A Brutal Battle For Table Tennis Supremacy
Ping pong, or as it is more commonly known, table tennis, is a sport that people can play in their back garden just as easily as to partake in it at the Olympics. It originated in Victorian England, with rumours suggesting it was played by military officers in India using a table and some books down the middle as a makeshift net. Of course, it has since developed into a highly skilled, fast-paced action sport that fascinates and wows spectators when they see the professionals play.
In King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX, you get to play table tennis against a strange array of competitors, and it is as hard as nails.
When you load up this brightly coloured, cartoon-style game, you have two modes on offer: Arcade mode and Championship mode. You can’t even play the latter unless you beat the Arcade mode first, so you had better get your act together. There isn’t a story either, other than the fact that you are aiming to become the ultimate Ping Pong champion by defeating a series of strange opponents from different corners of the world. For example, the first one you meet is possibly a zombie, so we certainly aren’t playing in a realistic world here.
More Fighter Than Sim
The key to success is to not think of this game as a sporting sim, but rather as a fighter. You are presented with the table and the opponent on the other side, while you are represented by a free-floating hand and paddle. You can move left and right and return the ball to the left, right, or middle of the table. There is also a gauge that, when filled, allows you to unleash a power shot. The timing of your return is the crux of the experience, and you will get this wrong so many times in the beginning because, as I may have already mentioned, the difficulty is brutal.
Deciphering Opponent Moves
Each opponent you face will have their own set of moves for you to decipher in order to score a point against them. For example, one of them has the ability to curve the ball, which becomes almost impossible to reach as it bounces off the table at a mad angle. To make things worse, they seem to be able to use their special power as many times as they want; even getting a simple point past them feels insane because it seems like they never miss and always reach the ball.
So, what’s the point if it’s so hard, I hear you cry? Well, with patience comes reward, though you will see the “Game Over” sign many times during your playthrough. To win a game, it’s the first to five points, and getting those five points will feel like climbing Everest. And the reason King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX feels like a fighter rather than standard sports sim, is that you must weaken the opponent’s stamina to get them to concede a point. If you can keep up a rally against all odds, they will eventually tire, and you can go in for the kill.
Some sadists out there will relish this challenge, and I think that is exactly who the game is aimed at. But that leaves a whole bunch of people who will likely bounce off this table tennis table quite quickly.
If you can stand the heat and power on through, completing the Arcade mode and defeating the five opponents, you can then tackle Championship mode. This involves playing against these characters again, but with the difficulty and skill levels cranked up even higher. Oh, happy days! To be honest, if you’ve made it past the Arcade mode, you are likely in this for the long run.
Neon Arcades
On the positive side, King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX looks great with its colourful cartoon world full of brightness; it doesn’t take itself too seriously, unlike the gameplay. I really liked the mixture of characters you meet along the way to play ping pong with, each having their own unique animations and move sets. The soundtrack features beats and tones that remind me of walking past arcades and being spellbound by the music. It is a great job all round in terms of presentation.
A Hard-As-Nails Achievement For Patient Ping Pong Players
King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX reminds of those days of going to the arcade, where something brash and loud would entice us into dropping coins. But like those times, this is an incredibly hard game and anything resembling fun becomes a struggle. Nail it though, and you’ll gain a proper sense of achievement.
For me, had I not been reviewing King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX, I would have given up within just a few minutes.
Important Links
Your New King of Ping Pong? MEGAMIX is a First-Person Arcade Brawler – https://www.thexboxhub.com/your-new-king-of-ping-pong-megamix-is-a-first-person-arcade-brawler/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/king-of-ping-pong-megamix/9P592SL92NRB/0010
