Real World Golf review

So much for that "if this were real golf, I'd stomp you" excuse...

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The controller constantly measures the length (up to a single millimeter) and relative angles of those strings attached to your gloves, as well as the speed at which you're moving them, and uses that info to model your golf swing with almost annoyingly impressive precision. Got a nagging slice in real life? You'll have it here too. Spend a lot of your time on the local links hacking yourself out of the rough? This will recreate everything but the grass stains on your club heads. Luckily, there are three difficulty settings, so you can make par even on rough days, and if you're talented enough to actually use draws, fades, backspin, and punch shots in the real world, you can recreate them fairly easily here as well.

You'll still find a few clubs missing from the bag: the bargain-bin graphics and sparse audio are just shy of awful even on PC (with a maximum resolution in the 1280x range), and there are too few characters from which to choose. There are only 10 courses, and duffers seeking game modes beyond four-player offline tournaments, regular stoke and match play, a stableford showdown, or a few minigames might feel the game struggles to make the cut. Oh, and putting needs work - it's infuriating to hit the ball with 11% of your power instead of the recommended 9% and see the damn thing blast 15 yards past the cup.

More info

GenreSports
DescriptionThis incredibly user-friendly golf game may be the most fun you can have at a bachelor party without endangering the groom's marriage.
PlatformPS2, Xbox, PC
US censor ratingEveryone
Release date11 April 2006 (US), 11 April 2006 (UK)
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Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.
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