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annoying. Loses much in the translation

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I am in full agreement with another reviewer, who said this game was annoying and condesceding. I too, loved HotShots Golf and had high hopes for this one. I don't care if the graphics are better. I don't care if the courses are well designed. I was immediately turned off by the training which was frustrating and patronizing. I don't need this! Why do we play these games anyways? I have a sneaking suspicion that this game became a casualty of innapropriate translation from Japanese to English. Any text which is spoken in this game, by any character, will make make you angry. The gameplay pales in comparison to Hotshots. The swinging mechanism is poorly designed. I know swinging cages are popular on the golf channel, but they are infuriating and unneccesary as the basis for a video-game swing. Real consistency is difficult to calculate, and the alleged "sweet spot" (where you need to make contact with the ball) is not explained by either the instruction manual or the aggravating trainer, who would rather frustrate you than help you.

If you can be turned off a game by subtle things like "attitude", as another reviewer mentioned, think twice before buying this game.

Swing Away Golf

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I am sorry but, I thought this title was terrible! It did not take long to adjust to the fact that you have to hit an extra half of club for the distance given. The putting was way to easy. If it was a straight putt and you never flunked second grade math you are going to make every putt. The putts that had any break you could take out with aiming a tad outside the cup and give the putt a little more juice. I scored 68 and 59 in my first two rounds. The major problem with this title is that you have to play with a computer player during tournament play. There might be a way to turn that option off, but I never found it. It took almost an hour and twenty minutes to play a round of golf. Normally a person can wip around the course in thirty minutes. I wanted to give this title a chance, but I could not invest all the time it would take to take a player to the championship.

First golf game a disappointment!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

For those of you that enjoy a game of golf by yourself or with a friend, then skip this game! Loading time is way ridiculous for the PS2 loads up a different camera angle every time you swing. A major time drag. Also, physics in the short game is non-realistic. Anyone know that an 8-yard chip off the green is not that difficult. And anyone who has played this game can tell you that the first par 3 on the first course is almost impossible to get on the green without coming up short. So, in my opinion, go out an get Hot Shots Golf 2 for the PS1 and you'll have way more fun.

Frustrating and condescending

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: November 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I played Hot Shots and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this game.

I started with the practice mode. It let me try shots three times (each time telling me how poorly I had done) before it informed me it was going to move on to the next lesson because I am having trouble with the building blocks. There was a lot of text one needed to skip through to go through practice so I though I would try my luck on the links instead of pressing 'X' many times for another three attempts at practice.

The computer player would yawn when I was trying to line up my shot. It constantly told me about how its breakfast was contributing to its good play. It would rarely complement my good shots but often criticize by bad ones.

The commentator/coach never has anything useful to say. It lets you know when your ball is short of the hole that you could have hit it harder and it never fails to let you know you are not playing as well as you could be, do you have a cold?

The graphics are fine, but they do not make up for the lack of sportsmanship in the computer players. The attitude drove me away from the game.

What a disappointment

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game COULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME. This game is really fun to play, it has good graphics, nice sound, and easy controls. BUT, I cannot get over the lag times. This game even lags during the opening! How any company could release this game is beyond me. I have gone through 12 or 15 holes, even with all the lag, only to have the game freeze on me. But, I still play it. BUYER BEWARE! Do not buy this game unless you have a LOT of patience.

fun, but could be WAY better...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

i loved hot shots golf for the original playstation. so when i bought swing away for the ps2, i was thinking that it could nothing but as much fun and more. i was wrong. the gameplay is way slower than hot shots. everything in the game seems to move in slow motion (swing icon, in-between holes, hitting the ball), making it hard for you too really get into a groove, to where you can have a good time. if that's not bad enough; the caddies are awful. they talk to you as though you're an idiot and they always have something to say...it gets old fast. the training mode is worse, it's very condenscending, making you want to figure the game out on your own. if you don't mind all of this the game is fun, well-designed holes, great landscapes, good camera options, and all the goofy character animations of the original hot shots. best bet: rent it and decide for yourself ....

Horribly slow loading actually a good thing...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I loved Hot Shots 1, Hot Shots 2 was not by the same company and the putting in it was rather awful... so now T&E Soft is back (after working on mario golf?) and here is what they have to offer.

First off, the loading time is horrible. The "slow motion of all the shots" and etc. can be abated by holding down X on the gamepad... it just makes me wonder why this isn't the default mode. The only other nauseating thing about the game is the timing of the swings. It is illogical that the speeds of the swings change depending on your club... the timing should all be rather similar as in the other games, this in my mind is not an improvement.

That being said: the horrible 30-45 min game you are forced to sit through when playing with a computer opponent is actually a good thing, it makes you pace your games. Each stroke is important, as you are making a time investment: approximately 1-2 minutes between your own hits if you are taking turns with the cpu. This, and, the replayability by sitting there, vegging out and playing forever is nil. You are forced to play the game over weeks and months... There are many stats (hooray!) as well as items to unlock like gloves, bags, etc.

As far as the sound issue, be real about it! There has never been any sports game with an announcer, coach, caddie, etc. that didn't get nauseating after a few plays... just turn the sound off or down if you don't like it.

The physics seem phony at times, too. The drives actually bounce and roll quite nicely, but short range chip shots are a pain...

Also, be aware that everything in the game *is* possible after getting the right gear by winning or purchasing.

There are still the problems with goofy putting physics and par 5 holes which are just eagle fodder even at the lowest gear/skill rating, but this is simply the best golfing game in terms of stats, options, skills, and "story" that there is.

Fun for awhile

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The first couple of weeks I owned this game, I played 36 holes everyday. There are a lot of different types of matches, tourneys, etc. After 3 weeks, I had beaten the "boss" golfer and opened all of the other tournaments up. So basically, the point of the game now is to fill up my trophy room. It's a little tedious. So it's up to you,... By the way, lot's of people complain about the caddies, and after a few games I turned off the "commentary" in the options menu. Ironically, I found it a little too quiet. It was kind of disconcerting, so I turned them back on!

Suitable to pass the time with until GT3 is released.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: December 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

As a fan of Mario Golf (Dreamcast), I bought this game based on the simulation aspect while I wait for GT3. It is the first PS2 (and only) game I have so far, so I enjoy the graphics, but can't say how they compare with other games on the system. The simulation is entertaining, but not as good as Mario Golf. If you really enjoy golf video games, there is no reason you shouldn't enjoy this game, just don't expect it to knock your socks off.

The control and gameplay is difficult to learn, but I think that is a positive. I play golf (the real-life version), and I don't find it realistic to just turn on a game and start hitting drives in the fairway every time.

If you look, you can find Swing Away at discount price, and that makes it worth the purchase.

Overall this is an average game for the PS2.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I rented this game, I was expecting a cartoony game with average graphics....What I got was an amazingly deep game for the playstation with great graphics........the game is very easy to pick up and play and the story mode is very fun......the game does load a little slow and it is sometimes unfair when you are chipping near the greens.......but otherwise, this game plays like Mario Golf for the N64........Golf fans should like this game and non golfers will like how easy it is to pick up and play it for a while........rent and enjoy.......then maybe buy it.........

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