The animated golf game market is pretty tightly controlled by games like Hot Shots Golf on the PS3 but left relatively untouched on Android devices. Can Gameloft sink a hole in one with this sequel or is it just par for the course? Read on to find out in our review of Let’s Golf 2 by Gameloft.
Title: Let’s Golf 2 HD | Developer: Gameloft.com | Genre: Sports | Players: 1 for Campaign, Multiplayer support for Local Wi-Fi, Online Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth| Version: 3.0.7 | Size: 36.65MB | Price: $4.99
Gameloft have made a name for themselves by creating games similar to those already out there on other platforms, but for mobile devices. It’s no secret that Let’s Golf 2 is heavily inspired by Hot Shots Golf and it’s over the top style of golf. The similarities show in the character design, courses, and even in the game’s mechanics. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Hot Shots Golf is a great game on the PS3 and having the ability to play something similair in a mobile setting is something fans might not have known they were looking for. With similarities aside though, as you play the game more, you’ll get a feel for the soul of the game and how it truly shines on it’s own. There’s a lot of game in this little package and it’s ability to suck time from you is legendary. But with the good comes some bad which include long load times and some stuttering online gameplay. Can you weigh the good with the bad and still think enough of it to pick it up? Let’s see…
Gameplay:
With any game, the gameplay is the true testament of it’s worth. A game can have great graphics or amazing story, but without the gameplay it will fall short in the long run. Thankfully for Let’s Golf 2, the gameplay is sound. From the main menu you are greeted with the games modes. You can chose between instant play, career, challenge, and free hole. Instant Play is what you would expect it to be, a quick game without having to go through many menus or play a career game. This is for the times when you only have a few minutes to play and just want to get a few rounds in before the dentist calls you back to his chair. Career mode is the complete opposite. This is the progression aspect of the game and everything you do is tracked. By playing well and earning medals, you can unlock outfits, clubs, hairstyles, and even new characters to play as in other modes.
The career mode let’s you pick what you would like to play and when with the exception of some unlocked levels which require the earlier ones to be completed. Career mode is where the developers most likely figured the average gamer would spend the most time since this is the most feature rich aspect of the game. You have the wide range of courses you can open, game types (front nine, back nine, closest to the pin, etc.), and a progression meter which tells you how far in your career you have progressed.
Challenge mode will be another favorite area for those who want to put their skills to the test with challenges set up by the developers. Just like career mode, challenge mode has a progression indicator to show how many challenges you have completed. The challenges have different levels and range in events from Birdie or Bust (get a birdie on a hole or lose the challenge) to Longest Putt (self explanatory). You’ll open up new challenges as you complete others, which unfortunately means if you get stuck on a couple, you could be there a while until you figure out how to beat it. Not a deal breaker, but something to keep in mind when you play.
Finally, free hole is for the times when you only have a few minutes to play and you want to hit some balls. You can practice your swing here or even perfect your chip shot. It’s not tracked and there’s no goals set so the decision is yours to play it or completely ignore it. You can pick from the courses your have unlocked and the golfer and equipment you have in your inventory. It’s a small mode, but one that fits nicely into the grand scheme of things, especially for those of us who got stuck on the challenge modes.
The modes offered in the game are what you would expect from a golfing game. I do like the fact that you can unlock items by playing and the reward factor is constantly lingering after every round of golf you play. If you appreciate achievement type gameplay or unlocking items, you’ll be right at home with Let’s Golf 2. Either through the unlockables or the achievements you can gain from the web connectivity to Gameloft Live, you’ll earn some form of recognition for your monster swing.
Controls:
The controls in Let’s Golf 2 are actually pretty tight considering it’s on a phone. You align your shot by pressing in the direction you would to swing, align with the wind, and then press the button to start the swing. The upward motion of the swing will begin and you will be tasked with stopping it somewhere along a percentage line indicating the power level you want to apply to your swing. A line will be marked where the pin lies but you need to also take into consideration wind and bounce (among other factors). After selecting the percentage of power, the upward swing begins it’s descent back to the ball. At this time, you must hit the button again as close to the middle line (green strip in bottom section) as possible. This judges accuracy of the hit and is actually used in most golf games on the market these days. If you nailed the first section of the swing but failed to accurately hit the ball, you’re going to find out it’s not going anywhere you wanted.
The whole process of swinging is very well implemented and isn’t tough to do. Depending on your phone, it can get awkward holding the device, aligning a shot, and then pressing the shot button but you eventually get the hang of it. I mostly played the game lying in bed and didn’t have to readjust too many times. Everything considered though, the controls are actually quite nice the fact that it’s so tight when it counts is a blessing for a golf game on a mobile platform.
Presentation and Sound:
Upon starting up the game you will be greeted with a colorful and bright intro movie that really sets the tone for the game. It’s fun, easy going, and beautiful to look at. You will really see some nice landscapes and courses in your time playing the game that really stick out amongst other titles on the Android device. Unfortunately, it seems that this comes with a little bit of a consequence. My number one complaint with the game was the load times. From starting the game up to taking a swing in career mode could take over 3 minutes, sometimes even more. For a mobile game, that is too long. The load time going into a game was usually the longest but the load times in between holes were lengthy on their own. Staring at a loading screen for 40-60 seconds after each hole on a 9 or 18 hole course really adds up. I did find that if I restarted my phone and Let’s Golf 2 was the only app I started the load times were a little better. If I tried playing it a couple hours later after I had been using other apps and games, it went right back to the 40-60 second load times. Using a task killer helps, but the load times are still present and quite lengthy. I really wish this wasn’t the case because the game is great otherwise but the load times can be bothersome at times. If you can stomach the wait or don’t run many background apps you may fare better than I did. Regardless, you need to decide if it’s something you can live with.
The sound in Let’s Golf 2 is what you would expect from a HD game from Gameloft. They hit all the right notes and make you feel that you are playing something fun instead of a stuffy golf game. The sound effects for the courses are well done and when you hit a power shot, you’ll know it by the sound that it makes. This is just another positive for a great game from the guys and gals over at Gameloft.
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer was something I wasn’t expecting to see in Let’s Golf 2. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out you could either play with friends locally or via the internet. After getting my skills up and unlocking some characters and equipment (which carries over to MP) I decided to try and join a game online. There were three open games available, so I picked one and joined. It was a 4 player game still waiting in the lobby. I waited a solid 5 minutes until the host quit. No big deal, I’ll try again. This time there were three others. After trying to join each I got an error message saying each were closed. I chalked it up to network issues and tried again later in the day. This time, there were no games available at all so I decided to make my own room.
I created a 1v1 on the intro course on medium difficulty and waited for someone to join. About 10 minutes later, someone joined and the game started. The game was pretty much on par with what you would have seen in single player career mode with AI bots but a little faster. Unfortunately, the load times and lag were another issue. Load times were still present and sometimes they were pretty long (minute plus.) Lag wasn’t an issue in all of the games I played, but in a few I did get some hangups. In one case, the game literally froze and I had to restart my phone to regain control.
The multiplayer component is good, but it’s not perfect. That’s the single most important thing you should take away from this part of the review. Buy the game for the single player, but enjoy the multiplayer as an added bonus to an already good game.
Verdict:
Gameloft is one of the most talented companies releasing games for the Android device. They continually put out high quality games that may not be original, but are one heck of a good time to play. Considering everything I stated in the review, I still think highly of the game even with the load time issues I encountered and the mixups on multiplayer that were present. The career mode’s carrot on a stick gameplay that rewards you for playing well along with the challenges that you gain a sense of accomplishment from beating, Let’s Golf 2 really knows how to rope in your attention and keep it in one place for a long time. Whether you want to play the game quickly while waiting in a doctor’s office or curled up on the couch, you’ll find a multitude of modes to feet whatever gaming mood you are currently in. For golf fans and game fans alike, you can’t go wrong picking up Let’s Golf 2.
Rating: 4/5
