True Swing Golf Express

Genre: Sports (Golf)

Players: 1

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Review:

True Swing Golf is a Golf game released on Nintendo DS in 2006. In 2010, a version of this game called True Swing Golf Express was released on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2010, and later grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when the Nintendo 3DS released. This “express” version of the game strips out the multiplayer of the Nintendo DS version of the game, while retaining the core experience of the game it’s based on.

When it comes to that experience, True Swing Golf Express features fairly simple 3D visuals on the top screen, with a 2D top-down view on the bottom screen. There’s some generic “sporty” music here, and some good use of sound for the crowds, announcer, and hitting the ball… but otherwise, this is a fairly unimpressive experience. This is, after all, a slimmed-down version of a Nintendo DS game.

For the gameplay itself, you have some good controls using the touchscreen, with players drawing back to determine the strength of your swing and then drawing a line forward to determine accuracy. I really like this system, and think it’s a good use of the touchscreen that sets it apart from the normal bar-timing system that most golf games use. Unfortunately, it is far too difficult to accurately gauge the distance your shot will go, even accounting for wind and geography. Sometimes a shot would go too far, while others it would come up short, even when I took all factors into account.

Add to this the issue of a lack of content – the game only has a 9-hole and 18-hole course, a challenge mode where you try to meet specific tasks, and a simple tutorial, and that’s it. I get that this is meant to be a budget version of the full game, but when that “budget” is $8, I expect a bit more than this.

I really wish that True Swing Golf’s issues got ironed out in this “Express” re-release, because there are some good gameplay ideas here. Unfortunately, this release only compounds the original’s issues with gauging shot distance, compounding the game’s problems with its lack of content and features, as well as its increasingly dated presentation. There’s still an enjoyable experience underneath all of this, but I think Nintendo 3DS owners are probably better off getting Mario Golf, or simply tracking down a copy of the original True Swing Golf, which you can currently find even cheaper than this stripped-down “budget” release.

tl;dr – True Swing Golf Express is a digital-only version of the Nintendo DS game True Swing Golf that has been stripped of features and content without fixing the game’s other issues. Golf fans have better options on the Nintendo 3DS, including the original True Swing Golf. As a result, there’s not much point to this release.

Grade: C

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