obvious – the game is a port from a console with a more traditional controller, and so to some degree it's a traditionally designed sports game with motion controls added on top. The other reason is that Table Tennis can get so fast that it seems unlikely a more realistic motion scheme would have been feasible or enjoyable. Unlike full-size tennis, where shots are at least a second apart, shots in a fast table tennis rally can be fractions of seconds apart. Wii Tennis controls in this context would be tiring at best, incredibly difficult at worst, so we can see why Rockstar have done it the way they have.
The two nunchuck-enabled control schemes are basically 'advanced' modes of the same concept. The first simply replaces the directional motions you make to place your shots with holding a nunchuck direction, and the second is the Remote-only scheme with player movement mapped to the nunchuck's analogue stick While all these control options are welcome, as is anything that allows more freedom over a product, after spending time with each of them we just kept coming back to the default Wii Remote only scheme, and playing the game in a more relaxed, perhaps 'casual' manner. You've still got a lot of control over where you're hitting the ball in this mode, and be it novelty or simplicity, there's simply something appealing about playing the game with one hand. Much like real table tennis (or many other sports for that matter), 'playing one handed' is somewhat of a furphy anyway, as to some degree your whole body gets into it. Even though it's still a much more abstract control scheme then Wii Tennis, the one handed option feels a lot more like playing a real sport, whereas both two handed options retain the 'controller' feeling. Once you have the spin buttons and pointer based aiming down it's all about the strategy of defeating your opponent, without any fumbling with buttons or advanced control options.
It's no simulation, but captures essence of competition
Whatever control scheme you select, there's a good competitive game to be had. The AI is pretty well balanced throughout the tournament modes, and once you've grasped the controls the gameplay can be furious and satisfying. While not overt in the motion department, it can actually still be a workout. One niggle is that there's no splitscreen for two player mode – controls are absolute rather than relative, so left always means 'left of the screen' rather then being relative to the player.
In terms of graphics and presentation, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis is passable. The graphics have taken quite a hit from the Xbox 360 version, and there's nothing here that couldn't have been done on a PS2 technically, but it's at least clean looking, and the animations have been carried over pretty well. Oddly, the cursor has some lag to it on the menu, and there is some screen tearing when the 'sports coverage' wipes transition between camera angles, but otherwise everything is solid. The presentation has been carried over identically from the Xbox 360 version, all the characters, the same decent soundtrack, and all the modes, with one exception – there is no online play. While the Wii is marketed as an offline-multiplayer device, sports games are starting to support online on the console, and this game would certainly have benefited from a simple online mode.
The graphics have definitely taken a hit, but are passable.
Overall, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis for Wii is a cut above your usual after the fact Wii port, and the controls, while not what most people would expect, are well thought out and do benefit from the Wii controller. The lack of online and 'just ok' graphics don't make it a knockout punch, but at a budget price it may still be worth a look for any Wii owner after a more fully featured sports game on their console.
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