PDC World Championship Darts Hands-On Preview

Darts is played in pubs and garages the world over, but rarely has it been represented in video game form. Oxygen Interactive is out to stake its claim on the genre with PDC World Championship Darts, which launches in December and is endorsed by the Professional Darts Corporation. This licensing agreement will provide an authentic experience with 10 real-life players, commentary from legendary pundit Sid Waddell, and venues that include Great Britain, Las Vegas, and Holland.

The game itself is very simple to play, using the right analog stick to mimic the action of your throwing arm. You aim by moving a crosshair over the board, and then set the pace and accuracy of the throw with the motion of your stick. Pull back and then follow through with a smooth and straight action and you will have a good chance of hitting your mark, but do it erratically or pull to the side and you'll find yourself off-target. At the novice difficulty level, a power bar tells you how far to pull back on each throw, but at professional standard you have to use your judgment. Nerves also work against you as you approach the end of each round--the target wavers and the controller shakes to mirror your quickened heartbeat.

Like boxing, the world of darts licensing is relatively complicated, with a number of competing organizations hosting various competitions. The PDC is one of the larger bodies, though, and some of the most famous players in the world have made it into this game. The likes of Phil "The Power" Taylor, Peter "One Dart" Manley, and Wayne "Hawaii 501" Mardle are all playable outside of the career and tournament modes. The player likenesses are fairly accurate, with typically flamboyant shirts that are marked with all current sponsorship. The only time when you really get to see players moving is when they enter each match accompanied by rousing music and flashing lights. However, aside from this and a slow-mo action replay of the last dart in each leg, there's not much in terms of flair in PDC World Championship Darts.

The main thrust of the game is a career mode, which offers a character creation mode and a series of global competitions. There's not much you can do to personalise your avatar other than choosing between four different shirt styles and colours, but being able to change the introduction music played at each match is pretty neat. If you want to take on tournaments one at a time, you can choose to play them separately across the game's American, Dutch, and British locations. Graphically, the game is simple, particularly in terms of player animations and background details. However, the commentary from Sid Waddell is probably the highlight of the game. No doubt familiar to viewers of Sky Sports in the UK, Waddell's comments are sometimes completely indecipherable, but they capture the spirit of this unique sport and are often genuinely hilarious.

As with most sports games, PDC World Championship Darts comes into its own when played against friends. Two friends can set up a few quick legs playing as one of the 10 licensed sportsmen, and up to four players can take part in the party mode. The main attraction is the standard game, in which you start with 701, 501, or 301 points and whittle it down to zero by scoring on the board. However, there are also 12 minigames, like around the clock and shanghai, which don't really have much to do with the real game but can be good fun. In around the clock, for instance, a dart will make a circular motion on the board until you stop it and take a shot. It's a variation on the famous darts game, but it won't keep you as interested as the main game itself.

PDC World Championship Darts does well to focus on re-creating the professional game in video game form. While it's rough around the edges in terms of presentation, the multiplayer game is far more enjoyable than we expected. The party mode in particular will be a hit even with those who don't follow the sport, and fans will enjoy the career mode, real-life players, and authentic locations. The preview build was near to completion and enabled us to get a good feel for the game--but we only have to wait a month before we can get our hands on the finished product.