20 September,2015 07:57 AM IST | | Andre Rodrigues
Power Ping Pong marries focus and strategy with the mortal battle of kung fu. Want to play against a sensei?
Touchscreen devices were made for fun games like Fruit Ninja, endless runners and table tennis - where furious finger swipes beats mashing buttons and moving around with annoying joysticks any day. Enter Power Ping Pong, a Table Tennis "fighter" in the vein of the movie, Balls of Fury. Bringing that high energy of kung fu to infuse life into a sport that's as normal as hitting a ball with a paddle. Think shaolin soccer with table tennis.
Power Ping Pong brings in the focus and strategy of the sport, marrying it to facing off an opponent in a mortal battle of kung fu. With the added power up moves as seen in fighting games like Street Fighter, it includes a cast of zany characters. There are cartoony opponents that are stereotypes from kung fu pop culture, including the afro -sporting, go-wearing fighter that looks straight out of a Bruce Lee movie. There's even a panda who knows kung fu.
Don't be fooled by the light -hearted graphics; you will need your wits about you and your fastest furious finger technique to get you through the arcade mode. You have to swipe on the screen like you're hitting the ball with the ping pong paddle. Your swipes determine the direction the ball is headed, as well as the speed, which is a bit tricky to master. On 5-inch screen plus phones it's a bit easier to hit the ball, while on tablets, you have to be more precise.
With each successful hit, your POW meter grows, and each hit has a kind of power to it, building up to a super power strike. While you play you also get powerups. Score 11 points and you win. Once you've beaten the arcade mode, you can try the survival mode against a sensei. If that's not enough, you can take on any of your friends in multiplayer kung fu ping pong battles.
Power Ping Pong takes some time to get used to. However, once your fingers get used to the sensitivity factor, you can enjoy the fun, furious battle.
It's definitely a game to make those long journeys a lot better.
Publisher: EA Chillingo
Platforms: Android, iOS
Rating: 4/5
Price: Rs 300
