Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Ron Burke

There is no doubt that we are in the sports season. Whether it is golf, basketball, baseball, or football, if there is a ball to be smacked in some fashion, tis the season to do so. In the video gaming world, this means we are hit with a deluge of competing sports titles that look to one-up each other with new features and dazzling graphics. This year we have been treated to only a few golf titles including Real World Golf, and the upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. Developer Gusto Games is looking to bring a solid golf title to the green without resorting to any fancy gimmicks to make their game stand out. Can this game harken back to classics like Links on the PC, or will it drop short into the water hazard like so many others? I picked up my driver to find out exactly that.

Lately there has been an incredible amount of pressure put on developers to make sports titles look as realistic as possible.  Every bead of sweat, every glint of metal, and every surface must shine and glisten in the jaggie-less bump mapped HDR-enabled sun.  There is no doubt that this makes the presentation of the game elevate to a level that will make people stop and watch, and if you watch the people at Fry’s Electronics, it may even fool people into thinking it is real.  ProStroke isn’t that kind of game.

ProStroke’s graphics will not blow you away.  In fact, they are fairly jagged in places and there is a very limited animation pool for all characters involved.  Speaking of characters, there is something missing – female players.  Sadly there are no female characters to pick in the game.  There are some clipping issues that also present themselves when you get closer to objects like trees or bunkers. 

The graphics aren’t really that bad, but it won’t be pushing the system much.  The player clothing looks decent, and the trees in the background have ample foliage.  Simply put, we’ve seen many games, golf games included, look better.  These are simply ‘passable’.

In general, the graphics just look a little rough around the edges.  Close your eyes to the graphics and try the game out for a few minutes and you’ll see why you shouldn’t care about the graphics – this game is all about a realistic golf experience.  That said, the graphics won’t fool anyone into thinking you are watching the PGA Tour on your TV.

If you have played any recent sports titles, you probably have come to appreciate good commentator audio to help immerse you into the game.  The folks at Gusto have gotten professional announcers Ian Baker Finch, Sam Torrance, and Alan Green to provide voice work for ProStroke.  They’ll celebrate your success and rub your nose in your failures.  Occasionally, there are a few sound glitches where your announcer seems to be watching some player other than you, but it is generally right. 

The music is generic rock that you’ll forget almost as soon as you hear it.  Seriously though, were you expecting an EA Trax-like experience while playing golf?  They aren’t holding those “Quiet” signs for nothing.  The music, just like the graphics, is simply serviceable. 

There have been some great strides in the control systems of recent golf games.  Using analog sticks instead of digital controls moved the game from a minigame based on timing to a simulation of real human movement. Like those other golf games, ProStroke bears the hallmarks of a great golf simulation.  Looking at the specifics should easily reveal that.

Using the left analog stick, you adjust your body weight and position from side to side.  The right analog is essentially your club, and will control cut, slice, spin, speed, and more.  While this sounds complicated, once you’ve done it in training, or simply hacked your way through it on the tee, it will change the way you view golf games.  By rolling the analog sticks away from the pin, and then driving through the ball, you’ll realize that this is very different from any other golf game you’ve ever played.

I mentioned that there is a training system for the game.  Normally, any player would skip right past that and just jump right into the game with both feet.  I’m going to suggest you play through the training system to learn about the game mechanics.  How the ball is struck, the weight position I mentioned earlier, swinging through the ball properly, club facing, stance, and more is all explained in great detail in the tutorial.  It’ll really help you improve your game, regardless of how many golf games you’ve played. 

As you play the tutorial hole, you are presented with a screen to help you digest what you’ve done thus far.  It shows your body position, both hands and feet, the club you are using, and what amount of power you’ll need for a proper shot.  This is carried to the main game, and gives you stats on how other players are doing as well.

The real genius of the game is the redesigned swing meter.  Given that your swing is 80% of the overall game, this is where the developer spent the greatest amount of time.  When you move to take a shot you are given a top-down view of the ball.  You can see the shaft of the club, the ball, your foot position in relation to the ball, distance to the pin, and the swing meter.  Anyone who has played golf for real can tell you that taking a shot at the ball is a full-body motion.  Swinging your hips back, pulling the club smoothly through your backswing, and then driving through the ball while simultaneously shifting your hips forward, and keeping your club face straight at the pin, while wearing goofy pants, is all necessary for every single shot.  There is a lot to go wrong, but when it goes right, it is cause for celebration.  ProStroke is the closest we’ve ever gotten to making this action happen in a game.  I am perfectly comfortable giving ProStroke a perfect score in the control section for this level of innovation.

Golf is a game of finesse.  Many games have boiled all the technique and practice down to a minigame where hitting A at the appropriate time and then hitting it again before a meter hits the top of a bar equates to all of the steps described above.  It is almost insulting to the real life game.  Here is the hitch – we’ve gotten used to that nonsense. 

The gameplay in ProStroke, as I described in the control section, is one that will require a bit of practice before you get to a novice level.  You’ll play (badly, at first) on two licensed courses, the DeVere Belfry course in England, and the Lake Nona course in Florida, as well as the 16 fabricated courses throughout the game.  You can play through amateur tournaments, become a professional, and try your hand against professionals like Justin Rose, Ben Curtis, and Ian Woosnam.  As you continue to play, your game should improve, giving you a chance against the pros.  If you mess up, you’ll need to really compose yourself and get back on track, as the difficulty on Legend is fairly unforgiving.  Only practice and time can make you a better player, so don’t expect to rely on your ability to stop a mark on a bar to keep up with the big boys. 

The innovations to the swing aspects of the game are easily the best part of the game.  The putting game is the last 20% and we’ve all seen it before. Looks like the work is cut out for the sequel – innovate the putting game. 

As you move through the game you’ll gain Renown Points.  These points aren’t allocated individually, as they would be in other golf titles, but they do unlock more power, better accuracy, and more putting control as you reach certain milestones.   You get the points for completing some fairly simple objectives: a hole-in-one, hitting the pin, making par, making par on all 18 holes, putting for a certain distance, etc.  You can think of it like Achievements, but on the original Xbox, if you need a carrot dangled to motivate you. 

The innovative nature of the controls adds heavily to the overall gameplay.  The new game mechanics make ProStroke less of a game, and more of a simulation.  If you are looking for a good golf simulator, this is your game.  If you are easily frustrated and would like to simply practice your timing of hitting the A button in a moving bar, you might want to check out the long list of me-too golf titles on the shelf.  Serious hackers only please.

There are several elements in ProStroke that spell a large leap forward.  There are a few that represent a big step back.  I know that every game can’t contain every feature, but this multiplatform title misses some of the big ones.  The biggest omission is the online game.  If you want to hit the links with your friends, they’ll have to wear their goofy pants while they sit on your couch.  The ability to play online would have extended the gameplay of this game heavily, and would encourage others to experience this innovative title. As it stands, it’ll have to rely on reviews like this one, and word of mouth.  ProStroke is not your average golf title.  While the overall presentation may lack the visual punch of a next-generation title, there is no doubt that the innovation in the gameplay and control areas more than make up for it.  While this golf title may not be for everyone, it is certainly the best golf simulator to date.

Gaming Trend Score

86

1. Graphics: 70
2. Audio: 85
3. Controls: 100
4. Gameplay: 90
5. Value/Replay: 80
6. OVERALL:86