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Golf Paradise
PS2 Preview by Shawn Fogarty


T&E Soft's first PS2 offering comes in the form of a golf game but this isn't one of those frustrating and unforgiving sim golfers. T&E Soft has in the passed developed more serious golf games for the Super Famicom but they weren't very popular.
This time they are making a golf game that is a bit more relaxed and fun to play so ultimately it is designed to appeal to a broader audience.
The game has a more simplistic interface that will hopefully go over well with casual and hard-core fans alike. However, I must make a note that many games that try to please everyone often come up short whether it is on the simulation end or the arcade end or both.
In the game players can choose the normal mode where they pick either stroke play, match play, tournament, drive contest, training, plus a few others. The other option is the story mode where you select a character from a list each with varying strengths and weaknesses. Then it's up to the player to take their character from the amateur rank all the way to the pro level.
You can also select from over 50 golf gear and accessories to help your character on their journey to greatness.

One feature of Golf Paradise that stands out is the ability to create your own golf courses (with help from the Genesys-G game engine). When designing a course, the game takes into account basic topography features and such so that the courses turn out to be playable. In other words the game just gives you a helping hand when creating courses.
With the PS2's analog buttons it will be possible to control your swing speed by either the speed in which you press the button or by how much pressure you apply to the button. But this feature will only work if the developer can make the analog buttons a better alternative to the traditional power meter. I hope they can pull it off.

Many customizable features exist, players can set the number of pars, wind speed and direction, make bunkers and ponds plus there are six different geographical sets you can use. They include forest, tropical, desert, rinks, lakeshore and seaside.
Even though Golf Paradise's characters may look a bit on the cartoony side, their surrounding environments look surprisingly life-like. Richly colored textures and great character design give this game an authentic, unique look.
So far this game is headed in the right direction for success with plenty of game modes and the ability to create your own courses. This will definitely translate into better replay value so when the time comes to test out the gameplay we'll know for sure whether this game is truly a paradise.


Expected Release Date:
March 4 2000 (Japan)

Developer / Publisher:
T&E Soft

Players:
1-4





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