Freeware your mind : Sports Games

Welcome to the first part of our Freeware your mind specials, in which we take a closer look at some of the better free games you'll be able to find on the net. This time, we'll be covering a couple of sports-based games. More exactly, we'll be teeing off a couple of times, we'll be pocketing a couple of eightballs, and we'll be driving around at incredible speed.

Albatross 18 : Realms of Pangya

Albatross 18 : Realms of Pangya

First game on our list is Albatross 18, a golfgame that mainly tries to deliver a fastpaced and fun arcade-like golf experience. We could say we're dealing here with the PC version of Mario Golf.

Albatross 18 offers the player very addictive gameplay. The three click shot system is simple and easy to learn. The first click starts the powermeter, with the second one you'll be able to chose the power, and the last click how accurately you'll hit the ball. The less accurate, the more your ball will deviate from it's normal path. Hitting these perfect accuracy shots (Pangya shot) makes a powermeter fill up. When you've collected enough power, you can use a powershot to add an extra 10 yards to your drives.

Albatross 18 : Realms of Pangya

That the game isn't really a realistic golf simulation becomes apparent quickly. Although most of the gameplay tries to simulate real life golfing (think of the impact of wind on the ball's course for example), the game offers a couple of surreal trickshots to help you reach the green in the least possible amount of drives. These trickshots range from the easy to do Powerspin and Powercurve shots, to the more difficult Tomahawk and Cobra shots.

At the moment of writing, there are 6 courses available to play on, ranging from easy A-courses, to very hard AAA-courses. It's somewhat of a pity that some of the more difficult courses are mainly the same as their easier twins, with the only difference that there are more obstacles you'll need to conquer.

Albatross 18 : Realms of Pangya

The game can be seen as some sort of an MMORPG. You start at the bottom of the foodchain with nothing more than a set of clubs and some golfballs. As you progress, you'll be able to gain experience points and upgrade your characters statistics accordingly. So like in most RPGs, the longer you play, the better your character will get. Also, the better you play, the more Pang points you'll collect. Pang is the ingame currency used to buy items and clothes for your character, or to upgrade free stat slots. It's also possible to upgrade your stats with a caddie. It's recommended for first time players to play through the 18 hole practise course. Not for the sake of the tutorial itself, but for the fact that you'll receive your first caddiefor free. You can also "hire" other caddies who offer different kinds of upgrades. Keep in mind though that these caddies will require you to pay monthly pang fees, so be sure you'll have enough pang in your little piggybank.

The game offers cute anime style graphics, which give the game a friendly feel. The colourfull surroundings are nicely designed with a good amount of detail. Too bad that some objects aren't as polished as the rest of the game. The soundtrack and sound effects are top notch, and really fit well into the atmosphere the game is trying to set.

Conclusion:
The addictive and easy to learn gameplay, the rankings system, and the cute anime style graphics make Albatross 18 one of the best golf games you can get. It can easily compete with retail titles as long as you're not looking for a very realistic gameplay. Definitely worth taking a look at, even if you're not a big fan of golf.

Graphics: 8
Durability: 9
Sound: 8
Gameplay: 9

Overall rating: 9

Shot Online 2006

Shot Online : The Field and More

Just as Albatross 18, Shot Online 2006 is also a golf game, with the difference that the emphasis of the gameplay is pure realism. You won't be making surreal trickshots or other stunts, but rather enjoy a real game of golf. Just as in real life, you can put some effect on your shots, like backspin and slicing.

The game uses a realistic algorythm scheme with which you can build out your character to your own likings. There are 4 attributes that can be upgraded, such as power, control, stamina and skill. The accuracy and success of your shots depends mainly on these personals attributes, which can be upgraded each time you gain a level by collecting enough experience points. There's also a built-in fatigue system which affects your shots. The longer you play in a row, the more tired your character will get, and the less accurate your shots will become. You will need to rest from time to time to regain your stamina, or drink an (expensive) energy potion.

Shot Online : The Field and More

Between matches, you can roam around in Valhalla, the fictional world of Shot Online. This place is filled with shops where you can buy clothes or better equipment for your character. Most of these items are very expensive, and you'll need to play a lot of matches to be able to collect enough NG (Not Gold, the ingame currency). If you're impatient, you can also use real money to buy items. But keep in mind that better gear possibly won't give
you an advantage if your attributes aren't high enough.

The graphics in Shot Online fit the gameplay very well. There's a realistic colourscheme, and each of the different courses look as if they could be found in the real world. A couple of courses are actually accurately modelled after existing Korean golf courses. The sound effects are nice, and the soundtrack is more than adequate.

Conclusion:
Only those who are looking for a competitive game where they rely on their skill, will mostly find what they look for in Shot Online. But the very realistic and somewhat monotone gameplay will probably put a lot of players off. Overal a good game with a unique concept, but probably only for hardcore golf lovers.

Graphics: 8
Durability: 7
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 7

Overall rating: 7

Carom3D

Carom3D

If there a type of sports that appeals to most of us, it's probably the versatile collection of pocketball games like Pool and Snooker. And that's exactly what Carom3D has to offer: a multitude of pocketball variations. Each of the variations has its own ruleset which sometimes might differ a bit from its real world counterpart, but this is mainly to ensure a fun and addictive gameplay.

The gameplay itself might be a bit confusing at first. The control scheme is different than most other similar games, but its design allows for a near perfect control of the power and angle of your shots. It won't take long until you'll be pulling of backspin and curve shots like a real pro. The game focusses on online matches, but it's possible to practise on your own too. Keep in mind there's no AI available, so you'll be playing completely alone in practise matches.

Carom3D

When you play against other human players, you collect experience points by winning matches. If you lose a match, you'll lose some experience, but luckily the number of points you gain by winning is much higher than the number you can lose. There's no real advantage in collecting experience points, they're mainly needed to climb in the online rankings of the games and to level up. Your level defines on which servers you'll be able to play, so a complete beginner won't have to take on experienced players. Based on your level, you also get a number of free experience points each day.

Carom3D

The physics in the game come close to those of the real games. You won't be shooting the ball 6 times around the table for example. There are some small glitches from time to time, like a ball that seems to float on the edge of a pocket, but you'll seldom come across such a glitch.

The graphics are nicely done, but don't expect state-of-the-art next-gen graphics. They fit the game perfectly, and that should suffice for most players. The sound effects are sober, but these kind of games don't need an immense effects library if you ask me. The soundtrack only contains one song, which becomes annoying fairly quickly. Luckily you can turn the music volume down so you can listen to your own music collection.

Conclusion:
Whether you like a nice game of pool, love to play precision snooker matches, or any other variation of pocketball games, you'll probably find what you look for in Carom3D. Highly recommended!

Graphics: 8
Durability: 9
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 8

Overall rating: 8

Sidenote:
Although both Albatross 18 and Shot Online are completely free, it is possible to buy ingame items with real money too. You might think this is unfair, but no one tells you to do it. It's just a means of the developers to earn some money and keep the servers going.