True Swing Golf – Final Play

Golf, like many games, can be a lot more fun when you are playing better. Whether with a three button click, analog stick, or touch screen control, I have never had trouble scoring well after a little bit of practice. True Swing Golf has proven to be a bit more challenging than most of the golf games I have played.

Though a portable game, it is not as fast playing as Mario Golf on the GBA or Tiger Woods on the DS. Another way I could phrase it is that I should not play this game as quickly if I want to score well. On my road to improvement, I had to slow down and not rush my shots, being sure to use the various views to adjust my shot, keeping in mind the wind, distance, and hole layout, and then re-check the flight of my ball using “Y” to ensure that my adjustments still allow for a clear flight path. Once the shot was set, I needed to position my hand so that I could draw the club back using my stylus and follow a straight and fast path back to the middle of the ball effectively. Though there are quite a few steps involved, you can get into a groove, when your hand begins to just know where to go. However, there were some times when I wanted to go a little faster and that was when I fell back to my old habits and it became bogey city.

One of my goals for this final play rating was to be able to talk about the unlockables and, in particular, the gear you can purchase in the pro shop to power up your play. For a while I was getting pretty nervous, because I wasn’t winning tournaments and therefore I wasn’t making money. Thankfully, as my game began to improve, I was able to afford one of the drivers I had been eyeing. The driver of choice was the “Double Spin”, which was supposed to provide a boost in power. Though I have no idea why a driver that would increase your power is called the “Double Spin,” it certainly does add a lot of power. The upgrade does not seem to affect your regular swing, but when you are about to swing, you can click the “L” button to trigger your special shot. In this case, it would add about 30 yards to your drive. There are a few different special shots. Another example is an enhanced curve, allowing you to draw and fade a shot with some extra bend for those tough doglegs. Your special shots need to be earned. As you hit effective shots, your special meter will fill and, when completely full, you earn a special shot.

In addition to drivers, you can purchase new golf balls, gloves, and shoes, all of which power up your player in a number of ways. You can also purchase new clothes and accessories for your player. This is not something that I have spent much time and money on, partially because I haven’t had much money and also because this is an offline golf game, so I don’t really care what I look like.

Oh, how I wish this game was online. True Swing Golf on Nintendo’s WiFi Connection would really put a hook in me and improve the overall package and play experience significantly if done right. I have not been able to play multiplayer at all and don’t expect to simply because I don’t have a DS toting friend in the neighborhood; however, on paper, the multiplayer sounds pretty strong. There is single and multiple card play for up to four players. There are two standout features that sound quite fun. The first is the ability to send pictochat images to other players while playing. The second is a feature called “Bet Stroke”, which allows you to play a skins match against your friends where you can all bet on the outcome and the winner takes all. There is also a way to share a demo version with a friend, which they can play until they shut off their DS.

My fun has increased as I have found some better ways to play and have earned some money to upgrade my equipment, allowing me to be more competitive on some of the tougher courses and against tougher opponents. The pace of the play is a little slower than I would wish, at least if I want to play better. It is possible the pace will pick up with further play. The graphics are the game’s weakest point, though they don’t negatively affect play. I must add a correction to what I mentioned in a previous rating. The greens do seem to be in 3D, as I have seen some pretty intense slopes in some of the later courses. That being said, it is only visible with extreme hills and undulations. Being a golf fan, True Swing Golf will likely continue to be a regular play for some time and that’s always a good sign.