Family Table Tennis

"What'll the japanese think of next?"

Just recently, Nintendo launched its new downloadable service, wiiware, where small companies can upload their own games on to it and charge wii points to download and play them. Wiiware didn't have much games to start, but it wasn't long before more games came, and Family Table Tennis, a japanese-esque ping pong game, was one of them. You can get it for only 500 wii points (5 dollars)

Gameplay- 8/10
We might as well start off with the best part about the game, the gameplay. It basically relies on 1 core concept, swing your wiimote to hit the ball. You adjust the direction in which the ball goes by how hard or how slow you hit the ball. It can take a little getting used to, but it feels nice and easy and its a nice way to add some depth.

What also adds to this mechanic is "power hit" system. Which if you mess up, you have to swing your wiimote to recover, and if you don't recover fast enough, your opponent has a chance to power hit the ball and score an instant point which is done by simply holding down B and swing like you normally would. The gameplay is fast, smooth and very worth the 500 points.


Graphics-7/10
The graphics are celshaded like windwaker and hantom hourglass. But you can tell they were kind of rushed as the backgrounds on some levels are simply still anime art. Levels like the amusement park though, with its cinematic opening, can surprise you that they can do all that with limited resources. But the game looks from first glance, like a japanese game at heart, with its many cartoonish colors that certainly don't hurt the eyes.


Content- 7/10
For 500 wii points, you shouldn't expect as much content in this game as other, more expensive, wiiware offerings like Crystal Chronicles and Dr. Mario. But the game certainly does deliver more than you think, with 4 levels, 2 adjustable game modes, and 3 minigames, youll be playing this for awhile.

The single player can be disappointing, only offering the three different opponents that you "rise in the ranks" to defeat. It is very similar to free mode in that you can adjust the amount of rounds needed to win and how many points needed to beat a round. Speaking of the free mode, you couldn't adjust what opponent you fight against, it just stays on 1 character, which is weird, but easy to get past.

But the 3 minigames is where alot of the fun is, the three games are a target game, which you fight an opponent normally, but theres targets that switch around and you have to get to 1000 points as fast as you can. A powerup one where a point is added everytime you do a power hit, and a shape matching one which is the hardest since you dont know when to hit the shapes, because they fall from the sky instead of you just serving them. The target one holds the most depth because you can compete for the fastest time.


All in all this is a fun little game that is sure to pass the time and very worth the small price. Go to the shop channel now and download now for a very cheap 500 wii points.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/08

Game Release: Family Table Tennis (US, 05/26/08)