Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour [GC]

There's no doubt in our minds that Japanese development studio Camelot Software Planning is a talented bunch. Its beloved N64 sports lineup of tennis and golf titles staring Mario and company are some of the most well-balanced and enjoyable videogames in Nintendo history. It's with this mindset that we anxiously awaited the E3 2003 unveiling of Camelot's first GameCube sports sequel: Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. The implied promise of upgraded visuals, new gameplay modes, and an expanded character roster danced through our heads and kept us dizzy with anticipation as we approached Nintendo's booth. So you can imagine our disappointment to find the largely unpolished debut of Toadstool Tour waiting for us instead of a quality product typical of Camelot.

The game still isn't scheduled to ship for quite some time, so we're not about to pass judgment at this unfinished stage of development. But we can tell you exactly what Nintendo is showcasing on the E3 show floor, and sadly, that is not the fantastic GameCube Mario Golf title that we were hoping see. Sure, the game still features all of the same great Nintendo franchise characters one would hope to find: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Koopa Troopa, Wario, Waluigi -- they're all there, and more will probably make an appearance in the final version. But even this star billing isn't enough to make this early demo worth playing for very long.

As it stands now, the game's biggest concern is its camera work and perspective. Anytime during play -- from tee to green -- players can use the C stick to pull the camera far back for an overhead shot or push it forward for an approach view of the fairway and cup. In theory, such a setup seems useful, but in practice, it's actually quite oversensitive and frustrating. The camera typically uses a long lens -- meaning, the opposite of a wide-angle lens. This gives the action a slightly flat and compressed point of view that can make judging distances and perspectives tricky. Other times, the camera viewpoint just hangs behind background objects like trees or pipes during the many flyby ball shots. Visually, the game is still looking a bit rough, with low-detail environments, simple texture work, and minimal effects in place. We've no doubt that the development studio will smooth things out considerably before the product is final, so we're not worried -- we're just not anxious to keep playing the E3 demo, either.

But aside from our concerns, we were able to jot down notes on the many new features and controls that the game looks to include. For starters, Mario golfers can once again hit the links in either Stroke or Doubles play, and this time we'll also be visiting courses centered around classic Nintendo locales such as the Mushroom Kingdom castle or Mount Mario (think Rushmore with the Italian plumber's mug where Washington's once stood) in addition to the more normal "human"-style courses. The Nintendo influenced terrain will feature new gameplay enhancers such as giant green warp tubes -- lob your shot inside and it'll pop out somewhere else down the fairway. This should give the design team a fresh and creative set of possibilities to mix-up our Mario Golf thrills in the final game.

In terms of control, the game takes a few minutes of concentration to get your hands in tune with Camelot's configuration, but it quickly sinks in. The Y and X buttons toggle between the various aerial and drop viewpoints respectively, which, as we mentioned, could still use some tuning. Pressing up and down on the left analog stick cycles through your bag of clubs, while the Z button toggles between a normal or power swing. The L and R buttons position a max distance slider at the bottom of the screen, and the D pad can be used to pinpoint the exact spot you'd like to strike the ball to give it the proper spin. Using these pre-shot controls feel rather clunky in comparison to the streamlined mechanics of such greats as EA's Tiger Woods 2003 title, but they eventually get the job done.