There have been several golf game series released for the PC over the years, but none have quite managed to really capture the imagination of either golfers or casual gamers looking for a good golf sim. However, when Fusion Software launched their first foray into this genre with Custom Play Golf, the golf sim on the PC was taken to a new level.
Now in its third incarnation, Custom Play Golf 2010 is undoubtedly the Tiger Woods of the PC golf arena. It puts other golf games, such as Electronic Arts’ series bearing golf’s number one’s endorsement, in the shade. Although not perfect, Custom Play Golf happily sits at the top of the leaderboard.
Custom Play Golf is, quite simply, a golf simulation which is as close to the real thing as you’re likely to experience on the PC or any games console and it delivers a sound thrashing to rival golf sims. Custom Play Golf is a game packed with features which take the player to a completely different level of simulated golf action than has been available before.
The game features enhanced graphical effects including enhanced lighting, shadows and detail while the game mechanics are extremely easy to pick up.
Custom Play Golf is surprisingly easy to play and even novices to golf sims will soon be swinging away with aplomb on the virtual courses that are available.
With a choice of four separate mechanics to play shots, including standard 2 and 3 button mouse clicks, as well as mouse swing gameplay it's simply a case of finding which method works best. From a personal note, I prefer the 3-click method which involves clicking to start the backswing and again to set power, with a third click to strike through the ball.
The power meter is represented by a circular, coloured bar which appears to envelope around the golfer. The colours represent the strength at which you hit the ball and range from blue through a blue/red mix and into full red. When swinging the club, the goal is to stop the backswing before the indicator line enters the black area at the extreme tip of the swing arc, otherwise your shot will lose both power and accuracy. Setting the accuracy involves stopping the indicator line in the small yellow box at the base of the arc. Going either side of the yellow area will cause the shot to either hook or slice, depending on where you stop it.
Along the base of the screen are a series of information nodes, some of which can be altered to produce alternate shots. Click on the ‘shot’ node for example and you can change the default normal shot into a chip-and-run or a high flop shot. Similarly you can alter your stance to play a draw or fade by clicking the ‘stance’ node and moving the circular indicator to the desired location to set your shot type. Changing club is done in a similar fashion by clicking the ‘club’ node.
Putting is done in a similar manner to playing normal golf shots, except rather than a circular power indicator, there is a horizontal power bar and taking a putt works in the same way.