It's tough to compete in golf video games when Tiger Woods doesn't endorse your product. There's only one thing you can do to counter that situation: make a bigger box. That's exactly what Real World Golf does, cramming an interactive golf system (not just the game) into a mass of hopefully recycled cardboard. When it works, the entire experience is unmatched.
Letting players swing a club while hitting a virtual ball is hardly an innovative concept. It's been done before, dating back to the 16-bit era, and multiple arcades feature a similar style of play. What Real World offers is a compact, easy to understand play model that can be used almost anywhere.
The sum of parts here are the base, two gloves, a cheap plastic shortened club, a foot pedal, and the game itself. Set up is painless, taking around three minutes once you're familiar with where things are supposed to go. The gloves attach to a weighted base by thin wires. These two thin pieces of wire is how the game registers your swing and motions.
It's necessary to calibrate initially, and heading out onto the driving range is a quick way to ensure the game can properly register your swing. It could take a few tries. Once set up, you can tackle tournaments or basic play. A few extra party games are a nice addition.
For the most part, taking a few swings on any of the courses is enjoyable. While none are recognizable, the greens and fairways do a fine of job of making them feel high class. Hindering their presentation is the abysmal graphics engine that's beyond dated. It's almost impossible on some courses to distinguish rough from fairway, and in rare cases, sand traps blend in too.
The interface is fine given that you're tethered to the base. Raising a single hand will adjust you aim, hitting the small foot pedal brings up a screen to switch clubs (along with plenty of other choices), and you can zoom into your destination by putting both hands up. It's not necessarily natural, but it works.
Article comments
1 - Bill Bobkins
The cables on the Gametrak are 3m long. Precisely how tall are these people who are having problems with the cable length during their backswing?
2 - Matt Paprocki
At around 6-2', during a high backswing, it happens almost every time. Obviously, you'd need to re-adjust your swing at that point. My buddy Mike did it nearly every time he took a swing. Needless to say he was frustrated pretty quickly.