Oxygen talks up World Tour Golf

Oxygen Interactive reckons that World Tour Golf, due out this July, is going to give the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series a run for its money.

There aren't many brave or talented enough to take on Tiger Woods in real life (although I could have him at biscuit-eating), but in gaming terms it's not as difficult as it used to be. For a start, he hasn't learnt any new tricks since 2002, and he's had five opportunities to do so.

According to Oxygen reps, the publisher wants to position World Tour Golf, due on PS2, Xbox, PC and PSP, as a kind of Pro Evolution Soccer of golf. As you can see from our exclusive screenshots of the PC and Xbox versions, it's not looking too shabby already.

Details on the swing system are apparently a bit of a secret for now, but in general terms the company compares what it's trying to do here with what Tiger did when it made the transition from three-tap to analogue - something that immediately added to the game's immediacy and charm.

Oxygen also wants to beat Tiger on the number of courses, and is in negotiations to tie real world golfing talent into the game, with an announcement due on that soon. Beyond all that, we're told there's something else in store which ought to give the game longevity beyond all of its rivals.

Bold claims, obviously, but hopefully something they can back up. Lord knows the golf genre needs a five-iron to the backside and sharpish. Else I'm going to start clubbing people somewhere else and hiding their bodies in what my Dad charitably refers to as "light rough". Let's just say we don't bother looking and call it a free drop.