ProStroke Golf PSP® System Release Date Confirmed

Oxygen Interactive is pleased to confirm the release date for its eagerly awaited ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 for PSP® System. The date is set and stock will hit the shelves on the 10th November 2006.

To celebrate this fact, Oxygen today releases its PSP® (Playstation®Portable) play guide; a manual to explain just how its renowned control system, 'ProStroke', translates to the PSP® system.

ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 PSP® system Guide

ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 is a revolutionary golf game that for the first time gives the player total control over the shots they play. Until now, many golf games have given the player limited control, offering an analogue swing for example, yet keeping many of the shots such as chip or punch as menu options rather than part of a golfer's swing. ProStroke Golf is unique in that it tackles this issue, giving the player the ability to infinitely vary their shots to play exactly how they wish. There's much more to ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 than the new control method though; a variety of exciting game modes and an extremely powerful yet easy to use course designer round off a complete golfing package.

Introduced in an interactive tutorial, the game's ProStroke centrepiece control system is easy to pick up, yet takes a while to master as you explore new ways of shaping your shots and tackling both the fantasy and licensed courses on offer. The tutorial will teach you all you need to know about the ProStroke control method; you'll learn to add power to your swing by shifting the golfer's weight through the shot, how to chip shots and add backspin by keeping the weight on the back foot, plus many more skills.

So how exactly does the ProStroke control system work? Let's take a look in more detail:

At first look, the game will seem similar to other golf games, with the camera behind the golfer as you look towards the pin. This is the view we call the Pre-Swing view. From this view, you can move the aiming marker and see which club you'll need to make your shot. Pressing the circle button zooms the view towards the target marker so you can place your shot more accurately. Notice how the target marker displays the amount of power needed to hit the ball to that point with the currently selected club.

Once you are happy with the placement of the target marker, press the X button and this will shift the view to the Swing Mode. A golf swing consists of two parts, the backswing and the downswing. If you press and hold the Right shoulder button you will see that the bar on the power meter moves towards 100 percent. If you release the Right shoulder button at any time, your shot will re-set without hitting the ball.

When you reach the top of the backswing, you begin the downswing by pressing and holding the Left shoulder button and then releasing the Right shoulder button. Now the bar on the power meter begins to move back towards the 0 percent mark. Once you have begun your downswing, the shot cannot be cancelled and you will hit the ball - so do make sure that you begin the downswing when the bar is at the power you require.

Complete the swing by releasing the Left button as close to the 0 percent mark as possible. Deviate left or right of the 0 mark when releasing the Left button and your shot will cause the ball to hook or slice, vastly reducing your accuracy. The further you release the button from the 0 mark, the greater the error in accuracy of the shot.

We can add more than 100 percent power to the shot by shifting the golfer's weight through the ball as the shot is played. The way we do this is to keep the Right shoulder button pressed when we begin the downswing with the Left shoulder button. Notice though, that the accuracy area around the 0 percent mark shrinks dramatically the longer the Right button is held down. This is the cost of the extra power - it is much more difficult to hit an accurate shot.

This is the basis for all the golf shots in the game. However as we'll come to in a moment, ProStroke Golf offers a number of ways to infinitely shape your shot and play some unique strokes. Using simple and intuitive controls, you will be able to create shots with loft & backspin, play punch shots and fade & draw the ball.

Each of the different controls, such as moving the left foot or opening and closing the clubface, combine in many different ways. Understanding how they work together is part of the skills of the golfer, and practice is required to make such judgements as when it's best to add height to shot by moving the ball forward in the stance, or instead, hitting the ball lower down. The following examples show the strength of the ProStroke control system. Because shots aren't chosen from a menu, you can combine all these techniques to shape the shots you want to play. Over time you'll develop your own techniques and favourite ways to play, just as a real golfer does.

ProStroke Shot Guide

Regular Shot

The plain vanilla shot. Line up where you want the ball to go in Caddie view, enter Swing view and press the Right Shoulder button to begin the backswing. Switch to the Left Shoulder button to begin the downswing and release the Left button when the bar reaches zero on the power meter. You will only be able to achieve 100 percent power with this type of shot.

100 Percent Shot

To add extra power to the regular shot, we shift the golfer's weight through the shot as it is played. When beginning the downswing with the Left Shoulder button, keep the Right Shoulder button depressed. The longer you hold down the Right button, the more the shot's power is boosted. However, any deviation from the 0 mark when hitting the ball will result in a much more inaccurate shot and may even see you fluff the shot altogether.

Fade (Left) & Draw (Right)

Imagine that you are facing a shot where the fairway features a dog-leg to the left, with trees blocking a straight shot across the inside of the turn. An amateur golfer would be happy to play to the turn and then make a longer shot towards the pin. However, the pros love to attack a shot like this and on a par 5 hole, laying up at the bend makes the difference between a birdie or par and an attempt at an eagle 3. A pro would want to move the ball around those trees on the inside of the fairway turn.

How do we do this? We use the target marker to aim the ball to the right of the trees, with enough space for the ball to move in flight. Once in Swing view, we push right on the D-pad to move the golfer's left foot to the right. This alters the golfer to an 'in to out' swing plane. This means that the ball will move to the left in the air (which is called Fade). Play the shot accurately and the ball will swerve left in the air, curving around those trees and landing safely on the fairway much closer to the pin. We can move the ball to the right in the air (which is called playing a Draw shot) by moving the golfer's left foot to the left by pressing left on the D-pad before taking the swing. This means the golfer has switch to an 'out to in' swing plane.

More advanced players can shape shots such as this even further by opening and closing the club head. For example, pushing the analogue stick to the right - showing the contact point moving right on the ball indicator - will play the ball to the right initially. In our example shot around the trees, this would allow us to play the shot straighter towards the trees. The shot would initially fly high and right, before the fade we added kicks in and curves the flight around the trees.

Chip and Run

Many players like to play a chip and run when playing from a bunker or the edge of the green. This means the ball is airborne for a very short time and much of the ball movement involves rolling. Caught on the upslope of a bunker, there's a tendency to hit a ball high and lose distance, so it's best to try to keep the ball low. To play a chip and run, push the analogue stick forward to hit the ball higher up. As the resultant shot rolls the ball quite a long way, it's best to reduce the power - often less than a third of the amount of power given on the target marker is required. Remember you can use the Square button at any time in the Swing view to reduce the maximum power with which you can hit the ball.

Pitching

Adding some extra height and backspin to a shot is similar to playing a Chip and Run except you push the analogue stick down to hit the ball lower. Now the ball's trajectory will be higher and backspin should stop it rolling too far on landing. Remember, at any time in the Swing view, you can display the Shot Shaper with the circle button. The arrows on the Shot Shaper indicate how much spin the current shot will impart on the ball, as well as whether there will be any left or right movement in the air.

Punch Shot

When faced with high wind or overhead branches, the last thing a golfer wants to do is hit the ball too high in the air. Instead, a low trajectory is required. This is called a Punch shot and should be part of every golfer's repertoire. In Swing Mode, move the ball to the back of your stance by pressing down on the D-pad. This means that the ball will be struck whilst the club head is still moving downwards and results in a lower trajectory shot. The further back in the stance, the lower the shot. However, one must take care, as some clubs don't suit this type of shot and it's best played with a mid-range iron.

Flop Shot

When playing a short shot toward the pin with a bunker between you and the flag, perhaps even with a bunker or water hazard behind the pin, the last thing you want to do is play a Chip and Run. In this situation, the safest shot is the Flop. Here the ball is played with a very high trajectory. To play a Flop shot, move the ball to the front of your stance by pressing up on the D-pad in the Swing view. This means that the ball will be struck by a rising club head and makes for a very high trajectory shot with a soft, vertical landing which shouldn't roll. However, care must be taken to add more power than the target marker indicates, as the distance travelled by the ball will be vastly reduced.

Putting

Putting is almost an art and much of the skill is in judging the shot power and direction, rather than your stance. Once on the green, a grid is displayed around the target marker in the Pre-Swing view. The grid, along with the moving dots on the grid lines, will help you judge the slope and turn of the green. You can then play the shot with just the Right Shoulder button; releasing the button plays the shot with power selected.