Super Swing Golf

"Great Gameplay, possibly ruined for many by frustrating data save system."

I've been a long time player of Albatross 18, so I was really looking forward to a Wii-remote interactive version of this game. It's been delivered with sweet gameplay, great multiplayer modes, and .... quite a confusing character system.

As there are some points that I felt made this a great game, and some points that angered me, I'll keep this review straight, and to the point to let you decide if this is the game for you.

GRAPHICS: 9/10

Crisp, colorful, bright and cartoony. This is a high point because of the clarity alone, and the game is just pleasing to look at. A great, painless conversion from PC to Console, it's hard to remain in a lousy mood when playing.

SOUND/MUSIC: 8/10

The majority of the themes are the same songs from the PC version, but beefed up a bit with more intricate fills, some jazz guitar here and there, and just overall pep. Solid, mood setting, and not annoying.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10

Everything you've hoped for. You have full control over a complete set of clubs, the same camera views and control options as the PC version, and more. You get instant replays for free, and the controls are nice and fluid.

Your distance/power is determined by how far back you raise your club, and your accuracy is determined by how steady and straight you swing. You can choose to swing as a righty or lefty too. In addition to this, if your arms start aching after 3 hours of multiplayer rounds, you can opt to keep using the motion of the Wii remote, or you can switch to the traditional "button swing" method like on the PC version, before each round.

The single player mode, mini games, and multiplayer modes are all very consistant. All your favorite shots are there still, as well. Curves, spin, Tomahawk, Cobra, Clothes, Clubs, Balls; all those wonderful toys :o)

CHARACTER SAVE DATA/PROFILES: 4/10

Now, you probably don't see this subject in most reviews, and for good reason.

It's usually irrelevant.

However, this game has a very confusing aspect... save data. It may make or break the game for you, depending on how important certain things in a game are to you.

The first time you start the game, it will ask you to enter a name for the "default character". What this really means, is you will enter the name that will be permanantly applied to anybody who wants to play single player mode. You cant change it. This seems to affect the game from the get-go, and gives several (but the only)CONS for this title:

-If you have several people in the household, you all have to share the profile.

-You can unlock characters with Pang just like the PC version, but they are all under the same game data / profile, and people can futz with them as they please.

-Pangya, high scores, records, stats... are no longer personal. They are for that Wii System for that game. Anybody who plays the game has it all. This means you may have been saving that Pang for several weeks, when another person in the house can walk up and blow it all on clothes for another character you really don't care about.

-In multiplayer, all players have to select a character from the same save data as well... so if you are just starting the game, and want to have a party session... everybody's character is the same one character you chose to start with. This puts a damper on fun, and variety.

OVERALL: 7

Once you face the fact that everybody you live with, or plays Super Swing Golf as singe player mode on your Wii, they will be using your Pang, your characters, using your special items, breaking your high scores, and modifying all the characters however they please so that everything is completely different every time you come back to it, the game is great. The gameplay, the style, the mood the game gives while playing makes a sweet party game. If you can get past this embarassingly flawed savedata/single profile system, It's definitly a worthy buy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/06