After an exhausting seven months of waiting, golf has finally come to its senses Nintendo Switch Sports. Better late than never, right?
Like the other games included in the Switch Sports, the golf version included here is pretty simple. Players swing the joy-con to hit their golf ball, being careful not to overdo it. There’s a bit of technique with the curve, but it’s mostly a standard game loop of reading the wind, lining up the shot and letting it rip. There is nothing much different here than the golf version that was included Wii Sports a decade and a half ago.
And yet, after just a few hours of playing, I’m already obsessed with it. As easy as the affair is, there is a version of golf involved Nintendo Switch Sports it builds on one of my favorite online experiences of the year.
Drive to survive
When Nintendo Switch Sports launched earlier this year, it landed with a light thud. Critics enjoyed its core idea enough, but mostly felt the package was too thin for its price. That was my feeling at the time, but I quickly realized that I had sunk an inordinate amount of time into it for one reason: bowling for survival.
For the uninitiated, Switch Sports turns bowling into elimination mode when played online. The rounds start with a lineup of bowlers who are slowly knocked out during the match. It’s a very simple premise, but one that worked incredibly well with the elegance of motion-controlled bowling. The rounds felt high stakes, especially as the last few players battled for the final three spots, but they still relaxed thanks to the small moments of downtime between throws. I ended up spending dozens of hours bowling online, usually while listening to music or podcasts in the background.
I was immediately delighted to discover that golf uses the same premise for its online mode. In this version, eight players participate together in a battle to win five holes. All players play golf at the same time, so no one has to sit on everyone else’s opening. Points are awarded based on how many strokes a player takes to complete the hole, with par netting seven. After two holes, three players are eliminated. Two more are chipped after hole four, leaving the final three to tee off on the fifth hole.
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When I first started, I immediately discovered that it would take a lot of practice to climb the online ranking system. The controls can be fiddly at first, and setup requires very light, disciplined wrist movements. The 21 holes, mostly taken from previous Wii Sports games, put those swing skills to the test in enough variety to keep me interested so far. Unpredictable wind speeds contribute to all of this, which represent a real challenge.
Once I started putting everything together and getting a feel for the flow of the game, I couldn’t put it down. Motion-controlled golf remains a simple pleasure that hasn’t lost its appeal since I first tried it on the Wii. The Joy-cons respond quickly enough, and the simplified UI allows me to focus more on getting a clean shot. Like bowling, it’s a classic case of “if it ain’t broke.”
Although there is a part of golf games that should be fixed: the sport can be a big time commitment, as even going through nine holes can take a good half hour. That’s where survival golf won me over. Its fast-paced nature means that even the longest rounds only last around 15 minutes, which is the perfect length for a match. It’s enough to cause increasing drama, but quick enough to make me crave another round. Couple that with Nintendo Switch Sports’ excellent rewards system — quietly its secret weapon — and you’ve got a recipe for an addictive competitive experience.
There is still a lot that I could criticize. Relying on decade-old courses feels easy, some key golf essentials are missing, and the unsatisfying sound design can make rounds feel a bit dead if you don’t put something in the background. I would have a hard time convincing anyone that this is a reason to buy Nintendo Switch Sports on paper. I truly believe that playing is believing, which has always been the case with the humble release. It all sounds disappointingly simple until you actually hold that joy-con and remember why Wii Sports he was so stunning in 2006. The magic hasn’t worn off for me and survival golf is a nice enough twist that I’m happily reliving those Wii glory days. See you on the green.
Nintendo Switch Sports is now available on Nintendo Switch. Its golf update is free to download for all players.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn