The Golf Club Hopes You'll Become a Member - Preview
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 19 June 2014 / 3,105 Views
The Golf Club is a new golfing simulator that seeks to be the definitive golf experience on the newest generation of consoles. I got the chance to hit the virtual links on the PlayStation 4 from the comfort (using the term very loosely) of the E3 show floor.
The first thing I noticed was the graphical presentation. The visuals do not seem up to par with the professed power of the new generation of consoles. Taken on a whole, the picture is crisp and clear, but the courses feel dead. Things like flat plant textures and copy and pasted trees are observable without too much snooping. The character model in the demo - a stock character rather than a real life golfer - was average looking. He swung his club and whacked the golf ball convincingly but his inhuman stiffness failed to excite my aesthetic appetite.
Gameplay-wise, you use the R1 and L1 buttons to cycle between clubs and the right analog stick is used for the game’s swing mechanic. The interface tells you all you need to know about the current hole and wind conditions without being too daunting for casual players. The controls for a simulation title like this obviously cannot be mastered in a matter of minutes, so it came as no surprise to me that I sliced my first few strokes and took a while to finally land a ball on the fairway. One thing I noticed is that the direction of your swing is inverted, meaning if my finger on the analog stick leaned towards the left the ball would veer slightly to the right. Taking this - as well the wind - into account, I was eventually able to line up my shots with more accuracy.
On the green, putting requires more finesse. I narrowly missed out on a few pars and even some birdies because I either over or underestimated how much force to put behind the ball. In all truth there is nothing about how the game plays that makes it feel wholly distinct from any other golf simulator out there.
In terms of audio, the soothing sounds of a well cultivated golf course - rustling trees, singing birds, gentle wind - subtly add an air of authenticity to the experience. The game features unorthodox commentary that sounds more like the calm steady advice of a caddy than what you would hear during a television broadcast of a golf tournament.
One thing the developers pointed out was the lack of loading times between holes, making for a smooth transitional experience. The game will also boast course creation options, so you can modify existing holes or create new ones from scratch in as little as four clicks. You will then be able to share your creations with The Golf Club community online as well as download new ones. In this way the game hopes to provide an infinite variety of courses for you to explore and master. You can also download the profiles of the top players around the world and play against their ghosts, as well as compete in real time head-to-head rounds with your friends.
I am not adept at golf in real life or in video game form but The Golf Club was approachable and seemed to have passionate developers behind its production. If they can find a way to sharpen up the visuals I think it could really gather the attention of golf enthusiasts looking for something new. The Golf Club will release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam later this year.
