The King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX is basically the Punch-Out!! of table tennis. It is essentially a personality-filled fighting game designed around the player’s reaction time as opposed to being a ping pong simulator; this is no Rockstar Table Tennis. The steep difficulty will probably discourage some players but there is no denying the creative aspect of this low-cost digital download.
Instead of fighting in the streets or bouting between mortals in combat, the player competes against a pro ping pong player just like any fighting game. If you win, it is onto the next challenge. Lose and try again.
Each match is the first to five points which is the perfect pace of play. Since each match is quite challenging, the first-to-five structure gives it that one-more-try approach as each challenge might take a minute or two at most.
Like a fighting game, you need to wear down your opponent’s energy/stamina gauge to find an opening. Nailing a couple of well-placed shots can cause the AI to stagger, making way for a winning approach. Keeping things simple, the player has three options in terms of hitting the ball: left, center, and right with each being mapped to a face button. Then, if the power gauge fills, a super shot can be performed. It might sound straightforward or even a bit boring on paper, but it is much faster when in play.
This game is hard. You will get game over. A lot.
For example, you will lose the first match. Probably even a few times. This is no Glass Joe to start. The difficulty comes from reaction time as you need to position your floating paddle-hand avatar according to the position of the AI’s shots, the return fire appropriately. There are only a handful of opponents, but each one has a gimmick and high difficulty. The final boss is brutal. Speaking honestly, I cannot beat this dual-paddle wielding final boss simply because my reaction time cannot act that fast. At best, I was able to score two points in a match after numerous attempts, but my brain and fingers simply cannot move that quickly. With only one difficulty setting, I fear I will never be able to beat the final match. This gets compounded because the bosses always serve to start the rally, giving them the upper hand each match.
King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX isn’t really a ping pong game despite being a ping pong game. It is almost like a glorified Mario Party mini game solely built around pressing the right button in a very short amount of time. Although the overall design is dripping with personality, the reaction-based gameplay might not be for everyone. Either way, there is no denying its creativity and the low-cost is encouraging even if you have the slightest interest in ping pong fighting.
SCORE: 6/10
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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