Powerstar Golf (Xbox One) Review

Whenever you talk about golf, Tiger Woods usually springs to mind. Powerstar Golf takes a different approach as it’s golf aimed for casuals. Whether you are a fan of the sport or not, Powerstar Golf is easy and fun to play no matter what age you are.

The one game series that Powerstar Golf may have some similarities to is Sony’s Hot Shots Golf (Everybody’s Golf) series. This is because the presentation is cartoonish and the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. Golf may be a boring sport to some people, but Powerstar Golf presents the sport in a more entertaining fashion. I’m not a fan of the real sport, but I had fun playing Sony’s series as well as Powerstar Golf.

One thing to note about this game is that it’s an Xbox One exclusive. You can find it on the Xbox Live marketplace. Sadly, this means Xbox 360 gamers cannot play the game unless they buy an Xbox One console in the future.

Graphically, Powerstar Golf does not push the boundaries of the Xbox One hardware in any way. The graphics are not horrible, but this game could have easily have been released on the Xbox 360 as well. Still, I do like the cartoon style to its graphics and the nice bright colored golf courses look more vibrant those seen in the Tiger Woods series.

In terms of characters, you only get to choose two at the start as you need to unlock the others as you progress. I must say that the character design in Powerstar Golf made me laugh because they’re not very original. One of the characters looks exactly like Grandpa Max from Ben 10 while another resembles NZ golfer Lydia Ko. There is also a caddie that looks like a stereotypical hipster.

As entertaining as the character’s appearances are, I was surprised how playable the actual game itself plays. I’m not a huge fan of golf and don’t really understand much about the sport in general. However, Powerstar Golf makes things easy because the game is not too hard to play and it’s one game that even the most uncoordinated gamer could actually pick up and play.

The main thing you will have to remember is to press the “A” button at the correct time. There is a meter at the bottom of the screen that controls your power and accuracy. You can also use the d-pad to adjust where you want the ball to be hit and the left analog stick to control its direction. Striking the ball down the range is the easy part, putting is where things get a little trickier.