Pong

Concept and Storyline
Almost certainly a digital version of "Table Tennis" which is also known as "Ping Pong". No storyline although with a little bit of beer one could probably extrapolate to the eternal struggle of good against evil.

Spatial Arena
Black meaningless space.

Goal
Make the computer miss the ball and score points.

Core Game Mechanic
Serve ball with a mouse button click and then you can only move your paddle up and down via the mouse and prevent the ball from going out behind your paddle.

Challenge
Try and hit the ball with a moving paddle to put on some greater angular deflection.
(Or was that my imagination trying to reduce my boredom.)

Overall Impression
Pong! What a classic or did it really stink. It was the best for it time or more accurately it was all we had. I found myself initially amused but I quickly became frustrated yet again. A little bit annoying when mouse pointer not over Pong Java application as mouse input is not sent to application. I remember it being more enjoyable with original joystick hardware and the graphics were definitely larger albeit slower. Sound effects although simple definitely add another dimension to this game. I also remember the ball would serve itself after a certain time not that you could gain an advantage with your serve. Two player version was more fun than playing the computer. I hope to play this game again in another 10 years.

My Rating
3 out of 10 stars.