Customer Reviews

Super Swing Golf

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Intriguingly, Super Swing Golf Wii is an example of an online, free multi-player game porting to a console and becoming a single player sports game. Known either as Albatross 18 or Pangya in its online world, the Super Swing Golf version for the Wii is strictly off-line.

In this Wii variation, there is a little bit of plot, but it really doesn't matter. You're on the fictional island of Pangya and there are evil forces at work. Really, this game is just about choosing a character, choosing a caddy,and playing golf.

There are a variety of courses to play on - you start with a few options, and more become available as you go. There are cool variations - snowy courses with icy lakes, desert courses where you hit through pyramid areas, rainy courses, cloudy courses, fairy tale courses. You can play tournament style and match play. There is a training mode to help you get started.

As you play well, you earn Pangya Points, which you then spend in the store. You can buy yourself new outfits, clubs, items and more. Each gives you some sort of benefit - more strength, higher accuracy, and so on. Some are special one-time-use items that let you calm down the wind, see visually how your putt will work, and other neat features.

The graphics are reasonably nice - it's obviously cartooney, but you see what you need to in order to play. The greens are shown with a grid full of dots, with the dots representing the slope of each specific grid. It works, although it's not as helpful as other golf games in determining slope. The camera views - showing overhead and target views of your shots - are OK, but again, other games provide much more complete fly-overs and detailed layouts of the hole you're playing.

From a golf point of view, the game isn't very accurate, either. When you swing, you literally bring your Wii remote up and then stop, waiting until you get to the right spot on the swing-o-meter. You press the button and then swing down through to hit the shot. It's very unnatural. The swing should be all one fluid motion and the game should know when you reach the top of your swing by itself.

Also, the pars set for some of the courses are nonsensical. A par should always assume you need two putts to sink the ball into the hole. The game doesn't do that - some pars seem almost randomly assigned.

Still, this game really isn't aimed at real golfers who want to practice their skills. It's aimed at casual players who aren't worried about accuracy - but who want fun watching their balls send out fireworks as they fly. While I don't see why a game can't be fun *and* accurate, I accept that game developers make odd decisions sometimes when making their games. For example, why do they have numerous "concept art" unlockables of barely teen girls in bikinis? How does this relate to golf? The mind boggles.

Fun enough to play with up to four players in your home, or single player, but do remember that this doesn't go online - and that it's not going to be as good as other golf games if you're looking for a realistic golfing experience. Well recommended for casual fun sports play.

I am a golfer and so was super psyched to pick up this game. Although it has fallen short in some areas I have found it fun and would thus recommend it. 5 things worth mentioning:

1. The swing system is a little jarring and having to stop in your backswing to determine your strength gets old. Also the viewing of different angles and views takes way to long which in a short game is not bad but if you are playing for a while it really adds up.

2. The limitation of character selection until unlocked is annoying for a casual user (like myself) but the ability to buy outfits/new skills is cool.

3. The swing sensors are accurate though and being a golfer it is frustrating when you get lazy and by accident hook a shot (just like in the real sport). I have found however that for chipping and putting using just one arm is more accurate. For friends who don't play golf, the button controls work fine (and are necessary because the game is not too forgiving) but kind of negate the reason this game is fun.

4. The courses are pretty but they get more and more gimmicky the more you unlock them i.e. you have to hit ontop of a battle ship to get to the green or go through a tunnel to get extra pangya. I don't really like this feature because it is not natural (I get that that is the point) and it takes several playings of a course to figure it out (this would only bother a real golfer)

5. As some one mentioned before, the wind guage is pretty cool and just like in real life can be very deceiving. Other cool features are the shot selections (power hook/fade etc.) which as the courses get more difficult are vital

In summary, if you like golf then you have obviously gotten bored with wii golf (and realized you don't actually need to swing) and this is a fun game. It rewards good shotmaking and is difficult enough to hold your attention. As with all wii games it is pretty expensive so if that is an issue I would hold off for now. I for one begged for a wii for Christmas (I am 25, kind of sad I know) just so I could play golf so this was and is a must have for me.

I guess I should be thankful for the negitive reviews as I have now picked up my favorite wii game for under 40 bucks (I own a dozen).
If you felt Warrioware was the perfect difficulty and Raymon's story mode was just the right length, this game isn't for you. If, however, you are looking for a challenging game that will keep you buisy for months, with great multi player value, this game is worth a try.
Ok so everyone complains about the inconsistancy of the swing. Well, GOLF IS HARD, so I simply call it realistic.(I can't wait until everyone trades in the new tiger woods because of its "difficulty" so I can pick it up cheep ;] ) After a lot of practice I can get a Paynga (perfect) shot about 95% of the time. Also the computer is usually pretty hard the first time or two you play them but if you have a little bit of patients they end up messing up pretty bad and are beatable.
If the swing just frustrates you too much, there is also a button mode option where you can unlock all the players and levels motion free, then return to swing mode for multi player.
And about not being able to skip the computers shots, again its all about patience. I perticualy like it becaue I can get a drink, browse the internet(I am writing this as I play) or better yet study how the computer does so well while you play.
This game is LONG! It is the only game that I have put 40 hours into(there is a game counter) and I still have less than 50% complete! I have tons more work to do and many more hours of enjoyment to get out of this game.
If you don't have ADD and decide to get this game I suggest going to gamespot dot com and checking out the FAQ, lots of good hints. Also before you ever buy a game check out the forums to see the discussion and see how many addicts there are, this game has lots!
Happy swinging!!!

Super Swing Golf is an entertaining game, to be sure, and when it first came out, it might have been a great idea to buy it to get a golf fix on the Wii (assuming you had enough of the holes in Wii Sports).

However, Tecmo did something very few companies do - they made a sequel that includes all the content from the original.

Most sequels have lots of all-new stages and characters and such, with maybe a handful brought back from a past game, but in Super Swing Golf Season 2, you get everything the original game had, and then some, making this first game in the series entirely irrelevant.

There's really no reason to own this one once you have the sequel, unless you're one of those nutty completionists who has to own every game in a series just for the sake of owning it.

This game is unrealistic, corny, and slightly stupid at times but that's OK because it's fun. It's true that this isn't the most in depth game you're ever going to play. As far as adjusting your shot is concerned you can only adjust your power, direction, and ball spin. There's no option to do fades, draws, flop shots, or other more technical shots. This is all besides the point. This game is perfect for the Wii and playing with friends. It's easy to pick up, simple to understand, and solid enough to be considered golf. Look at Tiger Woods on the Wii and ask yourself if real golf is really fun? No, it's frustrating. I play golf and it took me years to get any good at it, Super Swing Golf will have you playing like a pro in a matter of hours unlike Tiger Woods which will have you cursing at the screen in a matter of minutes.

Single player can be a little annoying. The computer player will completely wiff on easy shots then repeatedly pull chip shots out of nowhere and beat you which can be highly annoying during match play. You'll think you've got a hole in the bag only to be robbed by the computer's ridiculous ability make nigh impossible shots. There are plenty of unlockables including clubs, outfits, and caddies which give you a reason to play through single player, you also earn points in multiplayer but not nearly as many as single player.

In summary, this is the perfect golf game for the Wii. It's really not fair to say it's not realistic because Tiger Woods stands as proof as to why the WiiMote sucks for playing real golf. It's not responsive enough to replace an actual golf club so why try? I'm only giving it 4 stars because they need to tweak the single player difficulty and it wouldn't hurt to polish the game a little but overall this is probably my favorite multiplayer game on the Wii thus far.

This game is okay, but nothing special. I believe they could have worked on the interface a bit more. Clicking on the screen and then swinging the remote everytime gets to a person after a while. And, the characters could have been a bit more original. Oh and when I started to see scrolling text I was set back a bit... I really expected to hear the characters speaking. I thought voice overs had become common in sports games...?

Well now that my rant is over there are some good points to the game. For one, the game is a bit more real then wii golf when it comes to wind. The wind is not constantly what you see before you hit it. If you're behind a tree it might show little or no wind because the tree is blocking it, but once the ball is hit into the open the wind will still have a affect on the ball.

I did not have any problems with the controls or understanding how to control this game or the Wii Sports game. I am also a big fan of Mario Toadstool Golf for the Gamecube, so I was pretty sure of what to expect. I admit that Toadstool golf is easier, but I find this game to be very enjoyable. I play with my daughters - and Eight, Ten and 12 year old. They all seem to have no issue grasping the concept and controls. It is challenging, especially on the green, were almost every putt seems to curve unpredictably, but will time I think we will be able to compensate for this. We have played it for about 20 hours now in total, and I think that the general concise in my Family is that its a winner...The love earning points to by stuff for their characters!

I'm am not a golfer, however, my family and I LOVE the golf mini-game in Wii Sports. So to get a greater fix I purchased this game. Unfortunately this game is not nearly as fun as the Wii Sports version.

Aside from the lame story (which I can forgive), the control scheme feels very much like they slapped the Wiimotes abilities on top of a "button masher". For example, in Wii Sports Golf the power of your swing is determined by the force of your swing, in SSG you sloooooowly rock your arm back and press a button to "set" the power. This takes a HUGE element of fun out of the game in my opinion. This game might be fun on a traditional console but a Wii game it is not.

I plan on trading this one in, save your money for a future golf game that more closely mimics Wii Sports natural flow.

I love golf video games, so when I bought my Wii I had to pick this one up.

At first I didn't like it, because the arm motion you need to use with your Wii remote does not even come close to what a real golf swing should feel like. In fact, I went to the driving range after a few times of playing this and it messed up my actual swing because I was trying to swing like I was playing this game! I also found it hard to beat the CPU opponents using the motion swing.

Then, I switched to the button swing, and I found this game to be much more enjoyable. It's still challenging because the CPU opponents are tough to beat, but that it what gives this game replay value. When you use the button swing, this game is similar to Hot Shots Golf.

If you are looking for a Golf Sim that will help your actual golf game, look elsewhere. But if you are just looking for a fun game with lots of characters and items to unlock, you'll be happy. It's just too bad they couldn't work out the mechanics of the motion swing.

By chance I came across Super Swing Golf and decided to take a look at it.
The game itself is like a low spec version of PS2 based "Minna no Golf" (Japan) but adds some interesting features.

The game welcomes you with several easy listening bossa nove style melodies that runs through the whole game.

I would say it ranks close to "Minna no Golf", so above the Wii Sports mini Golf game version.


While WII Sports Golf version gives you 4 types of Golf clubs, you will have 14 with Super Swing Golf.

If you decide to play against the computer, than every Golf course starts with a challenge dialog. It goes along the line that once you enter the Golf course somebody will come up to you and tell you off. On which you suggest to make a challenge game. (The winner stays)

When doing a match with the computer you will be interested to find out the different levels of your golf partner player.

So their level might vary from beginner to professional and this is also a sympathy point for the game. Once you know your skill level you can choose a "partner" with similar skills.

Its so much more interesting than playing against somebody who is much stronger or weaker.


Some other interesting features that make the game very approachable are features like you can change the clubs behaviour to left or right handed etc.. You can also dress your character the way you want, just choose the shirt, pants, shoes etc that fits your personal style.

While playing you can make your displayed character transparent so you can actually see the area that would usually not be viewable from your view from behind the character.

But what really sets this game apart from f.e. Wii Sports Golf version is the waste amount of fancy animations, characters and golf scenarios. This is what really makes it so much fun to play.


Summary:

It is currently the most professional Golf type game on the WII platform. The many features, the easy listening type music, beautiful scenarios and fancy animations make you easily forget where you actually are. So its a very relaxing game, and that is what Golf is actually about.

If you want to be picky on the game, here are my complaints:

1) I found that the handling of the camera views need some getting used to.
2) The game itself should have some more features like similar Golf type games on other console platforms.


Anything else than that, just enjoy !!