John Daly Prostroke Golf Review (PS Move)

John Daly’s Prostroke Golf is, I’m surprised to say, a really good golf game. In fact, it’s so much so, that I honestly couldn’t believe it. I mean, I am by no means a golf fan to begin with and wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do a good review of this title. But, even though the controls are rather intricate (in a complete-control sort of way), I found myself not only enjoying success on the courses, but also enjoying the gameplay experience on the whole. Now that’s not to say there aren’t a few flaws in this game, but any game that can make regular golf (as in not mini-golf) enjoyable, is going to get high marks from me.

Now don’t let John Daly’s mug on the front cover of the game scare you off. Also, don’t mind his monotone, tutorial delivery, which he does with as much gusto as golf commentators deliver their calls for the game, as in, none at all. After all, he’s a golf player, not an voice actor.

The game can be played with the standard controller or Playstation Move. Admittedly, it’s far more fun with the Move controller and you get a feel for golf more so than with the standard controller. There are some things that you can’t quite do when you use the move controller so you need to set them up prior to your shot. These include setting the ball’s position relative to your stance (poor control mechanic there). Also, when using the Move controller you lose the ability to place your player’s feet and shift his weight from what I could see, but you can, of course, compensate for that with how you actually swing the club.

The sound in the game, aside from the environments, is terrible. Anything John Daly says is delivered with his monotone, reading-from-a-cue-card style. His comments will make you want to throttle him because he is smug, pompous, condescending and generally, a knob. I had to turn it off altogether because he’s downright irritating. Anything the ball does that would normally make a sound, has a sound like they took it and just hit it against a 2x4. It’s all this non-distinct, flat, clicking sound. If it hits a tree, click, click, click. Hits the pavement, click, click, click. Hits a rough patch, well you get the idea. Overall the sound is pathetic, except for the standard environments. However, it does seem that every single course you play on is situated under the takeoff and landing pattern for an airport.

The graphics are slightly better than the sounds. Everything has a flat sort of, lackluster appearance which really draws away from the game. John Daly himself looks like a blond, curly-haired clown (his pants certainly help with that image). Your golfer has minimal customization, most of which is the clothes you’re wearing though none of them have any bearing on play.