The Golf Club (PS4/XB One/PC)

[hudson]

So, to clarify, if I logged into my US account I created for PS3 on PS4, buy a game, I can play the game online even though I do not have a US PS+ sub?

[VR46]

It will work fine, I have a couple of Japan games I play on my UK profile fine and get the trophies for on my UK profile etc.

The PAL version of the game will be the same as the US one, just that Sony Europe takes ages to approve games for PSN.

[hudson]

Maybe I'll hold off until UK release.

[VR46]

Yes as long as you set both profiles to primary. Reviews are still looking shabby Hudson, was averaging less than six on Metacritic the other day.

[hudson]

If I bought this from US store, will my UK Plus account grant me online access with it?

[DeathAdder]

It seems to have been a while since a golf game included a course editor,

Which games, besides Sim Golf, have allowed players to make their own courses?

[hudson]

Oh golf balls...

@thegolfclubgame: "EU/AU/NZ PlayStation 4 players: We are 95% sure #TheGolfClub will be launching the week beginning Sept 1st. We will know for sure next week."

However...

@thegolfclubgame: " We are very pleased to announce that #TheGolfClub will be available on the PlayStation Store in North America on August 26, 2014 for $34.99!"

Can I still purchase things from US store using my US account?

I'm sure the game won't be region based for online?

[hudson]

I will probably still get this.

[VR46]

Detailed list of the problems with the PC version posted in a user review on Metacritic

Blackadar - Aug 19, 2014

Score 4

In short, steer clear. It's not worth the money.

As a lover of golf games, I'm an optimist about this genre and I'm willing to give most any golf game the benefit of the doubt given that the genre hasn't had much love the last decade. I believe TGC has potential to be decent. But as a warning to customers regarding the 8/19 release, this game is not ready yet. There are some major issues with TCG that you should be aware of:

1. The game is still poorly optimized on the PC. It still runs poorly on medium on my PC (which is pretty decent) and there are numerous reports about poor optimization and the game cooking video cards or vid card fans having to run at 100%. Supposedly an optimization patch will come out upon release, but be warned that this game may not run worth a damn on your PC. And frankly it doesn't look that good to work the PC that hard.

2. The game is not immersive and there are a host of reasons why. The voice overs are still lifeless and amateur. No crowds. There's a noticeable lack of good environmental sounds and even the course backgrounds are pretty dull. The trees are fairly uniform. Also, there aren't weather effects or things like that. It plays like you're hitting into a screen, not that you're on the course. In short, the golfing environment isn't very good. It's not ugly by any means, but it's most certainly not immersive.

3. If you can't play on max resolutions, your green grid won't work from more than 20 feet outside the cup. Faced with a 40 foot putt? You're screwed - you have no idea how it's going to break. On low resolution this radius is only about 8 feet from the cup. They've known about this issue since putting the game out on EA and haven't fixed it yet (and according to them, won't until sometime "after release").

4. There's still the mystery long/short putt issue. I've played TCG for 20 hours or so. I know how to putt and get it close to the hole. My last round was -14. But there's still the mystery but (happens every round or two) where you draw back, hit the ball and the putt that should go 25 feet goes 4 feet. It's been around since the game was released on EA and still hasn't been fixed either. It probably has something to do with lag in the game engine due to it not being optimized, but it's a PITA having your round spoiled like that.

5. The wind and physics are still weird at times. I've seen a 6-8 MPH wind blow wedge shots 25 feet from side to side. I've played golf in real life for 30 years now and haven't seen that on the course. Also, the ball physics are wonky when it hits a slope. Low, hard shots like with a 3 wood don't bounce right when they hit an upslope. They'll stop dead and bounce backwards rather than pop up and forward like they should. It's like the ball velocity doesn't count when figuring out the physics on a ball hitting an upslope. Hit a 3 wood into a 55 degree rise and the ball will bounce backwards in this game. That doesn't happen IRL.

6. Want to play an honest game online? Forget it. There's so much cheating from edging to other forms that it's not enjoyable. The swing motion in TGC may be novel, but it lends itself to rampant cheating and artificial "assists". People will outright admit it on this forum and this is probably not a solvable problem. If you want an honest MP game, TCG isn't the game for you.

7. There's no character progression, no tour, nothing like that. This is hitting balls into a moderately attractive backdrop. That's it. Now I applaud TCG for not putting in a half assed version of progression (which is worse than none), be aware that that's all there is - that and the designer.

While future promises are nice, TCG really needs quite a few more months of baking before it leaves Early Access. So what you're getting on the 19th is really not much more than what I got 6 months ago on EA. Do I regret my purchase? Not really because there's nothing else out there. Do I think it's a good game or a good golf simulation right now? No. So for those who haven't purchased the game, know what you're getting before you fork over your money because it's not that good of a game right now. It's only a fair representation of golf with a mediocre golf designer and no career mode or progression

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-golf-club/user-reviews

[hudson]

Haha and I always thought it was a full priced title, so the 28 quid price tag sounds nice.

This is destined to be guff though. Any game I show a real interest in seems to end up balls.

[VR46]

Jeepers didn't realise it was twenty eight quid.

[hudson]

Just watched some vids of Xbox One version. The framerate looks fine. Screen tearing looks pretty dodgy as the ball takes flight though. Hopefully that's just an Xbox One "feature" only.

[hudson]

Don't think I've played a 60fps golf game on a console. At least I don't think so.

[Kron]

I'll disagree massively with the comment that frame rate doesn't matter in a Golf game (this vs something like Powerstar Golf is night and day in smoothness) I've been playing this today and it's the most lazy PC port I've come across in a long time, The devs have said on the official forum that the Xbox One version has a higher frame rate than the PS4 version and if that's the case avoid all of the console versions.

They don't deserve your support with ports like this. Dreadful.

[VR46]

Has there been a confirmed date for PS4 release then?

Indeedy, was confirmed a couple of weeks back for the 26th August ie. next Wednesday.

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2014/08/the_golf_club_swinging_for_26th_august_launch_on_ps4