It’s the Par 4 second hole on the Beach Course, and I am at the green within three. To complete this task, I only need one well-placed putting to beat my caddy and get the par. It’s quite a distance away from the hole, on a sloped green. But I am feeling confident. Standing behind the ball, I practice a few shots in order to determine the power of 40% I will need to sink this shot. After confirming that I have the right power, I line up my shot and strike with the exact same force. But it is 20% more than the practice shots. The same thing happens over and over again. Eventually, I ended up 3-over par, losing the hole and mission.
Ultimate Swing Golf – The Facts
What is it?
: An arcade golf game from the developers of Everybody’s Golf.
Platforms: Quest (review conducted on Quest 2).
Release Date: Out now
Developer: Clap Hanz
Price: $30
For most of the experience, Ultimate Swing Golf is great fun. Clap Hanz is the developer of Everybody’s Golf for PlayStation, including on PSVR. They are back with an updated version for Quest. The game starts with the menu of your own private golf resort. A receptionist will explain the various options. This game offers a variety of options, including a new mission mode, as well as a choice of free play sessions that allow you to choose a course, weather, and other factors before you play online or alone. The game’s controls are similar to previous entries, and it has a few additional features. The VR version of hitting the ball is also measured the same: it’s not a simulator which calculates your swing angle and your posture, but rather measures the force and the direction you strike the ball. This should be enough to satisfy experienced players and even casual ones. The game rewards you for your golfing expertise, even if it doesn’t measure every little detail in the swing. This is not a punishment for failing to follow these guidelines. In a game of real golf, for example, opening up the club face when you hit the ball ensures that the ball travels higher and farther over a shorter time without rolling too far. It’s particularly useful hitting the ball out of a bunker, and I was pleasantly surprised to see this reflected in practice.
Much of this sounds positive and this experience often feels like a laid-back game of golf, offering enough jovial music and ambiance to make even the most golf-averse player get into the mood and have a good time. There are a number of different courses, each one with its own personality. You start at the two most popular ones and unlock three more as you progress. It’s great. It’s great. Caddies are always reminding you to perfect your swing. Knowing it is good practice, I happily obeyed. On a couple of occasions the tip of my swing caught the ball and registered it as a strike that made the ball slice to the left, ruining the shot. Without a reverse shot option, the ball will always be an object you can hit, regardless of whether you intended it or not. One false swing, even in an overhead shot while examining the outline of the holes can ruin the whole round. In real golf, putting is an extremely precise skill that requires precision and power. The weight and tension of a golf ball is very difficult to simulate without the real thing. That being said, without at least some level of consistency to the expectations of your simulation for putting, frustration is the inevitable result.Everybody’s Golf VRUltimate Swing Golf offers some comfort settings to make swinging the ball feel more natural. Select your dominant hand, and adjust the length of the clubs to swing the ball comfortably. You can also reset the camera to a central position alongside the ball after aiming a shot instead of moving your body to align with your new shot aim.
Additionally, the game does not simulate movement between strokes. The player’s position is warped after hitting the ball. This allows them to make the next shot. After a hole that I have completed successfully, and am on the verge of making a birdie or a par, it often seems like the outcome is more of a random chance rather than a skillful game. Even after diligently lining up the ball to the hole and practicing to understand the necessary level of power needed to reach the hole without overhitting, I would find that half of my shots would either roll mere inches or blast past the hole with reckless abandon, never matching the strength in practice.
Even spending extended periods of time in putting practice did nothing to help me understand how to putt this weightless ping pong ball, often ruining the hard work that went into the hole or round and leading to a frustrated restart.Quest 3Ultimate Swing Golf – Final VerdictQuest 2Golf is a sport about control. The difference between winning and losing is determined by your ability and your mental strength. No matter if it’s a realistic golf game or an arcade version, every golf game needs to recreate that feeling. When that emotion is gone, Ultimate Swing Golf falls apart. Although unlocking new courses, clubs, and costumes in mission mode can be a tedious task at times, the decades of expertise in this genre is evident in how inviting the game feels on every menu and hole. When you’re inevitably rolling the roulette on a successful hole, however, it’s hard to recommend over other VR golf titles unless fixed in a future patch.
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