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i'll wait for the Wii table tennis game, at least that way i'll be able to use the Wii-mote and control the spin and strengh of my hit

Even if your family never had one, you at least had a friend down the street who did. That classic downstairs basement, with its musty old couch and hand-me-down television set, boxes of Christmas ornaments and other precious memories lying dormant in the corner, and the holy grail of suburban recreation: the ping-pong table. Tennis for people who could never play tennis.

The odd thing about Rockstar Games Table Tennis -- aside from the fact that it's made by Rockstar Games -- is that even though it's much more professional than the game we played downstairs on a hot summer's day, it still conjures up those memories by accurately depicting the fast pace of the game, having easily accessible controls, and simply making those distinct ping-pong ball sounds. Table Tennis plays like pretty much any other tennis game out there (Virtua Tennis, Top Spin, etc.), only on a smaller and quicker scale: get into position as early as you can, then charge up your shot (with applicable spin type) for maximum power and accuracy. It's a formula that's been proven to work, and Rockstar executes it well. The intensity -- and therefore, fun -- of the game comes through in the long 30-40 hit rallies, as the ball picks up speed and one misstep can bring on a smashing defeat.

The only frustration to be found is in the final brackets of the single-player tournaments, where the difficulty can ramp up at an unreasonable rate. It's not an unfair challenge, but factor in the slow-motion cutaway animations that play before power shots and you'll be missing a lot of shots that you know you could have made. Because the cutaways focus only on your opponent, they can really have an adverse affect on your positioning and timing -- you lose that ability to "feel" where the shot might be coming from. But it's likely that most players will only experience the single-player tournaments once or twice, because the real fun of table tennis is playing with others, and the game really shines in a group environment and over Xbox Live. Despite the lack of doubles play, multiplayer Table Tennis is where the fun is at, for the same reasons that hold true for the real-life version: anyone can play it, and there's ample opportunity to make fun of them for playing it poorly.

It's the epitome of pick-up-and-play: a game familiar to mostly everyone with simple controls and immediate results. Though at the Microsoft-mandated "budget" price of $39.99 -- the cheapest Xbox 360 games can be sold -- there are issues of value and staying power. Rockstar certainly didn't skimp on Table Tennis' production value -- it sounds, looks, and plays great. But because the "sport" itself is so simplistic at its core and there's not much beyond the standard exhibition and tournament modes, $29.99 would be an easier price to swallow. And really, you shouldn't be the only family on the block without it. [Editor's note: The previously-mentioned cutaway scenes can be disabled in the options menu. We regret not mentioning this, however, this does not affect the final score.]