ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 Review

ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007

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Publisher: Oxygen Interactive

Developer: Gusto Games

Category: Sports

Release Dates

Intl - 08/18/2006

N Amer - 09/07/2006

Official Game Website

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ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 Review

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I know, when you hear video-game golf, most people think Tiger Woods, I personally love the Hot Shots franchise and champion it anytime the subject comes up. Sure there are some other lesser-known titles, and even though they are living in the shadow of the great Tiger Woods, they usually have some sort of redeeming quality, whether it's a nifty character creator or tons of un-lockable items. Which brings me to today's conundrum of a title, Pro Stroke golf shows flashes of real innovation, but then slices itself off the course.

I've said it till I'm blue in the face, and I'll say it again. I only like sports games when they involve golf (and poker, but I argue the validity of it being a sport). Why? Because I think that all other sports should be played in real life and are normally easy enough to do if you go to the park with the appropriate amount of people, but golf? Golf's expensive, even cheap golf is expensive in time. Don't get me wrong, I love hitting the links, but with kids, work, a wife, and a burgeoning writing career, I simply don't have the four hours to spare to go play on a regular basis. Which is why I love video-game golf, no long walks, no looking for balls hit in the rough, no waiting for people to play in front of you or to play through, I've made up my mind, video-game golf is just easier (not more fun, just easier). That being said, I've spent some quality time with this title late into the evening (another bonus of video-game golf) and Prostroke simply misses the mark on too many things.

"Put my feet where?"

Prostroke, first off, is a pretty large game, there are many courses to play yet only two appear to be legitimate links. The other umpteen courses are merely made up to look like other courses, yet they still fail to inspire or even get really crazy. If I was making a golf game and had free reign to make up courses, why not get a little goofy with some of them, I appreciate that some courses and some players for that matter, enjoy a more classically designed course with all the expected bunkers and hazards, but c'mon, let's see a couple really raunchy courses. Thankfully the game has a pretty user-friendly course creator and I was able to come up with some courses that were more my speed (zany).

In addition to these somewhat bland courses, the game fails to utilize the graphical capabilities of second-generation systems (or is it third?) I know that the Xbox is no longer the top-tier system, but it's still second. So what's with the drab-looking fairways and greens? The game really looks like it's just different colored ground rather then textured like it should be. Chipping from the fairway should be an awful lot easier then chipping from the sand, and yet...

Probably the best feature in the game is the new and different swing control. Rather then view your golfer from a third-person perspective like virtually all other golf games, you view it from the first person, looking down at your own ball and club. Using the right thumbstick you power up and swing forward giving the player a more sensitive feel to the swing, and with that, you can use the left thumbstick to maneuver your feet properly in order to get the most power in your swing. It really is pretty slick and easily the games most defining feature. Plus once you really start getting the hang of the combination of the two you can really make the ball jump off the head. With this perspective, I do wish they would have incorporated the player's feet into the view rather then in a window all it's own, as it is now, you are staring straight down but your feet are nowhere in sight.

"Things just haven't been the same since I stopped wearing checkered pants."

Surprisingly the game does feature a pretty decent collection of pro golfers and professional commentators; no, you won't find Tiger, Vijay or even Ernie but you do get Sergio Garcia and Mark O' Meara - probably the two most recognizable faces in the game itself, but that's where the positives end. There isn't any sort of use for these players other than seeing their rendered likeness on the screen once a shot is completed, power and control isn't very varied from one pro to another; at least nothing I could tell.

The voice work done by professional call men. Sam Torrance, Ian Baker-Finch and Alan Green do a commendable job of trying to put some validity into the game, but I got the feeling that these men were struggling to make the game feel like a real match. It's hard to be 100% on this since I don't really watch golf on TV, and therefore I can't give an accurate depiction of their commentating. Are they phoning it in or are do they sound like that during real golf?

Lastly the game is sorely lacking in "Live" capabilities, there is room for a foursome but then you are just taking turns playing each hole. Not that this is entirely bad, but in today's age, one would expect titles like this to have online capabilities.

Review Scoring Details for ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007

Gameplay: 7.8

The swing is a step in the right direction and the mechanics that went into it's design are to be applauded. Trying to time the percentage of power needed (each shot tells you how hard to hit it) can be somewhat frustrating since you need to be fluid in your swings or else things can go all wacky on you.

Graphics: 5.8

After you hit a shot, the screen switches to the player to watch his reaction, after that, it switches to him walking. It's kind of pointless. Where are the professional women golfers? The courses are pretty disappointing and don't look as good as they should.

Sound: 6.4

Thwakkkk!! The sound of the ball getting creamed sounds pretty good, but there is some confusion as to the commentators sincerity.

Difficulty: Medium

One hole you may hit five over par, the next you may get a birdie, you could argue that this sounds like real golf, but the game's inability to correctly differentiate between ground conditions made me mess up on more then one hole.

Concept: 6.7

I will say that I like to see game studios try and take on genres that are typically ruled by one or two franchises. The folks at Oxygen Games were on to something with the cool new golf swing but the rest of the title sadly doesn't measure up. The course creator is surprisingly more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

Multiplayer: 6.0

Only players sitting on the same couch can play together, up to four that is. This title might have seen better legs with online play that allowed you to play on home-made courses.

Overall: 6.3

I just couldn't get onboard with this title. Again, flashes of brilliance that are quickly snuffed by uninspired course selection, lack of online play and improper physics.