Flawed Gem of a Golf Game.
And in some ways, incrediably its better than this PSP version! The PSP version does have some great bits, the career mode is good, the mid week challenges are on the whole fun and the fun is certainly in the game.
Obviously if you're not a golf fan, find another game, this isn't for you. However, if you do like a round of golf, you'll probably find yourself enjoying this.
There are a few bad points though.
Shooting Gallery - this can be incredibly tough on some of the challenges simply down to the inaccuary of the control system. Hitting a certain target can be, hit and miss and that's soley down to the control.
Putting #1 - Oh my god. This can be soooo frustrating and it need not be. Which ever idiot thought that using green lines on a green full of green grass is the kind of idiot who voted for President Bush! C'mon, how the hell can you judge the slope of the green when you can't see the sodding grid because green on green, well rather merges into one.
Putting #2 - Why oh why does it force you to putt when you're on the fringe of the green? Today it even forced me to putt from the light rough! Even the megadrive version didn't do this.
Putting #3 - On long puts its easy to loose the position of the hole when you're viewing from behind the golfer, it would be better to leave the pin in and then remove it when the putt is made, as they do in real life.
Putting #4 - Take the 'ideal line' with a pinch of salt, many times its talking out of its virtual ass. Ignore it and learn to gauge from the grid on the green. Obviously this has its own problems (See ' Putting #1')
Spinning - This is a great idea and fantastic for pulling of cool shots. However, its severly hampered when the camera angle used for the approach shot is so tight or at such an angle you can't see the sodding pin! it needs an arrrow on the screen so you know where the pin is and thus where to spin the ball.
Hook / Draw - This is near impossible to get right. Again the megadrive version had it perfectly setup, so why mess?
On the whole the swing control using the nub is ok, its not fantastic, but its ok. The range of shots can sometimes leave you baffled. 100% shots where the ground is even between you and there is no wind and the pin can end up 20 yards short for no reason. It does make it hard to judge how hard to hit them when you can't be sure it'll go where it says.
Also, where has the gusty winds gone, for each hole its just a steady speed. Would be nice if it was gusty, varies in strength and direction, as it did on the megadrive version.
All those gripes aside, its a fun game, most of the time. Just take out insurance for your PSP incase it accidently flies out the window when you're robbed of another eagle put thanks to the Putting Issues!