I picked up Mario Golf: World Tour yesterday. This morning, I was watching credits after completing the Castle Club mode of the "campaign." It wasn't my goal to burn through it, and by all accounts, the campaign is not really where the meat of the game is to be found. Honestly, I'm perhaps more relieved than anything because now, I can turn to checking out the online options. Ultimately, golf games (save Tiger Woods) have changed very little from the NES days. The three-button-push mechanic is tried and true. But however many -13 rounds or lower I post, the game, like real golf itself, is best enjoyed with others, preferably, friends.
I went to check -- it took me a little less than two months to earn the Platinum Trophy for Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational. And yet even after that, I played HSG a lot. In fact, I played it daily for a good long period to play in the daily tournament challenges. I guess it helps to not suck, but I enjoyed competing, seeing how low I could score and how that fared versus others. For whatever reason, the HSG online component was not quite up to speed when first released -- made even more odd considering it was a step back from the PSP version. Eventually, the developers added modes including asynchronous play. It was enough to get some people back into the game, but the opportunity was lost. Online play became limited by the relatively small group of people playing and it was even less inviting for novices.
I downloaded Powerstar Golf at X1 launch. I liked it though the overall content felt more limited compared to HSG. Fewer characters and courses, its hook was two-fold: power-up items and online tracking. For a next gen game, the multi-player suite was severely lacking. There was no direct competitive multi-player. I don't know whether that's still the case, but like many of the launch lineup titles, Powerstar Golf offered a multi-player feel even though you weren't playing at the same time with someone (e.g, racing against drivatars in Forza). What the game did was create markers of where players had been before you as well as your own records. I could see long drives and closest to the pins and do my best to best them. It wasn't bad, but when you don't have a lot of friends playing, the feeling of accomplishment dwindles.
I liked when we played Tiger Woods and the notion of our own country club. I'm not sure why I played that less than I did. I know we had some folks that played and the competition was fun. I think ultimately, the analogue swing was a bit too touchy and unreliable for me. If I wanted to be frustrated by slicing the ball, I'd head to the real course. But I'll say this, the online options were something that appealed to me.
So, here I am, new golf game in hand. Come join me on the links. It'll be a lot more fun with others.
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