True Swing Golf

"What Tiger Should Have Been"

I got this game used a month or so ago. I passed up on it at its launch in May as I really didnt think it would be worth my time or the money. In a way I am glad I didnt pay full price a few months ago, but I am also bummed that I missed such a sturdy golf outing on the beloved DS handheld.

Control is key in most DS game , and this is where the game succeeds the most over rival games like Tiger Woods. You use your stylus to swing your club back and forth just like in real life towards your ball. Just like in real life, depending on your forswing or backswing, or where you hit the ball all changes how your hit will be. If you miss the ball you, just like in real life, will wiff it. It is nice to finally break away from the 3 hit combo of the past and move on to something a bit more intuitive. Being that control is so important for touch screen play, its nice to see that Nintendo has rolled out yet another successful hit.

Graphics is a bit of a mixed bag. The players arent the most detailed things in the world but they get the job done. Just the plain fact that one of the characters looks exactly like me was enough to make me giddy, but I know this is not true for everyone out there. Animations are stiff... like stick up your rear stiff. But considering you only have to see them walk for .01 percent of the gameplay its not that big of a deal. Course graphics are much more impressive than I thought they would be. It was really nice to see such clean corses. On the other hand you can almost see it render itself as the camera zooms down the feild, which takes the magic away and makes you even more aware that you are playing a game. But to be honest it doesnt take away from gamplay a bit.

Sound is perfect for a golf game. No announcers, soft music, and perfect golf sound effects makes you feel relaxed and unpressured. Everyone knows from Tiger Woods how annoying announcers can be.. well here is your holy grail!

As far as the customization goes, this gives you a decent amount. Dont expenct to morph the player to look like you like in console versions of golf games, but you do get a nice selection of clubs, clothing, and balls that will not disappoint the handheld gamer.

Multiplayer single cart is a blast! It gives you pictochat right there.. so if you sense that your friend is about to swing, block his view with a big drawing of a funny looking face. I know it sounds pathetic, but this gets to be almost more fun than the golfing, and makes the game not feel like a long drawn out golf outing, but a fun moment with your buds. After the initial long load, everything is breezy fast and you will have a great time taking on your friends. I was shocked to see how fun this really was, and it has restored its playtime in my DS even more because of it. It will put other WiFi games to shame, and that was a big shock.

You should be able to find this used for 14-19 dollars now. And for that price it is well worth your time and money. It might not be the most beautiful thing in the world, but you will have more fun with this than you have with other golf games on a handheld or console in a long time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/06