La review by Clap Hanz Golf, available for a few days on the subscription platform Apple Arcade, obviously cannot ignore the discourse relating to the breaking of the exclusivity that has linked the series for over twenty years Everybody's Golf to the history of PlayStation.
In fact, since its foundation in 1998, the Japanese studio has always and only worked on Sony consoles: an exclusive partnership, as mentioned, which has brought the famous arcade golf game to every single model of PlayStation, from home to portable ones, with the latest release in 2019, Everybody's Golf VR to PlayStation VR.
The opening of the brand to Apple Arcade, although with a different name, therefore stands as an event of some importance, which depending on the outcome could result in the landing of Clap Hanz productions also on other platforms, in particular Xbox e Nintendo Switch.
Structure
The Clap Hanz Golf home screen gives you access to four different ones mode: Tour, Score Attack, Survival and Local Multiplayer. Yes, unfortunately the multiplayer online: It is possible to face other players in matches for up to four participants, but only if they are in our vicinity.
Where Score Attack e Survival focus precisely on obtaining high scores and minimum scores to avoid elimination, the core of the experience is obviously represented by Tour, a real career (in a group, however: we will get there in a moment) in which we will be able to unlock new characters and courses that are gradually longer and more complex, passing from three holes to six and nine.
Gameplay
Clap Hanz Golf immediately clarifies its arcade nature by proposing us not only players who are absolutely out of the canons of this sport, from the little girl with braids to the pensioner, but also making them compete in group match in which the various athletes pass a symbolic baton, each taking care of a single hole.
Put your characters boast ability different types and a specific preference for clubs, making them the ideal choice for tackling certain courses. We will be able to manually select the members of the team or let the system do it automatically, and then launch directly into the action and begin to perform some powerful swings.
Il gameplay it reveals itself from the very beginning simple and immediate, but at the same time endowed with a certain thickness as regards the calibration of the shots. In fact, we can limit ourselves to loading the shot by drawing a line with the index down and then quickly drawing one up to impact the ball, but this carefree approach will only work during the easier matches.
The further we go on, the better the opponents will become, which means that we will have to take into account the wind direction, the slope of the ground, the distances and any obstacles, then try to impress the swing a rotation, power or damping effect depending on how we will apply the pressure. We are talking about delicate mechanisms, which need a little practice.
Like the vast majority of titles available on Apple Arcade, Clap Hanz Golf also supports i controller Bluetooth, but in this case you do not get great advantages from the physical controls: to pull the right analog stick must be used, more stable and precise in some situations but less prone to the nuances we have just talked about.
We mentioned being able to unlock new characters within the Tour mode, but there is no shortage of extra, collectible challenges (different clothes for our golfers, for example), a progression system that improves the stats of each athlete and even the boss fight at the end of each tournament. The level of challenge is always quite accessible in the early hours, also favoring a more relaxed use.
Technical realization
We can say without fear of denial that the Everybody's Golf series has always remained a bit tied to old technologies, with rather dated polygonal models in terms of design and animations which, however, have helped to define what the graphic style of the game actually is, which has become easily recognizable over time.
Clap Hanz Golf is no exception, dragging us into this colorful and fun context, with its over-the-top protagonists who move a bit as if they were still the times of PS2 and scenery which at first glance appear large and suggestive, but when approaching the view they reveal themselves full of very dated polygonal expedients and solutions.
In terms of atmosphere, however, the system is confirmed as effective and pleasant, the fluidity on iPad Pro it is excellent and there is no shortage of options for adjusting standard view and "tactical" (a pattern of where the ball should land on the court). The sound is also good from this point of view: the dialogues in English are "old school", but sounds and music effectively accompany the action.
Comment
Tested version iPad Digital Delivery App Store Price Free Resources4Gaming.com8.0
ReadersSV
Your voteClap Hanz Golf also brings to Apple Arcade all the light-hearted solidity of the famous franchise, able to offer a distinctly arcade golf experience but at the same time with a surprising thickness as regards the calibration of the shots. This is also why you play which is a pleasure with the touch controls, the challenges lend themselves to different approaches and the cartoonish atmospheres are exactly what you expect from the Clap Hanz series. In short, another very valid reason to subscribe to the Apple platform.
PRO
- The typical gameplay of Everybody's Golf
- Immediate and fun, but not without depth
- Rich structure between modes and characters
- The old-gen graphic style has its obvious limitations
- Very traditional structure, with no surprises
- No online multiplayer
