Fore play on Fantasy Island

Golf as a game is something that either appeals to you or doesn’t. You have to think there’s something fun and addictive about chasing a little white ball for hours across acres of grass just to sink it into a little hole. This pretty much applies to golf simulation games. It’s either you like it or you don’t, and will most likely appeal to people who have already played the sport.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find Pangya (also known as albatross18 in international versions) to be a fun, engaging game regardless of its sports appeal.

Upon launching a game of Pangya, you’ll be treated to the type of eye-candy you would expect from a fantasy RPG, with its 3D anime-style characters and impressively rendered game setting, which takes place, fittingly, on an exotic fantasy island world replete with sailboats, lollipop plants, giant flowers and white sand beaches. Unfortunately, you’ll find the environment you can access is limited to one hole at a time, and not a pervasive world you can walk through freely.

Players can initially choose between two characters of different genders – Nuri or Hana. Character emotes and animation are limited but entertaining. It can be rather funny to see Hana faint after missing a really close shot, or Nuri express agony after a double bogey.

Pangya isn’t an exact analog of real golf but does a reasonable job emulating the sport with its intuitive interface. The general idea is still to sink your ball in a hole in less than four strokes, while taking into consideration water hazards, geographical formations, bunkers and wind factor. Unlike golf, however, the developers have added special shots, power spins, and spell effects to make the game more entertaining.

Taking a shot is simple, straightforward, arcade fun. On your turn, you can choose your club, check the lay of your ball and distance, and then press the spacebar a total of three times: once to start your backswing; another to choose the power of your shot; and a third time to release the shot. Depending on the shot, you can add spin to the ball and make it curve through directional keys, as well as exert extra power with either a charged combo bar or by hitting the white line on your downswing for a signature, winning Pangya! shot.

While it takes practice to get your timing down, Pangya can be pretty addictive once you figure out how to tame all the various hurdles and get a feel for hitting uphill or downhill. Not only that, successful Pangya! shots like the Tomahawk will sometimes reward a player with gifts and pang, Pangya’s in-game currency. Characters can equip themselves with more advanced clubs as they level up. In order to buy anything in-game you must have one of two currencies: pang and cookies, which netGames will eventually make available but only through real cash transactions.

For this, there are in-game item and character shops where you can purchase equipment and clothing accessories to add bonus stats to improve your gameplay and make your "toon" look cool (which real golf attire almost never does).

Your tutorial caddy is named Bongdari. However, later into the game, you can rent other caddies from a caddy shop such as Pipin and Dolphini; unlike Bongdari, though, these caddies will require you to pay them salaries in order to retain their services. For low-level characters, their caddies are little more than ornamental pets, but as you level up, they eventually become more useful, giving advice on key shots.

Unlike a console golf simulator game, Pangya makes good on its emphasis on multi-playability. Players not only level faster but earn more playing with others.

The real fun of Pangya is playing against other people skill for skill, and the teasing that goes on between friends. Pangya has a cool built-in instant messenger-type panel that allows its players to add buddies, and to chat with their friends while playing.

The only downside to all this is that a full 18 hole round, like in real golf, inevitably takes quite a while, especially if you’ve got more than two players. Apart from Tournament mode, where you all tee off at the same time, you’ll have no choice but to wait for your opponents to take their shot. Thank goodness there’s an option for those with low tolerance for wait mode to play as few as three holes at a time!

Overall, Pangya just about makes a hole-in-one with relaxing, fuss-free gameplay, built around a refreshing, breezy environment that manages to provide experienced and casual gamers alike with challenging, swing-happy, multi-player fun.

Rating: 4 stars