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ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 Mini Review

Chris Leyton

21/08/2006

Watch out Tiger Woods there's a new pretender to your throne...

Golfing fans have had a pretty lean selection to choose from in recent years, as Tiger Woods struts with the same superiority on the digital green as he does in the real world. With past titles such as Links, Leaderboard and the Jack Nicklaus series stepping down from the challenge, the appearance of Oxygen Interactive's ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 comes as some relief for providing a little competition at the very least.

Shortly before release Oxygen Interactive took the unusual decision to change the name of the game that was simply known as World Tour Golf. A risky decision, but one made even more questionable given the lack of a big marketing budget to get the point across. The decision to step away from a generic title and focus on the game's primary feature, however, seems perfectly justified once you actually grab hold of a club and take your first swing.

With the customary selection of Tournament, Round and Career modes, ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 provides a rudimentary choice for gamers. After the high-gloss and star-studded presentation of the Tiger Woods series, it's somewhat welcoming to find ProStroke's character customisation options limited to a handful of character models as opposed to the plethora of choices that are typically on offer. With this the case, it's straight off onto the fairway, where ProStroke Golf makes the bold claims.

With the emergence of analogue thumbsticks golf titles have gradually ditched the triple-tap technique pioneered in earlier titles. An increase in precision, authenticity and sense of immersion compared to a test of hand-to-eye co-ordination, certainly, but nothing compared to the system that Gusto Games have fashioned for ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007. From the start everything looks very similar, if a little ropey and rough around the edges, but from the very first drive you'll realise this is a very different game indeed.

Presenting a viewpoint from the golfer's eyes - a first-person perspective of sorts that provides a unique standpoint at the very least - ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 makes its intentions known immediately with a clear view of the ball, the club and the action between both. Utilising the thumbsticks ProStroke Golf accurately captures the finer subtleties of a swing, consigning previous analogue techniques to the same place as the triple-tap. Taking control of the swing with the right thumbstick, the left thumbstick governs the sense of weight transfer between the golfer's feet; a precise movement of both from right-to-left is the simple, yet deceptively elaborate, technique to master in Gusto Games comprehensive simulation of the forces behind a golf swing. The technique has allowed Gusto Games to capture the nature of golf with unparalleled realism; for example, a drive requires the player to initially place the weight on the back foot, pull back the club and then lead the weight onto the first foot split-seconds before making the swing. Although undeniably harder to achieve initial success then the likes of Tiger Woods, the ProStroke technique becomes thoroughly intuitive and moreover provides ample scope and depth for golfing fanatics to perfect their drives, chips and putts.

There's an incredible amount of depth to the system once the basics have been mastered; moving the leading foot up and down adds 'draw' and 'fade' to the ball; stand over or behind the ball to affect its trajectory along with opening and closing the club's face to influence the direction. More purposefully, it provides the technique to perform additional shots such as the 'Punch', 'Flop', 'Chip and Run' and more, without having to select them from a menu - it's simply a case of finding the right stance and perfecting the appropriate swing.

Whereas the Tiger Woods series is based around instant accessibility, ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 can be an intimidating experience to begin with. Yet, unusually, this is also the game's greatest strength as there's a sense of development and satisfaction within the game - the ability to practise, practise, practise and eventually master your all-round game. Chipping out of a bunker or applying enough backspin to stop the ball dead by the cup can be tricky situations to deal with, but slowly the tricks become apparent and the technique improves.

Given the importance placed on the actual aspect of playing golf, it's perhaps unsurprising to find ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 a little rough around the edges when it comes to presentation. Although the actual courses, character models and animation are functional, there's little to concern EA in the high-gloss stakes. Perhaps a result of the team's unwavering focus towards the actual gameplay, it seems that there was little time left for such superficial aspects as menu designs, customisation options and everything else that doesn't revolve around the ProStroke.

Although rudimentary in choice, ProStroke Golf World Tour 2007 does provide enough challenge and variety in the modes on offer, though online options would be a good idea for next year's edition. Besides standard Round and Tournament options the Career mode holds the biggest challenge, with a calendar year presenting multiple tournaments and competitions across five seasons. Your character's renown level is the entry for many of these, so to begin with the choice on offer is restricted but opens up based upon your skill, with trick shots scoring bonus points. Although relatively light-weight in depth and variety, it provides adequate structure to the game's captivating gameplay.

ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 is nothing short of a revelation for golfing fans. Gusto Games have created a technique that defines innovation, and makes the other techniques feel archaic in comparison. Although the presentation and choice of content is a little on the weak side, ProStroke Golf World tour 2007 represents a creditable start for what should be a hugely successful series for Oxygen Interactive.