Friday, April 9, 2010

Top Five Golf Games

Fooooooore! With the Masters underway this weekend in Augusta, Georgia, what better time to bring out a list of my personal favorite golf games of all time? Why just five? I wanted to stay under par! Hi-ohhhhhhh!!! With that out of the way, let's get to our list. Whether it's realistic simulation or goofy arcade, we have your back covered with this list. So get your caddy, and get to the tee-- pronto!

5) We Love Golf! (Wii)


We Love Golf! is a title produced by Capcom and developed by the fine folks at Camelot Software, who are known for another game on this list. Regardless, WLG was one of the first golf titles to incorporate motion control accurately in its golf. It wasn't a traditional swing, mind you. It was still a retooled version of the three-click swing system. Bringing with it eight colorful courses, a cast of happy-go-lucky characters, costumes from Capcom's past, online play, and multiple modes for fun play, We Love Golf! has a bounty of options and variety for the novice golfer.


4) Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)

Best portable golf game ever? Definitely! With online play-- a first for the Open Tee series, a multitude of courses, six of which come from the original Open Tee, a vast assortment of goofy golfers which could be custom-outfitted in clothes and accessories won in the single-player campaign mode, and you have one of the most diverse and loaded handheld golf titles period. Perhaps the only gripe one could surmise from this game is that the single-player mode tends to become repetitive, but if that's the worst I can do, this game must be good!


3) Mario Golf (N64)

Probably for many young gamers, this was the title that got me interested in the sport of golf. Of course, it wasn't at all realistic like every other game on this list. The courses were nutty, one of which set in a sky-high valley and one where all the holes resembled creatures and characters from the Mushroom Kingdom. There was normal golf, mini golf, ring golf, speed golf, golf golf, and any other type of golf you could possibly imagine. The cast of characters spanned from human characters like Plum and Maple to Mushroom Kingdom All-Stars like Mario and Bowser. The game still holds up remarkably well to this day, and it's available on the Wii's Virtual Console for only ten bucks!


2) Hot Shots Golf Fore! (PS2)

The original Hot Shots Golf was made by Camelot, who worked on Mario Golf as well as We Love Golf! Now the series is handled by Clap Hanz, and they're doing wonderful things with the franchise. Well, maybe not so much with Out of Bounds. Hot Shots Golf Fore! features 12 unique courses set from tropical Hawaiian beaches to windy Chinese valleys, a stereotype-filled cast including Ratchet and Jak from their respective series, and at one time, there was online play, too. Even with online, this game is one of the best goofy golf games around with plenty of things to do, plenty of items to buy in the game's shop, and plenty of modes including HSG's answer to Mario Golf's mini golf. A great game that you can now find for under twenty dollars, pick up HGS4, you won't bogey with this one!


1) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii)

The creme de le creme of golf games-- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Wii. Why just for the Wii? Two words-- mon-tage. Wait. Wrong script. Two words-- MotionPlus. It's the MotionPlus accessory that comes with the game that made all the difference. The game's still a blast without it just using normal motion controls, but Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 was custom-tailored for Nintendo's new peripheral. It tracks your movements perfectly. Now you can go to Pebble Beach and play for real without the thousands of dollars it would normally cost. With 27 courses, the Wii-exclusive disc golf mode, some of the best online that Wii has yet (With no friend codes), and you have a game that is the absolute best golf game money can buy. ...That is until Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 comes out with PS Move and MotionPlus!


All right. Let's hear it. I know you're annoyed that I left out one of your favorite golf games. Give it to me straight. What did I mess up on? What did I leave out? Let me know in the comments.

No comments: