ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 - Xbox

The marketing bumph pushing ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 declares that it is this year's only real-life golf simulation. It’s more than that, as you soon find out on playing it: it’s perhaps the closest that a videogame has ever come to recreating real-life golf.

What’s more, this faithful video game adaptation of one of the world’s most challenging sports makes you actually want to go out and play golf. It’s so close to simulating the real game, that you may well improve your swing or your putting on the local pitch and putt from putting (ha!) the hours in at ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007.

The key to the game’s genius is the 'ProStroke' control/swing method where you can shift your weight, your stance, the position of your club and other such variables, just as you would out on the eighteenth hole.

It’s one of those seemingly straightforward looking games, which will have you coming back for more time and time again, not only because you want to beat your mates in the multiplayer modes, but mainly because you just want to perfect your game.

Like any self-respecting sports game, ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 has a decent raft of Pro Talent (Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Ben Curtis, Tomas Bjorn, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Mark O'Meara and Zhang Lian-Wei) who have been motion-captured and incorporated into the game. There are also a few well-known courses, plus the requisite well-known commentator voices (Sam Torrance, Ian Baker-Finch and Alan Green) bantering away give the game the reality topping today’s gamers demand.

But this 'topping is just that – the cherry on top, if you like. ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 will be remembered and played for one thing only: it's hugely enjoyable and satisfying control method. Gusto Games have really pulled one out of the bag with this one, which will hopefully mark the start of a long and successful franchise for them. more