{"id":3263,"date":"2013-06-29T15:24:55","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T21:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/?p=3263"},"modified":"2014-09-07T21:51:22","modified_gmt":"2014-09-08T03:51:22","slug":"golfyssey-24-game-boy-advance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/?p=3263","title":{"rendered":"Golfyssey 25 \u2014 Game Boy Advance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Another hand-held console released by Nintendo, the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Game_Boy_Advance\" target=\"_blank\">Game Boy Advance<\/a> came out in 2001.\u00a0 This one is 16-bit, and is comparable to the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System\" target=\"_blank\">Super Nintendo<\/a> in graphics and sound.\u00a0 By the early 21st century, video games weren&#8217;t seen by their makers so much as an artform that provided players with a fun experience as they were products that supported hardware sales and the corporations that manufactured that hardware.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t sound too cynical, do I?<\/p>\n<p>This is going to be the last system I will review because it&#8217;s the last that I have any golf games for.\u00a0 Modern video games really turn me off, with 3D being just a big bore to me.\u00a0 I also really dislike the rampant commercialism that seems to pervade the industry.\u00a0 Everything seems to only be an advertisement for the next big thing these days, so I&#8217;m out.<\/p>\n<p>But let&#8217;s check out two games for the Game Boy Advance.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;ESPN Final Round Golf&#8221;, 2001<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-box.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3264\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-box-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf box\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-box-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-box-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-box.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-01.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3265\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-01-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 01\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-01-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-01.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Konami, Disney, ESPN&#8230; All names of professional companies who really shouldn&#8217;t muck anything up too severely.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-02.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3266\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-02-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 02\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-02-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-02.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This game starts with repetitive music playing, but it can be turned off in the options.\u00a0 You have a choice to hear background music or sound effects.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-03.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3267\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-03-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 03\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-03-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-03.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The gameplay styles are tournament, stroke,\u00a0 match play, and practice.\u00a0 You can also choose from 14 golfers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-04.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3268\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-04-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 04\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-04-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-04.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is looking pretty good so far, especially for a game on a portable system.\u00a0 You can also choose one of five courses, and choose one of three starting tee positions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-05.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3269\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-05-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 05\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-05-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-05.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Upon starting, there is a limited rotating closeup view of the hole, which is kind of pointless.\u00a0 After that, you get a brief view of your golfer in position, but that jumps right away to a top-down view that scrolls to the destination of your current shot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-06.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3270\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-06-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 06\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-06-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-06.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>B<\/strong> button will snap this view to the putting green and back.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-07.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3271\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-07-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 07\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-07-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-07.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pressing <strong>A<\/strong> will return you to the course view.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-08.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3272\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-08-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 08\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-08-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-08.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Select button will pause the game and get you to the in-game menu:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-09.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3273\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-09-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 09\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-09-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-09.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pressing start will clear the view of the extra text.\u00a0 You&#8217;ll notice it won&#8217;t get rid of that big honkin&#8217; ESPN logo.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-10.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3274\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-10-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 10\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-10-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-10.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Press start again to get the extra text back.\u00a0 The <strong>B<\/strong> button will alternate between a normal and a power shot, but the power shot is, like stupid powerful.\u00a0 It&#8217;s about twice as powerful while using the same club, so I really don&#8217;t get this game.\u00a0 Maybe the &#8220;normal&#8221; shot is like a putt while using your #1 wood club or something.<\/p>\n<p>Using the direction pad won&#8217;t allow you to select clubs like it will in other games.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t think you can select clubs in this game.\u00a0 Instead, touching the direction pad will bring you back to that top-down overview.\u00a0 Once there, you can aim by moving the direction pad either left or right.\u00a0 Press lightly, because the aiming pointer moves a lot with every press.<\/p>\n<p>Press <strong>A<\/strong> to return to your course view.\u00a0 The power meter is 3-button style.\u00a0 Hook and slice are backwards, and I think this is game number four out of all the ones I&#8217;ve reviewed that messes this up.\u00a0 Protip: if you&#8217;re the only one marching out of step, it isn&#8217;t everyone else&#8217;s fault.<\/p>\n<p>Your golfer&#8217;s swing and your shot are animated.\u00a0 Barely.\u00a0 The animation is bad.\u00a0 It&#8217;s really crude, and I don&#8217;t think the Game Boy Advance can be blamed for the low quality of the look.\u00a0 The game just looks shitty when things are moving.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-11.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3276\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-11-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 11\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-11-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-11.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-12.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3277\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-12-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 12\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-12-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-12.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also, after you&#8217;ve been playing for a while you may become annoyed by the sound effects.\u00a0 Remember that you get a choice between background music and sound effects.\u00a0 The sound effects grated on my nerves after a short time with this game too.\u00a0 Whoever thought the sound of a Cuckoo&#8217;s whistle would be a good idea to include is either a troll or a moron.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-14.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3279\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-14-300x200.png\" alt=\"ESPN Final Round Golf 14\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-14-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ESPN-Final-Round-Golf-14.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not impressed.\u00a0 Actually, I was impressed by the shot I made to get that last screenshot.\u00a0 But I wasn&#8217;t impressed by this game.\u00a0 After playing &#8220;Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000&#8221; for the Game Boy Color, I know that far better games for hand-held systems are possible.<\/p>\n<p>Next.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf&#8221;, 2002<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-GBA.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3281\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-GBA-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Tiger Woods GBA\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-GBA-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-GBA-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-GBA.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-01.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3282\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-01-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 01\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-01-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-01.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Much better.\u00a0 Even though I&#8217;ve seen some poor quality under the &#8220;PGA Tour Golf&#8221; name, this one is off to a good start.<\/p>\n<p>The music you hear can also be turned off in the options, and there are options for many things in the game.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-02.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3283\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-02-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 02\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-02-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-02.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The weather can be random, fine, overcast, or storm.\u00a0 Taking full advantage of the GBA&#8217;s hardware, this weather is actually animated on the screen as you play.\u00a0 Other options include a choice between pro and amateur difficulty, and three styles of gameplay.\u00a0 There is the &#8220;PGA Tour&#8221;, a &#8220;Shootout&#8221; which is multiplayer, and then there is the &#8220;Play Now&#8221; option you see highlighted above.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-03.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3284\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-03-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 03\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-03-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-03.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Looks like stroke play with some conditions and only twelve holes.\u00a0 Odd choice for a golf game, but it&#8217;s there and it&#8217;s one of the games limited set of gameplay styles.<\/p>\n<p>Here we see a view of the first hole.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-04.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3285\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-04-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 04\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-04-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-04.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once we get to our course view, we see all the info at a glance that we will need.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-05.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3286\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-05-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 05\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-05-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-05.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Start button will pause the game and let us see the ingame menu.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-06.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3287\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-06-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 06\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-06-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-06.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The leaderboard looks like this:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-07.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3288\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-07-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 07\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-07-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-07.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Select button will adjust the strength of your shot, cycling it through 100%, 50% and 25%.\u00a0 This appears to be a simplified method of controlling the distance you want the ball to travel in lieu of club selection, which I think is absent from the game.\u00a0 Again, I think it&#8217;s a lot less elegant than the way other golf games handle it.<\/p>\n<p>Left and right on the direction pad have no effect while in the course view.\u00a0 Up and down will adjust your stance, but not in the usual way for golf games.\u00a0 The stances in relation to the ball in this game are forward, middle and back.<\/p>\n<p>Press the <strong>B<\/strong> button to go into an overview of your shot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-08.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3289\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-08-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 08\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-08-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-08.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The camera will be zoomed into a top-down view of your shot&#8217;s current destination.\u00a0 Pressing Select while in this mode will still cycle shot strength, and you will see the destination move on the course as you press Select.\u00a0 You must also aim your shot while in this mode.\u00a0 Use left and right on the direction pad to adjust your aim while in this overview.\u00a0 Press <strong>B<\/strong> again to exit.<\/p>\n<p>When you are satisfied that you have set up your shot, press the <strong>A<\/strong> button to begin your swing.\u00a0 The power meter is 3-button type and it will appear in circular form over Tiger.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-09.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3290\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-09-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 09\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-09-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-09.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You must be very precise with this power meter otherwise you will hook or slice the ball badly.\u00a0 The swing and ball flight are beautifully animated.\u00a0 You see &#8220;ESPN Final Round Golf&#8221;?\u00a0 It doesn&#8217;t have to look like crap!\u00a0 Go hang your head in shame and sit among the ashes!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-10.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3291\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-10-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 10\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-10-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-10.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And if you make a particularly nice shot&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-11.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3292\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-11-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 11\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-11-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-11.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There is even applause.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-12.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3293\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-12-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 12\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-12-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-12.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When you get to the putting green, the camera view switches to top-down.\u00a0 The controls still work as they do before, except the power meter is now 2-button.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-13.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3294\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-13-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 13\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-13-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-13.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-14.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3295\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-14-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 14\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-14-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-14.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-15.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3296\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-15-300x200.png\" alt=\"Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf 15\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-15-300x200.png 300w, http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Tiger-Woods-PGA-Tour-Golf-15.png 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Well damn, that was a nice shot.<\/p>\n<p>This game does things differently than a lot of other golf games, but it manages to make everything work.\u00a0 And not just work, but work extremely well I think.\u00a0 This was a fun game to play, and like a few others, I played a few more holes before I forced myself to put down the controller and write this review.\u00a0 It has that hard to describe &#8220;feel&#8221; that a quality golf game has, where everything fits together so well and moves along that way too.\u00a0 So I will surely be playing this game in the future, and I will even go so far as to say that it gets a place in my top 10.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a Game Boy Advance, pick this one up.\u00a0 If you want to give this game a try on your PC, check out the <a href=\"http:\/\/nocash.emubase.de\/gba.htm\" target=\"_blank\">NO$GBA emulator<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Another hand-held console released by Nintendo, the Game Boy Advance came out in 2001.\u00a0 This one is 16-bit, and is comparable to the Super Nintendo in graphics and sound.\u00a0 By the early 21st century, video games weren&#8217;t seen by their makers so much as an artform that provided players with a fun experience as they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510,474,38],"tags":[494,506,476,487,505],"class_list":["post-3263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-video-game-consoles","category-video-games","tag-game-boy","tag-game-boy-advance","tag-golf","tag-nintendo","tag-tiger-woods"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3263"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7519,"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263\/revisions\/7519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gratuitousscience.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}