Golf on the Wii? Is this something hardcore gamers care about? Maybe, but certainly there are now two sports games on the Wii which involve golf. And we're not talking about your father's Tiger Woods' golf, either. We're talking Nintendo's Wii Sports: Golf and Tecmo's Super Swing Golf which take two decidedly different roads on how to play the game. In this article I'll do the advantage/disadvantage comparison method to look at both products.
Ease of Play - Wii Sports: Golf
Certainly Wii Sports: Golf is harder than some of the other Wii Sports games like boxing. I mean boxing is fairly easy... you just punch and punch and punch (and occasionally block) and you win. But otherwise, Wii sports: Golf has a very quick learning curve and it's not too hard to do decently after a couple of runs through the game. If you're playing single player, you can probably make pro (1000 points) in a couple of hours.
Super Swing Golf can be extremely tricky, especially if you're going for the perfect hit, which the game calls Pangya, and which can earn you Pang Points. Total Pang Points is the deciding factor if two opponents are tied (stroke or match play) so Pang Points matter. Also, in single mode, Pang Points accumulated can be used in the store to unlock other characters, purchase better equipment, or upgrade your caddie. Yes, the caddie makes a difference. However, a slight mis-twist of the wrist as you are doing a follow through could really hook or slice the ball. This is a point of extreme frustration, to say the least.
Challenge - Super Swing Golf
When I said Wii Sports: Golf is easier to play, it's also very easy to accomplish the one goal the game provides: becoming a pro. After that, you can work on lowering your total score or you can play against others, but the game offers no other challenge.
Super Swing Golf has numerous tournaments to play in match play with a whole host of computer opponents (which you can unlock in the store). There's also stroke play where you go head to head for eighteen holes. And if that's not enough for you, there's also the storyline which involves head-to-head play against computer opponents. Did I mention the computer cheats? Well, it seemingly does. You can make perfect shots and get on the green in 4 strokes. However, the computer opponent makes swings that seem to have not so great results and hit the green in 2. And since a lot of it is match play, you guessed it, you've lost the hole. So this game is a more significant challenge, even frustratingly so.
Head-to-Head Play - Super Swing Golf
Wii Sports: Golf offers 4 different options, 3 holes of 3 different levels and a 9 hole option (which is basically all of the 3 hole options rolled into one). You can play head-to-head but the game is really simplistic. Pretty soon you'll get bored playing those same holes over and over and over again. Also, you only have the choice of stroke play. No Ryder's Cup type tension here.
Super Swing Golf has numerous courses, numerous different players (if you unlock them all), different equipment and caddies to chose from, etc. The more you unlock, the more choices you get for head-to-head play. And in addition to stroke or match play, there's a Balloon Pop mode where the object is to pop as many balloons as possible. This isn't as easy as it sounds because you're looking to hit the right set of balloons to set off a chain reaction and get even more balloons.
Integration with Wii Features - Wii Sports: Golf
The Wii Sports: Golf can use any Miis you've created and it also will send emails to the console when Pro status is reached. Super Swing Golf doesn't integrate with any of the Wii features outside of use of the Wii Remote. This isn't a hard one to call but it may not be one you care about.
Hot Anime Babes and Dudes - Super Swing Golf
Wii Sports: Golf only has access to the armless Miis and let's face it... none of them could be described as "hot." However, Super Swing Golf is chock full of anime style boys and girls. Though the game is rated E for Everyone (although a closer look says Everyone 10 for suggestive themes), one look at the game's characters (as demonstrated by Nintendo's title header for the game's page on Nintendo.com) and you'll know what I'm talking about. After you start getting lottery tickets, either by winning them or buying them, and you start playing the lottery, you'll start to unlock a lot of images. Some of the poses look like they came out of the Tecmo series, Dead or Alive, or SNK's King of Fighters series. Still don't believe me? Do a GIS (Google Image Search) on "Super Swing Golf" and see what you bring back.
Overall Experience - Super Swing Golf
Wii Sports: Golf is fun, but in single player mode it's just you out there by yourself on the greens. super Swing Golf ensures you always have an opponent unless you're in the tutorial section. This makes the game competitive because it's always at least one-on-one. As a result, doing well is more involving and therefore, leads to a better experience. Even when I was getting frustrated at the computer character's cheating, I mean, excellent play on the links, I still found myself going back to rematch until that opponent was conquered.
Golf on the Wii? Is this something hardcore gamers care about? Maybe, but certainly there are now two sports games on the Wii which involve golf. And we're not talking about your father's Tiger Woods' golf, either. We're talking Nintendo's Wii Sports: Golf and Tecmo's Super Swing Golf which take two decidedly different roads on how to play the game. In this article I'll do the advantage/disadvantage comparison method to look at both products.
