Full Review

8 April 2008 - So you like golf, but not really interested in the realism found in Tiger Woods? Well, Sony are hoping that Everybody's Golf World Tour on the PS3 will appeal to you. But does it? We hit the imaginary fairway to find out.

Broken down into a number of modes the crux of Everybody's Golf is the Challenge mode where you can not only unlock other elements of the game (not until you've played some 72 holes), but also pit yourself against a number of courses to see whether you've got what it takes to win.

There are two ways of controlling your golfer, Traditional and Advanced and while the two sound different in reality it's just the way the hit meter is graphically shown on-screen. On the Traditional option it takes the form of a bar that runs from right to left and back again. The Advanced option on the other hand, is a decreasing circle and you have to hit the "x" key at the right time, or it’s a bum shot.

In practice and we found the Advanced simpler to use. Pressing "x" at the right moment on a decreasing circle seemed easier to do than when it gets to a certain place on a sliding scale. The control system changes slightly for the putting green, but here you get a ghost ball to show you how hard you are about to hit it, along with a grid overlay to show you the slope of the green.

Of course at any time you can change clubs based on the shot you need to play. The game selects for you but will happily show you what's going to happen if you select a different club.

Once you've got the control mechanism in hand, which shouldn't take you long, you can get on with playing the game; the realism of Tiger Woods has been replaced by cute Manga-esque characters that jump for joy on the call of a nice shot and is very endearing.

Graphics are, like the characters, cutesy and there is enough variation in the holes to keep you interested with plenty going on off course with animals and fans getting involved occasionally. Likewise the weather is variable enough to offer a challenge to the same set of holes over and over again.

To back up the Challenge mode there is a training mode as well as a heavy tilt to online play where you can play against other Everybody's Golf fans around the world at the press of a couple of buttons.

VERDICT
If you like golf and are looking to replicate the experience perfectly on the PS3 then Everybody's Gold World Tour won't be for you: this is no Tiger Wood's PGA Tour.

However an easy-to-use interface, simple control mechanism (although strangely there is no way to quit back to the menu in-game) and cute graphics, including the odd elephant that strays onto the course, should bring a smile to your face.

Everybody's Golf World Tour is one for those interested in golf, rather than those needing it to be more vivid than real life on their console.