Yesterday we took a trip out to the Rockstar Games office in Sydney to get some hands-on time with upcoming fun, but a mouthful to say title: Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (RGPTT). Astute members of the audience will notice that this isn't a new title, rather Rockstar released the game last year in North America and Australia to a warm reception. Rockstar recently announced that RGPTT--previously only available on Microsoft's Xbox 360 console--would soon be getting a little brother in the form of a port to the Nintendo Wii. Call us crazy but we're surprised the Wii version of the game wasn't one of the first to get a run. Its mix of fun gameplay, casual audience learning curve, and free-flow Wiimote controller usage makes it the ideal candidate--and much more authentic to the sport than holding a gamepad. That said, after playing the Wii version, we can see why they may have wanted to spend extra development time rather than rush it out the door only to face comparison with the hugely popular--and free--Wii Sports game that ships with the hardware. Fellow GameSpot editor Brian Ekberg wrote an extensive preview after his time with the title, and we're happy to report that nothing major has changed in the time since Leipzig.

　　Our session consisted of a short demo by the Rockstar team before they let us get our grubby little mitts on the Wiimotes. The game looks about on par with the Xbox 360 version if not a little scaled for the maximum resolution 480p Wii to handle. Character facial animations and movement were just as fluid as the original, although realistically once the game starts up you won't have time to concentrate on anything but the ball as it leaps across the net towards your opponent's throat.

　　Much the same as Wii Sports tennis swinging the movement of the Wiimote will determine the direction, speed, and your shot. It's all in the snap of the wrist, so you won't need to flail wildly unless you want a workout. This becomes particularly important when you're facing an evenly matched foe and rallies can quickly run to 100 shots apiece. Table Tennis is not best known as a sport won by attrition.

　　We played our first match using the everyone-friendly "standard" controller type which only uses the Wiimote. Here you'll just need to swing your wrist nice and early to wind up a shot. First-timers will enjoy returning shots with no hassles. Serving is as simple as pressing the A button to enter the service mode, tossing the ball up with one flick, and a second movement launches the ball when it's in the power zone you want. Pressing either left or right on the D-pad gives your shots spin in the appropriate direction, with the up and down buttons used to apply top and backspin on the ball and make it dip or zip as required. Angled presses on the D-pad buttons produce a combined effect, giving you deadly curving topspin or cutting dipping backspin shots. It's basic, but it gets the job done and it's extremely accessible, consider this the party mode.

　　"Sharp Shooter" is the second controller profile and introduces the player to the nunchuck attachment. In this mode you'll use the nunchuck's analogue stick to control your shot's direction--the shot itself is still determined by the Wiimote swing movement. Designed for intermediate users who have their head around the gameplay mechanics but want a little more fine control over the ball, this one is for you, and our pick for more advanced, but fun play.

　　The third and final control scheme "Control Freak" is as advanced as it gets in RGPTT and lets you use the analogue stick on the nunchuck to control your player. After mastering the first two modes, this one can still be a bit daunting. We found that while moving your player around the table, preparing the desired spin, and juggling the power-up focus mode you always seem to forget to do something, like say for example, swing your arm to return the ball. This is definitely the advanced control system and while you'll master it over time, it can be a bit much for newcomers.

　　After spending time with the title, it looks to be shaping up nicely for its impending October Australian release. We're looking forward to getting even more intimate with the control system, particularly wrapping our head around Control Freak. With some more practice Wii Sports tennis may soon need to take a backseat at the next office party for this timeless sport revisited.