The respective play-style of each of your opponents may eventually become obvious to you, but until that moment you can get stuck in seemingly endless back-and-forth rallies - neither you nor your opponent willing to give even a hair-widths advantage.įor fans of the NES, it may seem reminiscent of Punch Out! - and in many ways it is. Try to overpower your opponent and you're just as likely to overpower yourself. Get careless while trying to do a wicked bounce shot and you'll end up bumping the puck into the wrong end of the table. If anything, it can be punishingly difficult. Every sound and animation is satisfying and lends a tangibility to the experience the donks and thwacks of the puck bouncing around the table, the sneers, taunts, or grunts of your opponent, and the smashing of glass all resonate sharply, giving a sense of being there. It is a far inferior game with the audio turned off. These character quirks extend to the gameplay, with some of them even doubling as tells for what your opponent will do next. Think twice before making your own paddle ridiculously wide - it may make defence easier, but your ability to send a crazy, unstoppable shot scooting towards your opponent will be severely hampered.Įach opponent has his/her/its own patterns and idiosyncrasies - many comedic, such as the serpent Lexan who sips champagne, hiccups, and eventually passes out, or the mysteriously calm alien Nerual, who periodically opens his (her?) robe to reveal a smirking face at around chest level. In one-off matches you can customise the playing conditions - increasing the size or power of your paddle, adding a weighted block to the centre of the table for a little unpredictability, or, if competing against the robot, modifying the attributes of your opponent. This begins with the feeble novice Skip Feeney, who'll compliment you on your fine skills, then steps up to a midget alien, a seasoned veteran shufflepuck player, an increasingly inebriated champagne-loving serpent, and onwards, eventually reaching the street-tough Biff, who is the reigning champion. In a tournament, you work your way up from the weakest to the strongest opponent - at least, you try to. You can challenge these regulars to one-off matches or enter a tournament.

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