| Swing Away Golf Everybody's Golf both original and sequel were the Psone's best golf games since the original's release until the consoles (obvious) death, nothing came close to the simplicity and charm, as most golf games were so dull and boring, Everybody's Golf had the colourful cartoon graphics and didn't at all take it self seriously, well that was until you noticed the realistic physics, well Swing Away Golf is another attempt to kick out the dreary sims, to create a sim but like Everybody's Golf, in a bright and breezy way, that many people will love! The whole layout is basically the same as Everybody's Golf (but as we are here to discuss Swing Away Golf, we'll drop the comparisons slightly). Now the physics, do they work? flawed? Well they can be described as more good then bad (and even the bad parts are so-so). The shot meter is completely different from Everybody's Golf (here we go again) rather then the straight line along the bottom, Swing Away golf has a more complicated upwards slanted meter, which contains the shot power (as you would expect) and the impact situated at the bottom (again as you would expect). So it's hit X once to start the meter, and then stop it on how much power you want for the club to strike the ball, when you are satisfied (or not satisfied if you make a mistake) wait for the meter to reach the bottom centre between the two lines, time it perfectly and you receive a perfect (Surprise!!) shot, but obviously there is the wind and such to take in to account, and that is easy to read via the handy wind meter on the top of the screen. As the game seems to rely on a heavier simulation engine then Everybody's Golf, I can't really fault the shot meter officially, as I'm not certain of how the game works in some ways, but most ways this is great. The graphics are gorgeous: The texture work on the courses is very good, but in some parts such as the green lacks the textures to make it mirror the real thing (this can be forgiven of course, because of despite the physics this isn't meant to be the real thing), Guess what? The trees actually look like trees, the water (hazards) are also great looking, but again this isn't the best-looking water on the PS2 (even being one of the PS2's earlier titles, it still wasn't back then). The characters are smooth and a glitch isn't in sight, they are more humanly proportioned then Everybody's Golf, and are in the style as what you would expect from the Japanese (pink hair, big eyes, with me now?) Courses and characters are unlocked throughout tournaments, but there is a bit of a story here too (which is crap, but hey it has one). Many cups can be won, on and not to forget to mention virtual prize money, but the strength is to be found in the multiplayer modes, which are great competitive fun, and also a good laugh! So the big question is (drum roll) which is best Swing away or Everybody's golf? Well it's a real close call but I think (and that's a big THINK) Everybody's Golf just edges through to be my fave golf game, but nevertheless Swing Away is still excellent fun and is certainly the PS2's best golf game, great game and I love its style!! Chris Wigham 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |