PREVIEW: Rockstar Table Tennis has several control schemes (but no online play)

Earlier today we had the pleasure of visiting the offices of Rockstar London, where we were granted a sneaky peeky of the Wii version of Table Tennis. Based on what we’ve seen, the prognosis is very good, with the game being very close to the 360 version. Of course, the quality of the graphics were never going to be replicated on the Wii, but the addition of motion sensitive controls is enough to distinguish this version on its own merits.

The most surprising thing is the control scheme, or should we say, multiplicity of control schemes. Whereas most titles for the Wii have erred on the side of simplicity, Wii Sports being the obvious example, Table Tennis offers players a choice of three different control methods, each with their own degree of complexity.

The standard control scheme uses the Wiimote on its own, and the game takes care of the character’s movement. Swinging the controller with a forehand or backhand guides the ball left or right across the table. The Wiimote is more sensitive to these movements, however, interpreting a forward lunge or a flick or the wrist in appropriately different ways.

The spin shots are controlled with the Wiimote’s directional pad, with left, right, forward and backspin mapped to each direction. It’s simple but effective, and given that the area of character movement is so small, players will hardly notice that the CPU is controlling where they go.

Beyond the basic control system are two more advanced systems which use the nunchuk peripheral. The “Control Freak” allows players to take full control of the character’s movement with the analogue stick. All of the other buttons remain the same, but now players can choose where to position themselves in anticipation of a trickshot.

The third control option - the “Sharp Shooter” - is the closest approximation of the controls on the 360 version, where the direction of the ball is controlled with the analogue stick, and the Wiimote only requires a gentle flick to hit the ball. Again, spin buttons remain the same. This mode is the most comfortable for people who’ve played the game before, and the rumble function is reintroduced to the nunchuk as a way of warning you if you’re in danger of hitting the ball out of play.

All three control methods are equally valid ways of playing the game. It has to be said, it took a while to get used to each, but once we did were soon smashing ping pongs across the table with wild abandon.

Sadly, there is one major omission from the Wii version of Table Tennis: no online play. We were incredulous when we were first told this, but Rockstar were adamant that they wanted to focus on getting the gameplay just right for two players on the same console. Regardless, we remain hopeful that an online mode will be added via a patch (or something); it’s a key factor in its success on the 360, and the Wii is just crying out for a similar online experience.

Overall, we left this game feeling impressed by what we’d seen. Together with Manhunt 2, Rockstar are one of the few third-party developers who really understands the potential of the Wiimote, and they’re working damn hard to see that we get the most out of it. We’ll give you a full review once we get our grubby mitts on a copy of the game, released on October 23rd.

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