Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar San Diego
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Sports
Release date: Available now
Review by: G. Scott Taulbee

In the early 1900’s, refined gentlemen played tennis outdoors. On days where the weather was not conducive to running around outside, these gentlemen would sulk indoors, unhappy that they were unable to engage in their preferred pastime. One day, a few of these gentlemen began using household items to bring their fun inside. A few decades later, the official sport of Table Tennis was born. It has been known under many names, the most popular of which is the brand-name, Ping Pong, and was the inspiration for the first commercially successful arcade game, Pong. In a somewhat strange twist, the simplistic nature of these early games is reflected in Rockstar Games’ motion-sensing title for the Nintendo Wii.

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I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Best of the Best: A Tribute to Game Music, a CD of video game-inspired tracks from various composers. To review the CD, I invited a friend to listen with me as we played the disc on an Xbox 360 several times. The 360’s visualization system allows up to four players to manipulate the display during playback, a feature that fit the songs on the CD to a “T.” Some tracks, like the Silent Hill Theme, turned the screen into a jagged red and black dance of mayhem that evoked scenes of undead twitching to the music, as if the 360 and CD were in cahoots.

Most of the tracks are solid, competent entries that hint at something great. The Super Metroid-inspired track is a decent affair that is overshadowed by a lead guitar that tries too hard to be heard above the rest of the soundscape. Legend of Zelda is, in some places, a stirring number, yet it fails to go anywhere, leaving listeners somewhat let down. Go Mario! — Super Mario Bros by Winifred Phillips cleverly mixes a cappella voices with sound effects from the games, which never fails to elicit smiles from listeners. Medal of Honor Improvisation by Chance Thomas is a subtle and brilliantly evocative piece that calls forth feelings much deeper than one would expect a piece of music to be when inspired by a series of pixels.

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