Silicon Fusion >> Previews >> Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

	All Platforms
	Xbox
	GameCube
	PlayStation 2
	PC
	Game Boy Advance

Site Sections:

	Updates
	News
	Games
	Publishers
	Developers
	Reviews
	Previews
	Release Dates
	Editorials
	Glossary
	Contact Us

Preview:

3rd September 2003:
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
It's the Toadstool part of the title that got us interested really...
Posted by Chris Barnett - GameCube - United States of America

Games like Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour are kind of like the famous World War I Christmas football match; every one of the characters involved forgets all their differences and simply enjoys a game together (so you get Mario and Bowser as a golf pairing). But unlike the football match, Mario Golf: TT is not played in the bog of No-Man's Land, but on some of the most surreal and beautiful golf courses seen in a game.

The game is not only part of the Mario franchise; it is also part of the Mario Golf franchise. So effectively the game is a franchise of a franchise, allowing Nintendo to use all of the characters and features from either. And it is the unique Nintendo charm that gives this game its unique feel.

We have had the American version of the game for a couple of weeks now and have played it in enough detail to offer you an insight of what to expect when the game is released in the UK (especially as there are no plans to introduce any changes to the game).

As far as golf games go, there is not much variation that can be offered on the formula of hitting a ball towards the hole and 'sinking' it in the least possible strokes, but Mario Golf: TT has a few extra modes to add a cartoon like feel to the game. But before we even mention them we will tell you of the normal golf modes offered in the game, as that is essentially what you will be buying the game for.

To begin with there is a tutorial with Toad (that character with a red-spotted mushroom on its head that no-one seems to like and that everyone who plays Mario Kart hates when he says "I'm the best!") where he shows you how to play the game from scratch. This tutorial takes the form of video-like examples of the actions being performed. They don't offer any interaction but they do mean that you don't have to read the manual before playing the game, as you usually do, of course. Once you have seen all of the tutorials you should have an idea of how to play the game properly (it is not one of those tutorials that leaves you questioning certain features) and so can then enter your first tournament.

There are actually four 'normal' single player golf modes (by normal we mean normal golf without anything other than stroke play). These are: Tournament, doubles, character match and stroke play. The tournament mode is where all the courses are unlocked, based upon you success on the existing courses. The courses you earn can then be used in any of the other modes, so progression is quite logical and satisfying.

The tournament mode simply requires the player to choose a golfer (from the selection of Nintendo characters) and play 18 holes on a course. They will be competing against other golfers on a leaderboard (although you never actually see the other golfers playing) and aiming to finish the entire course in the least possible strokes. But that could be the description of any golf game in the world. So what makes Mario Golf: TT so different? Well it's the simplicity of play that really gives the game its feel.

Each of the golfers has their own unique properties; some hit it further with less accuracy, some more curved with better putting and so on. It is the choice of the player which character they use and everyone will develop a favourite in time. Unlike similar franchise games, the characters aren't just used to sell the game; they do give the game a distinct feel, as it will change depending on the choice of the player. All of the characters also have their own unique attitudes when they move and celebrate (they can even be made to taunt if you are that way inclined), giving the game the feeling of an interactive cartoon. And the graphics are so good that you would be able to take that analogy further; if you were to see the game without prior knowledge that it was a game, you may think that it was a cut scene of advertisement for a Mario game. But more on the graphics later.

The characters may have different attributes (which are not at all as complicated, as the term 'attributes' may suggest) but they all control in the same way. Simple taps of the X and Y buttons can switch the camera and the landing point of the ball can be adjusted by using the control stick and the triggers (to alter the distance). In fact, if the camera is toggled to the landing camera by using one press of the X button, the landing zone can be moved simply by the control stick. Whilst this may sound like a small point, it is very important to the game on the whole. All of the movements of the camera are done without any need for thought of the player, which is much different to most golf games. To elaborate, most golf games have so many camera choices and controls that it is difficult to separate the camera controls from the actual gameplay. In Mario Golf: TT there is no such thing as a landing camera, a panning camera or a 'bee in the nearest tree' camera; the camera is selected automatically by the game upon the hitting of a shot. Without delay too, so there is no need to wait (as in some golf games) for the camera to position itself before you see the shot fly. It is simply executed in a fluid manner; you see the shot hit and the camera changes immediately to show the balls flight and subsequent landing. This really is the most important feature of the game as it gives a round of golf a smooth feel. There is never any delay or complexity. It also gives the game a cinematic feel as some of the angles given are impressive, the full-screen image of the hole when you do a successful putt is very satisfying as you know that you have 'sank' the shot before it falls. Some shots also have a replay if they warrant it, but these only take about 5 seconds so they are not like those in football games (where you see practically half of the match just to see a player off-side).

The swing method is also simple to use yet strategic at the same time. There are in fact two swing methods. The first is an auto swing where you press A to start a swing bar (like a horizontal bar graph) and then A to stop it. The power is dependant on the fullness of the bar and the backswing is automatic; this is the easy method. But true players will have to use the manual swing to control shots properly. This is pretty similar; you start with a press of A, stop with a B press and then stop at a line at the start of the bar with a press of either A or B. Depending on the timing of the third button press, the position on which the ball is hit will be changed (so a stop to the left of the 'sweet spot' will cause the ball to swerve to the right, and vice-versa with the right side). This can be used strategically to bend the ball around curves in the terrain or trees. And there is also a picture of the ball in the bottom right that allows the actual position of the ball hit to be specified in order to alter the swerve or elevation of the shot. This may sound simple, but the skill is that the position cannot be set until the swing has been started and then must be done using the control stick (so the exact point can be selected as the analogue stick is so accurate). The good thing about this is that before the shot is hit, a predicted effect of the flight of the ball can be seen by the use of a faint white 'guide rainbow'. Any changes to the hit spot you make are also taken into account so really strategic shots are possible, especially as back spin and front spin can also be added to shots by simple double taps of the third swing button stop (so a double tap of A offers a front spin and a double B gives backspin).

The controls change slightly on occasion. When doing an approach shot (a shot onto the green when you are pretty close already) the bar moves slowly to ease the shot accuracy and the putting only requires two presses of the A button. The putting is very intelligent actually, with a helpful grid giving indication of the contours and elevation of the green. When on the green, the grid appears as a white collection of squares with small 'impulses' running in various directions. These 'impulses' show the direction of any slope (and their intensity shows their severity) without the need for the player to squint or consult any logarithm books.

So the game plays as well as you could hope, and that's just the normal golf. There are many additional modes such as ring shot (where you hit though rings funnily enough), coin shoot (where you 'collect' coins by hitting your ball at them), speed golf (where you aim to complete a round as quickly as you can, not involving drugs in any way) and two rather interesting ones: club slots and mini games. The mini games are pretty simple and involve various tasks like getting birdies on so many holes, but the club slots is very strange. Before the round, a player must play a kind of fruit machine where they gamble for which clubs to use. This results in just three clubs and a putter (!) meaning that strategy will be key to success in the case of unlucky clubs (imagine having to do a simple chip using a club designed to bisect the course distance by half).

With all of these modes comes the multiplayer element too, so you can play with friends (or enemies) for practically ever. You can even play doubles with a friend so you get to alternate shots on the same ball; a great experience that is much more fun than it sounds when the skills of the players is mismatched (so you get blind old granddad teaming up with Jimmy 'I completed Halo on Master difficulty before it was even out in the UK').

We can safely say that Nintendo has not let us down with this at all, in fact, they have impressed us. With the N64 game there were some fluidity and gameplay issues, but here they have used the power of the GameCube to create the best possible Mario Golf game we could imagine.

We reserve true judgement until we have played the UK version, in case there are any changes (which is only fair as the game will link up with the GameBoy Advance version by then) made. But it may come as a surprise (please, take a seat and a deep breath�) that the game will not see a release in the UK until the first quarter of 2004! Whilst Nintendo are famous for letting UK gamers down (I was tempted to say PAL gamers, but Australia appear to be getting Animal Crossing), the wait this time is unnecessary, especially with the prohibition-like law on import Nintendo games at the moment. UK gamers will have to resist the temptation to migrate to the US and hope that the game is worth the wait (as we already said, we aren't saying how good it is yet).

Chris Barnett

Latest Images:

Related Games:

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
for GameCube

Screenshots

Preview