True Swing Golf

[BCampbell]

Anyone else playing this? It's an interesting twist on teh tpical golf game; instead of having a meter you have to click on a few times to swing, you actually pull back and swing with the stylus on the touch screen. It's actually really intuitive and fun. The problem is, the game doesn't really have any personality. There are only rudimentary stats and a very basic selection of equipment to buy. It almost feels like a demo, but there's a few hours tucked away in the tournaments. The courses are interesting and well designed, and the terrain graphics are pretty impressive (though the scenery isn't). Ball physics are suprisingly good, the ball stops short when it's raining and reacts well to slopes and grades.

A great game for golf game fans, but minly because of the swing mechanic. Other than that it's pretty mediocre so far.

 

[Darth_Jonas]

didn't the xbox have a game that had that kind of swing tech? I remember having to get used to using the thumbstick very carefully. I tended to push up and left, instead of straight. I was always shanking it into the woods or water.

 

[spudlyff8fan]

I think it was in Tiger Woods 2004 by EA that you had to start using the right thumbstick to swing. But I definitely would prefer it to the Mario Golf meter clicks. If I wanted that I'd practice my punting in Madden.

 

[BCampbell]

There are some PC games that use the mouse too. What's nice is that True Swing Golf feels a lot like the Golden Tee coin-op games. It's a lot more fluid and natural than using analog sticks or a mouse. You can also set it for three directions, either down-up, left-right, or right-left, and for lefties and righties. I might try the thumb pad on teh wrist strap, but the stylus seems to be doing a good job. It's tough to get good clubhead speeds at first, butafter a while you figure out how to get good consistent speeds. Like real golf, it's actually important to follow through; if you just swing toward them ball and then lift the stylus, you won't get a great shot.

It doesn't seem like there's too much depth to this game though, which is a shame.

 

[Darth_Jonas]

I always hate it when a game is one-sided. Either it has good graphics or good gameplay or good story or good length. Most games try to have a decent balance, but some you can tell were either slapped together and didn't have enough time to flesh them out, or just were designed to be pretty or something.

 

[BCampbell]

Yeah, I've only put maybe four hours into it, but it doesn't look like there's going to be too much beyond what I've already seen. We'll see. The equipment you can buy is probably what disappointed me the most. There are basically three levels of progressively more expensive equipment, with a focus on one of three stats within each level. But it seems like it's fairly easy to hit that ceiling.

At worst, this is a game that's worth a rental just to play with the swing mechanics. At $20-$25, it's worth buying if you like golf games.

 

[cuinneas]

I played with the demo a little bit in the store. I don't think that I will be buying it but if I find someone out there that wants to lend it to me I will not say No.