Winning Shot

~ WINNING SHOT ~

Data East

HuCard

1989

I knew pretty much right away that I was going to have fun with this one. The realization occurred the instant I took a swing and saw my little avatar SMASH the ball across the course. Players absolutely DRILL their drives in this game; the ball goes way up high and gets really big in a manner reminiscent of the World Class Baseball "pop-fly effect." For video game golf shots, this is pretty exhilarating stuff.

Amazing!

(And I know you're thinking to yourself right now that I'm getting all pumped up over something really stupid, but you've gotta understand where I'm coming from. You'd be surprised by the number of PCE golf games I've seen mishandle this simple play element. Power Golf 2's shots sputter their way towards the hole, while Ganbare's barely seem to get off the ground. Even the masterful Fine Shot Golf kinda botched things up a bit by having the ball simply launch itself into the sky rather than showing a dude actually hitting the damn thing. But here we've got a game that executes first shots in a cool way.)

Thanks to a slow-rising power bar, it's quite easy to pull off those impressive drives. Winning Shot's entire pre-green play system seems easy-going initially; the game even hands you what it believes is the ideal club for each shot (and it's usually right on with its choices). But don't go thinking this thing will be a cakewalk. You'd better familiarize yourself with the hole-course layouts and the variations in shot arcs that the myriad club types produce. Most importantly, you'll need to figure out just how far your shot will go at each meter increment (and for every club at that), as there's a huge difference between, say, a full-power shot and a "90%" one.

Putting can also be a challenge. The game doesn't help you out much except to give you a general idea of the resistance your shot will be facing, but that's somehow enough once you get used to the system. In fact, to my eyes at least, putts play out here in more realistic ways than they do in many efforts that try much harder to be credible simulations. (Mind you, I know nothing about real-life golf. But I've seen a putt or two on TV!)

If you're not satisfied with how your own shots are turning out, though, you can always give one of the other selectable characters a try. You can even adjust each golfer's "ability points" as you see fit.

So, what are the negatives here? Well, the music is bad. Turn the game on and you're immediately hit with loud, abrasive cacophony. Things get a little quieter but not much better during play. Also, there's only one course to tour here. But some of the hole designs are very interesting and feature smart, creative placement of islands and hazards. Sometimes you can even stumble upon sneaky shortcuts to the flagstick. And tournament mode attempts to spice things up by offering bonus dough to players who pull off particular feats (such as a hole in one or the longest drive) on certain holes.

Winning Shot is a real oldie, but I honestly wouldn't have guessed it from its mechanics and presentation elements, and I'm gonna go ahead and recommend it to folks seeking a fun golf title.