Wii Golf not ‘fore’ everyone
By Jessica Berget, Staff Writer
I thought golf was the most boring and meticulous game out there. That is, until I discovered Wii Golf. Not only is Wii Golf boring, it may be the most underwhelming video game I have ever played. The tricky swinging, the lack of any physical movement besides swinging your arm, and how slow the game play is, are just some of the reasons I usually avoid this travesty of a Wii Sports game.
There are also physical attributes that go into playing real golf that are not seen in the Wii version. Golf players walk around the green from hole to hole, which accounts for exercise and is a big part of the reason golf is considered a sport at all. But since there is no walking, and only swinging in Wii Golf, there is no way that it can improve one’s athletic ability.
Your swing is the most important part of playing golf, but Wii Golf does a poor job of portraying a good swing. It’s almost impossible to get a full swing in the game because the censor is so touchy that any small error will send the ball flying in the complete opposite direction. There is also the annoying little bar on the side of the screen that shows what direction the ball will fly in, which is also extremely sensitive. You could do the same swing five times and it will give you a different variation almost every time.
Wii Golf is so easy that it’s almost offensive. Not only does it show you how much power you use in your swing, it even shows you a map of where the hole is and exactly which direction to hit the ball in. Wii Golf is all about aim, so all you have to do is aim the ball at the hole and swing. This takes the challenge out of the game and makes it so easy and mundane that it’s underwhelming. Any athletic ability you get out of real golf goes unaddressed in Wii Golf. Since the game only focuses on swinging and putting, the actual physical part of the sport is virtually erased, making it barely a sport at all.
Wii Golf may teach you how to swing and aim the ball, but I doubt being good at Wii Golf would make you any better at real golf. The only part of golf that includes any physical exertion is nonexistent in the Wii version, making this game a 0/10 when it comes to improving athletic ability.
