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Golf games/simulators on the Pocket PC
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9/4/05 12:04pm
Werner Ruotsalainen Moderator  |
As I'm a judge in the Sports category of the PPCMag Best Software Awards 2005, I made myself a table of each game's strengths/weaknesses and technical/other objective data like memory consumption, WM2003SE and/or VGA compatibility and price. As four games in the category are Golf games, I've decided, in addition to casting my ballots in the category, to make a comparative review of all the available golf games for the general readership. Note that I've only tested "real" golf games. This means I haven't tested golf player assistant applications like IntelliGolf, which do not let the player actually play games. Also note that this is a quick roundup and feature-by-feature comparison of Pocket PC Golf games. It's meant for people that want to choose from all the available (and not available any more) golf games quickly, by comparing the feature sets of each game. That is, this is in no way a complete, screenshot-equipped review of the games. I've provided some links to some reviews for each game if you want to read "real" reviews/see screenshots. Please note that, generally, they are not all-in-one roundups; therefore, they don't let you directly and (because of the tabular feature comparison format) quickly compare the features of the reviewed games to all its alternatives. First, you can find my comparison table here. The games: OmniGSoft - 3D Nine Hole Golf, 1.0v A new golf simulator advertised as having 3D capabilities. These are, however, nothing more than dynamic view change if you drag the screen (that is, set the destination). Visually, it has no other goodies (unlike some of the alternatives). You can set more things (for example, club or shot settings) in it than in, say, ZIOGolf 2. You may, therefore, want to give it a try if you find the latter a bit too dumb, if you happen to dislike Links (which I highly doubt). Reviews, other links worth checking out: Prolly the best golf simulator with the most settings available. Really recommended. Note to (some? I've only tested with the Pocket Loox 720) VGA Pocket PC users: you must use tweaked GAPI (Game API) DLL's to run this game. Otherwise, the game will be slow and unresponsive. Sources for the tweaked VGA GAPI drivers (sorry, there seems to be no tweaks for hx4700/e8xx/a730(w) - dunno whether they run the game OK): Pocket Loox 720 Reviews, other links worth checking out: This is more of an arcade game than a real golf simulator. That is, it's just not comparable to Links. If you're looking for a light and easy program to kill some time, you may like it, though - it's pretty good at that. Please note that, albeit this application is everywhere advertised as having multiplayer capabilities, it's only true on the same PDA - it has no Internet/LAN/PAN multiplayer capabilities (actually, none of the tested games do). Reviews, other links worth checking out: A golf simulator. I don't think it's as good as Links because it misses almost all its settings and visually isn't as pleasing either. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf for Pocket PC 1.0 It's clearly better than ZIO's previous game (ZioGolf 2). It is better than Links? Well, I don't know - you may want to compare the two games to each other. Please also read the linked reviews. As with ZIOGolf 2, one of the very few golf simulators that show the trajectories of the shots (Links doesn't offer this feature). This is especially spectacular when used with choosing the club. It may take quite much time for the Pocket PC operating system to access the icon of the game - be patient when stepping into the Games folder in Programs! Reviews, other links worth checking out: A golf simulator. IMHO, Links is better - more settings, better visuals. Furthermore, if you need dynamic rendering capabilities (which Links lacks), the OmniGSoft application is definitely better because of the rendering speed. Reviews, other links worth checking out: An arcade game (not a simulator); this means you can't set anything about the shot. Therefore, it's meant "only" as a light time killer, not a full-fledged simulator. Compared to other arcade golf games, though, I think it has better atmosphere than Pocket Mini Golf 2. Note that I couldn't find a copy of this program on the Net any more - neither Handango nor PocketGear sell it any more. Its developer, Inmar Software Ltd[/url] aka 3D Arts, has entirely switched to producing Symbian games [url="http://www.3darts.fi/mobile/"]and doesn't sell the old PPC version either. You may have more luck than me, though; therefore, I still include this game in the roundup, particularly to show that there're still a lot to be added to current golf games (for example, decent in-game music). (Incidentally, you may also want to see the video clips of 3D Arts here. They're all in Finnish, but you may still enjoy them.) Reviews, other links worth checking out: It's another arcade-category game, based on the same engine used in other 4Pockets games (for example, the doom-like FPS Red Sector 2112). Unfortunately, this means you have very rudimentary means of setting the ball course (just like with OmniGSoft - 3D Nine Hole Golf) - in, say, Links, you can far more precisely set it. This game is definitely not meant for Links freaks. For other arcade (-like) game fans, I'd recommend Diesel Minigolf 1.0 or Pocket Mini Golf 2 instead - they're just more fun. You may, however, want to read the linked review/give it a test ride to see if you like it. Reviews, other links worth checking out: Bottom line: - if you want a real golf simulation, get Links or Tiger Woods. Other links: DevBuzz's page on golf games - note that it lacks the new titles (3D Nine Hole Golf, Pocket Mini Golf 2 and even ZIOGolf 2) Another generic PPC Golf link collection - it has quite bad layout, but still contains some cool information.
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Werner Ruotsalainen
Moderator
I've installed the hacked GAPI driver on my VGA Pocket Loox; with that, the Links works far better - as good as the other games.
This means it's only the built-in GAPI that the game dislikes and Picard's GAPI's will make it work OK on all VGA Pocket PC's.
Werner Ruotsalainen
Moderator
Reviewed the article; added Tiger Woods.
Allen Gall
Thanks for the thorough write-up, Mennie. I tend to think of ZioGolf and IGolf as unofficial attempts to recreate Links on the Pocket PC. Now that we have an official Links and since these two games are so old, they really aren't necessary. I remember both being rather crude in terms of physics, rendering speed, and overall playability. Nice attempts in their day, but they just fall a bit short. I tend to think that the Pocket PC, at least currently, really isn't cut out to run any kind of serious simulation due to the lack of an FPU (except for stuff like Lemonade Inc. and SimCity). I think devs should probably just stick to the novelty games like Harry Putter's and PMG2. Those two games play well enough and can be pretty fun since they don't need the heavy physics modelling.