Pro Golf 2010 World Tour

Pro Golf 2010 World Tour – Fancy yourself as a PGA pro? Then get this!

It’s not every day that I get to play a game that causes me to lose track of time. Well ok, that’s not strictly true (as I am a game reviewer) but this is actually a really decent effort at being a golf emulator which really gets you on the edge of the seat and totally absorbs you.

Take your pick from five of the most famous young golfing stars around today and use their abilities to your advantage. Whether you are all about blasting the ball as far as you can, using your putting skills or like me, spend most of the time in bunkers and the rough, then the recovery shot experts will be more tempting to pick. Once you’ve picked your pro you have quite a varied number of tasks for you to make your way through. Whether it’s a quick game where you get to play your way through three random short courses or fancy something a lot deeper and more developed, then there’s something here for you to play.

In career mode you have to play through three courses for the majority of the game and stay within the top tier of players as you complete the course. Steadily the courses, the competition and the expectations get increased in their difficulty. By the end of the challenge you’ll be playing your way through not just three holes but the back nine and the whole course! Needless to say, some of these courses will take a while for you to birdie your way round and in truth I managed to fluke a double birdie on only one course.

As you probably know already, golf is a mixture of skill and precision against the elements and these are all beautifully reconstructed for your gaming pleasure. Hazards in the form of manmade lakes, bunkers, trees, rough and hills are all emulated here – even the fish and reeds in the water hazards have been lovingly put in place.

The controls are pretty effective and basic. Simply tap the OK button and the power bar will stop at the selected mark, then the hook and slice accuracy bar is a similar story. If you hit the ball sweetly you’ll be making a course record, miscue it and you’ll end up with a different kind of record or even miss the ball entirely! The hazards on the ground are one thing to be aware of but you should also consider the wind when aiming and hitting the ball – it can either be an advantage or a disadvantage!

If you think that the shot’s over once you’ve struck your ball, you’d be wrong. You have control of the spin, tap it at the right time and you’ll creep towards the hole or make it harder for yourself.

This is a really complete golf gaming experience in the palm of your hand. If you are a novice then you can feel like a pro within a few strokes, if you want more of a challenge then you can tinker with the settings and you’ll be thoroughly rewarded with a deviously realistic experience.

Rating 90%

Positives

Totally engaging and well detailed

Plenty of challenges

Changeable difficulty settings

Good controls

Negatives

A tad repetitive – some courses are repeated a few times

No undo option if you miscue the power or ball strike

Evolving your player with buying upgrades can make it a little easy