
	Platform Wii Genre Sports Publisher Tecmo Developer Tecmo ESRB E +10 (Everyone) Released December 2006

- Engaging story mode with plenty of unlockables as rewards - Actually involves a ample amount of simulation-style golfing mechanics, especially with Wiimote swinging

- Cutesy anime characters and graphics could turn away (and keep off the virtual course) a large segment of gamers that may actually enjoy the solid golf gameplay - Swinging doesn’t work totally effectively until you master the nuances of slices, curves and backspins along with the many “special” shots like the Cobra and Tomahawk shots

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Super Swing Golf

Score: 7.5 / 10

Nintendo made a completely brilliant decision when it released the Wii last fall: it gave each and every Wii owner a copy of Wii Sports, which perfectly showed off just how innovative the Wiimote controller was, especially for sports games, including golf. Imitating the physics of swinging a golf club, I personally couldn’t wait for the first full-version golf Wii game. Would it be Tiger Woods PGA Tour from Electronic Arts? Mario Golf from Nintendo? It was neither. Tecmo teed off first on the Wii with Super Swing Golf.

I’ll be completely straightforward with anybody reading this review: if I hadn’t been sent Super Swing Golf to review, there’s simply no way that I would have even given it a shot. After looking at the too-cutesy, doe-eyed anime golfers (along with the too-bizarre caddies, including a dolphin-like creature and another one, Papel, that’s a paper shopping bag … don’t even try and understand that one) dominating the artwork and screenshots on the front and back of the game case, there’s just absolutely no chance I would have actually bought Super Swing Golf, instead waiting for a “real” golf game (either the aforementioned Tiger Woods PGA Tour or Mario Golf). That would have been somewhat of a mistake, however.

Despite being a dolled-up girly game with its wacky and effeminate cast of golfers and caddies, Super Swing Golf is actually a very challenging casual golf title (more Mario Golf or Hot Shots! than the simulation-heavy Tiger Woods PGA Tour) that

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physically involves the gamer via realistic swing controls with a engaging story mode along with four-player multiplayer.

If Super Swing Golf somehow sounds (or looks) vaguely familiar, that’s because Super Swing Golf is basically the Wii version of Albatross 18, a free online golf game. That’s right – free. But Albatross 18 doesn’t have the Wiimote control to bring a new

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level of golfing realism that just simply cannot be duplicated in the PC version.

It’s that Wiimote swinging mechanism that is what really puts the super in Super Swing Golf, because if it ain’t got that Wii swing, Super Swing Golf don’t got a thing. Fortunately, it does possess that very good simulation golfing feature hidden behind the façade of over-the-top, cartoonish anime graphics and the more casual-golfing aspect of Super Swing Golf.

You play Super Swing Golf using the Wiimote as a golf club, and the manual has instructions on using proper techniques and swing mechanics. That level of simulation-style detail I really didn’t expect out of Super Swing Golf. Under all the frilly fluff there is a skills-demanding golf game.

Not only do you need to learn how to swing the Wiimote as a golf club, you’ll need to learn how to use the nuances of slices, curves and backspins along with the many “special” shots like the Cobra and Tomahawk shots to advance far in the game. You don’t necessarily have to use the Wiimote golf-club swing controls, instead using the Wiimote buttons to emulate it, but really where’s the fun in that? That totally defeats much of the enjoyment of Super Swing Golf, specifically when the challenge of learning and using the Wiimote swinging mechanics is its best feature.

There are more than a few modes to keep you busy, from the story mode that follows the Pangya=Fest to stroke play and multiplayer play (not online play, however). There are a few multiplayer options, with a four-player tournament or mini-game modes. And you’ll find unlockables opened and discovered as you win, from new clubs and clothing to power items that have an effect on your links luck and skill.

What may be another turnoff to some is the strange story mode of the Pangya=Fest. The Pangya=Fest is the story of a group of Pangya players (golfers to you and me) that battle the forces of golfing evil with Mystical Phoenix Balls being used instead of the regular dimpled white golf balls. themes. It’s a little bit of a syrupy yarn that fits perfectly with the peculiar anime fellas and fancy nancies you’ll play with and against in Super Swing Golf. Unusual to be sure, but you’ll find plenty of gameplay buried inside it. This, as well as every other game mode, is played over a bunch of colorfully unique fantasy-style courses that feature snowy, sandy and tropical flavored

With an engrossing story mode and challenging gameplay physics that really do require you to learn proper golf-club swing techniques to be successful, as long as you can get past the anime-inspired, girly-game graphical presentation, Super Swing Golf is worth a round on the virtual links to those who enjoy the casual golf gaming aspect of Wii Sports golf similar to Hot Shots! or Mario Golf instead of the more simulation-centric Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

– Lee Cieniawa

lcieniawa@armchairempire.com

(April 24, 2007)