ProStroke golf screenshot
Oxygen Interactive's ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007, is the new computerised golf challenge from Gusto Games. The true test of any computer game is an issue of immersion. Will you be left wondering where the last 12 hours disappeared to when it's 5am, the sun's rising and you're still pinned to your seat?
Playability and gameplay mean everything when it comes to sports games - and this has both.
My first impression was that this proved to be a serial 'time burglar.' My first session lasted for 10 hours (that's TEN hours) in which I played 'two consecutive years on the Tour and finished third on the money list.'
Mastering the controls takes more effort and concentration than I'd expected, so my advice is it's well worth spending time in 'training mode' perfecting the art before venturing to the first tee.
The tutorials give a handy overview of the ProStroke system covering ball position, stance, weight-transfer, clubface alignment, and the swing itself - all of which play a major part in the length and accuracy of the shot you produce.
Once you've got the basics, select from a variety of gameplay modes including quick play, single round, tournament and PSG Career mode, where you have 'five years' to prove yourself as the 'top player on the circuit.'
The natural movements of the players and their swings owe much to the 'motion-capture technology' which the game employs, while tpresentation compares more to TV coverage than the standard bullet-time and over-the-top effects of other games.
Gantry-style camera angles and panning shots of the ball's flight give a true to life feel to the action. Attention to detail is impressively high and the greens have accurate Stimpmeter measurements.
With a choice of 18 courses to play there's plenty to keep things fresh, and if you get bored with those then you can always design your own with the in-built course designer facility.
One particularly impressive feature was the 'edit as you play' function, in which you can add water, re-size bunkers and develop the terrain at the touch of a button. It's far cry from the usual 'design-save-upload' process most building tools use.
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