Everybody's Golf Vita Review

By Simon Parkin Published 16 February, 2012

A good walk improved.

Version tested: PlayStation Vita

As predictable as a new Ridge Racer, an iteration of Everybody's Golf accompanies the launch of new Sony hardware with solid dependability. Not that 'iteration' is really the right term here. Even Sony and developer Clap Hanz acknowledge the lack of innovation with this new release in the series by not bothering to add anything to the vanilla title.

Neither has the core of the game been touched in its move to touch-screen. Those Vita-exclusive features that do make an appearance - including a humorous option to pick up and move your golfer for tee-off by pinching the front and back screens as their legs flail in your grip - are gimmicky and thin.

You can poke at the few animals that stick their heads up before scarpering into the undergrowth, swipe at the screen to create a gust of wind and select the odd menu option with a tap. The only meaningful new interaction allows you to gain extra yards on tee-off if you quickly tilt the Vita backwards at point of impact (incredibly difficult to pull off) - but otherwise the designers have found little inspiration in meeting the idiosyncrasies of Sony's new hardware.

Elsewhere, though, the game soars as straight and true as it ever has. The super-deformed character designs and high-contrast colours may communicate lighthearted fun, but on the fairway, this is a challenging, intricate game.

1

The store also offers a capsule machine where you can buy random items to adorn a toy golfer that sits on your menu screen.

The steep learning curve ensures that, by the time you make it through the Beginner, Amateur and Pro tournaments and start on the hugely competitive Bronze, Silver and Gold offerings, an entire competition can be lost on a misjudged putt. An out-of-bounds shot - for example, one that plops into a lake - will cost you a penalty point on your score card, and with tee-offs that cross ravines and rivers, the stage is regularly set to ruin your hopes.

Challenge mode is the core of the campaign, a series of Cups each containing five tournaments with a 'final' in which you compete against one other golfer in a Stroke Play competition. It's a large amount of content, but the option to race through holes by skipping the ball-flying cinematics ensures that you can comfortably make it through one or two full events on a bus ride.

Clap Hanz rewards everything that you do well in the game with points, from successfully landing on the fairway to securing a 'nice approach' to a hole on the green. These points can mean the difference between victory and defeat as, in the case of a tournament tie where two golfers enjoy the same final score under- or over-par, the trophy will go to the competitor with the greater number of points on the journey. Points are then converted to cash at the end of an event, which is used in the store to purchase new clubs, balls, characters and even HUD designs.

Indeed, there are no less than five different graphics for your swing meter, from the classic NES three-tap style (one to begin the swing, one to set the power and a final to set the accuracy) to a range of other less orthodox options. It's worth experimenting, as finding the one that suits your brain and offers you the greatest degree of accuracy can be hugely beneficial in the long run.

You also earn heart points every time you use a specific golfer, these feeding into a gauge that 'levels up' that particular golfer, improving their abilities and unlocking special techniques for each. Unfortunately, the system disincentives experimentation with other characters, as it rarely seems worth trying out someone new when you've already maxed out another.

2

As well as balls that increase power or control, you can purchase novelty items such as football-shaped golf balls.

Tapping the square button before making a shot will use up a 'booster' token, adding a percentage power bonus onto that strike - particularly useful when trying to chip your way out of a bunker, where the 'estimated' distance of a strike is reduced by up to 50 per cent. As you gain more affinity with a character, so you earn more of these booster tokens - another reason to stick with your favourite player for the best chance of a win.

As ever when playing against an AI, it's sometimes difficult to shake the feeling that the computer is massaging the stats a little - rubber-banding the results of other competitors to ensure that every tournament is a close-run affair, regardless of whether you are having a strong round or one characterised by mis-hits. But it's much easier to dominate your opponent in the face-offs at the end of Cups, and if you manage to pull three holes ahead in the stroke play then you score an automatic win.

The Everybody's Golf aesthetic is sugar-pop Japan, with petite girls that titter and dance on the spot when they land a chip-in and tubby black men who blow steam out of their ears when they make a mistake. It's clichéd but effective, and the world is pleasant and engaging. The quick-fire rounds make it more accessible and suited to handheld play than so many serious sims.

The online features of the game, while unavailable before the system's general launch, appear robust and interesting - if less fully featured than the most recent PlayStation 3 release in the series. A daily international tournament is the stand-out feature that could inspire players to keep returning to the game day after day as they seek to rise through the international ranks. Meanwhile, online lobbies are more than just menu lists, instead launching a physical chat room which your character can run around before approaching and talking to other competitors.

Conservative, but still rich and engaging, Everybody's Golf will never stand centre stage in the Vita's launch line-up. But in truth, it's one of the strongest launch titles, offering taut fun and challenge in a rapid-fire, quick-load manner that's perfectly suited to the handheld. It may not offer a vision of the portable future that Sony's creative dreamers were hoping for, but as a video game, it works small wonders.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A core contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, he is also a critic and columnist on games for The Guardian.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (45) Latest comment 3 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • cowell #1 3 months ago

    I had hours out of the series so far and the EG2 on PSP was probably my most played game. So tempted by a Vita just for this. Not sure my Mrs would be impressed with our baby on the way!

  • AllenSpawn #2 3 months ago

    Probably , the game I'm most looking forward to, next wednesday! I love Everybody's golf, and it pisses over the staid tiger woods as a golf game.
    The online lobbies and tournaments were fantastic on the ps3 version, and if this vita version can be even half as good online , I'd be a happy chappy.

  • Dewin #3 3 months ago

    I don't want innovation with my golf Mr. Parker. I want EG2 with new courses and a new bit of paint. It's golf, the same game for over hundreds of years, get over it. EG2 was the game most played on my PSP and i'm pretty sure this game will be when i get my Vita. Besides, the review reads like an 8 instead of a 7.

  • el_pollo_diablo #4 3 months ago

    Post deleted at 10:17:38 16-02-2012

  • el_pollo_diablo #5 3 months ago

    @Dewin

    It reads like a fore!

  • erp #6 3 months ago

    It's cliched I know, but this reads waaaaay better than a 7. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an Everybodys Golf fanboy or anything - indeed I've never even played the games before, and I'm certainly not a fan of the real-life sport - but I am genuinely struggling to understand from the review what is wrong with the game that prevented it from scoring higher?

    Please don't tell me it's because "golf's not for everyone", as the same can be said about any genre.
    Edited by erp at 16/02/12 @ 08:49

  • thisisatempaccount #7 3 months ago

    @el_pollo_diablo: It reads like a 5 iro- oh wait yours is better.

  • NotSoSlim #8 3 months ago

    My only full Vita digital game release purchase. Cannot wait

  • erp #9 3 months ago

    @NotSoSlim Any idea how much it's going to cost on PSN/SEN/whatever-we-are-meant-to-call-it?

  • jablonski #10 3 months ago

    @erp

    "I am genuinely struggling to understand from the review what is wrong with the game that prevented it from scoring higher"

    Sony handheld games historically score badly on EG.

  • Vanmunt #11 3 months ago

    Glad to hear about the lobbies... I fricken loved those on the ps3, and the tournament thing sounds amazing.. just hope it sells well as online died a death on the PS3.

  • Beano #12 3 months ago

    Always loved EG since the PSX days - much more fun than the "realistic" Tiger Woods games. This is a day 1 purchase for me.

  • Beano #13 3 months ago

    @erp It's the same reviewer who gave Uncharted 3 an 8. 'nuff said.

  • erp #14 3 months ago

    @Beano I actually agreed with that score for Uncharted 3, but we're getting off topic now... ;)

  • siegarettes #15 3 months ago

    If I ever pick up a Vita, this is likely to follow. Although what I REALLY want is another Everybody's Tennis game.

  • Widge #16 3 months ago

    I'd like to think the 7 lends 3 points of scope for an improved sequel, taking greater advantage of the Vita's input methods and social networking.

  • Whitster #17 3 months ago

    Lets be honest with ourselves people, 7/10 is not a bad mark. On a 1-10 scale it is above average, but not spectacular, just good. Which is what this review read as. A solid EG game but largely a portable version of the previous iteration.

  • Lexx87 #18 3 months ago

    As i've not played any iteration of this, i'm quite looking forward to it!

  • SleazyDragon #19 3 months ago

    Day one purchase for me. I'm currently playing EG1 and EG2 through again. Excellent games In my opinion. Not sure what racer and fighter to pick just yet, but I'm getting Uncharted next wednesday as well.

    w00t!!

  • Retro_ #20 3 months ago

    This and Unit 13 are my two pre-orders (although Unit 13 isn't a day one release) , Less than a week now..... excited :D

  • irrelevanthuman #21 3 months ago

    Mark Twain may have prefered this to the real thing, I know I do if its as solid as its forebears.

  • Toothball #22 3 months ago

    I was planning to get this with my Vita, whenever I get that. I enjoyed EG2 on PSP as it was nice to have a golf game with charm to spare.

  • anthonypappa #23 3 months ago

    looks fun. haven't played a golf game since putt n putter on the game gear.

  • Rodster #24 3 months ago

    @Dewin Exactly, i've played the series since the original Playstation days and ir's essentially the same game. I was disappointed by the PS3 version not because it was a bad game but because it's basically the same game.

    Those that already have the Vita version in the States say it has that grainy look similar to that of the PS3 version.

    I'm tempted but I already have both version on the PSP. And the review reads like a 6 the dev could do better.
    Edited by Rodster at 16/02/12 @ 10:16

  • hilts #25 3 months ago

    Looking forward to this , on preorder , loved it in psp

  • Ignatius_Cheese #26 3 months ago

    Pitched out of the rough, this is par for the course for me.

    Driving home what Vita is about. Quality games that control well on a handheld.

    At least its not a Hole in 1/10...

  • bemani247 #27 3 months ago

    Ive been a fan since Everybody's Golf 2, this version didnt disappont me atall, it feels an looks very similar to Everybody's Golf 5 on PS3. The main thing I noticed its harder to get a perfect shot because the sweet spot on the power bar is a bit smaller than before. Love the game!

  • toa_boa #28 3 months ago

    Yeah - getting this 100% certain!

  • onezeonx #29 3 months ago

    Sony hurry up and take my money!!!!!!!!!!!

  • levitate #30 3 months ago

    Seriously, a new super-duper handheld with unlimited power is being released and all people talk about is... a golf game?

    Edit: I see the Sony fanbois are gathering their momentum. The fact remains, this is a golf game. Nothing to get your knickers in a twist over.
    Edited by levitate at 16/02/12 @ 13:08

  • JMW #31 3 months ago

    My number one priority Vita game. EG on PS3 was, by a mile, the best golf game this generation and the closer this is to it the better.

  • DrDamn #32 3 months ago

    Yes most of the Vita specific additions are fairly frivolous, but no mention of using the rear touch pad to judge distances, the only really useful touch addition. Or the looking around gyroscope implementation with AR funkiness? Not so useful, but worth a mention.

  • mazk #33 3 months ago

    Thanks for the review. This is being bought.
    Are you guys going to review Lumines?

  • onezeonx #34 3 months ago

    @Eurocensor yet you constantly talk shite in any vita related story?

    maybe do some research before talking about the vita...

  • LiamK #35 3 months ago

    you can purchase novelty items such as football-shaped golf balls.
    So, er, ball-shaped then?

  • FiveMinuteHero #36 3 months ago

    I have read some comments by other people that played this game saying that the graphics in this game are not at the Vita's native resolution, but is lower - hinting that it is a PSP port. Strange that the reviewer here didn't mention this.

  • DrDamn #37 3 months ago

    @FiveMinuteHero
    Reviewer not mentioning it hints that it doesn't matter.

  • bliprunner #38 3 months ago

    It's basically still Golf from the Gameboy.

    Which was magnificent.

  • FiveMinuteHero #39 3 months ago

    @DrDamn Or he is blind. Or else we would all be playing PS Vita games at Nintendo DS resolution.
    Edited by FiveMinuteHero at 16/02/12 @ 13:09

  • vert1go #40 3 months ago

    a humorous option to pick up and move your golfer for tee-off by pinching the front and back screens as their legs flail in your grip
    Nice to see they stole something from the Mii Plaza...

  • DyneVyse #41 3 months ago

    I only hate the voices of this game.... they feel like they was making fun of me

  • Toothball #42 3 months ago

    Gah, this story seems to be popular enough to keep floating to the top of the page. This really isn't making it any easier to resist buying a Vita next week.

  • Obli #43 3 months ago

    The PS3 version of the game is a gem! If the Vita version is 90% the game, it deserves a 9!

  • MattEdWithCheese #44 3 months ago

    Everybody is Golf!

  • moggsy #45 3 months ago

    Well I played this on a demo pod in Game today and the first thing that hit me were the jaggies! The game looks like a PSP game to me. Not a good advert for the Vita anyway.