The Old Course based on St. Andrews Links in Scotland where the golf championship thing is being currently held (I really don’t follow any sports but golf I know literally nothing about). I do however know that St Andrews golf course is very very old and has a lot of history embedded within golf.
The only other golf game I had played on the iPhone before The Old Course was 'Lets Golf' from Gameloft, a decent arcade attempt at the genre. The Old Course however is a completely different take on Lets Golf if you're familiar with that title. Instead of being able to see the golf course and the player in third person, you see just the ball and a birds eye view of the course. You have a nice range of clubs to choose from to use on the different terrains. The game is also nice and helpful by showing you which direction the hole is in via an arrow.
The controls are very simple, your finger basically acts as the golf club. You swipe your finger across the screen and hit the ball. How fast it travels and which direction it goes in is up to where you positioned your finger and how fast you swiped. This doesn’t sound like you would be able to get the most accurate of shots but it works great in practise. Once the ball is in the air you can tilt the iPhone or iPod Touch to create a spin on the ball, adding a layer of further control.
The graphics are quite simple and basic. Buildings are 3D and adjust their view along with the camera which is a nice touch. You see everything you need to and I have yet to see the camera go wrong which is impressive. You are basically on one giant golf course because St Andrews is all one which is represented within the game, so it all looks pretty much the same with the bright two tone grass and yellow sand. Not surprisingly it's all rather cartoony, an art style the developers, Cobra Mobile are very good at.
The sound track is like it was ripped straight out of Wii Sports. The atmosphere isn’t amazing, the player hears the same bird tweet once in a while and the same bounces from the ball as it hits the ground and that's pretty much it.
Having said all this The Old Course is genuinely fun. I had a lot more enjoyment with this than I ever did with Lets Golf. Getting the ball into that hole feels a lot more achievable here because of the greater control the player is given.
Overall I would recommend The Old Course to those who are like me and don’t know too much about golf and just want to have a bit of fun, easily and simply. If you want something with a little more thump, possibly try Tiger Woods or the upcoming Lets Golf 2.
