Anyone have their picks for best golf games?
As you know I've been picking up the 1$ games (predominantly PSX and DC, some Genesis, SNES, Saturn, etc). Of course the majority of what's left is sports, but of the sports, driving and golf are what I like best.
I already posted about driving games. Thought I'd post about golf games now.
I've been a big fan of the PGA series. The very first PGA Tour Golf (for the 386 PC!) got it right on the first try. The gameplay was perfect and polished right from the first game. For the most part I think they've kept their series up simply by not changing it. The PGA 96 on the genesis was a bomb due to trying 3D graphics (even though Pebble Beach managed to use them successfully), and also failed at trying to make a C meter instead of the powerbar (even though other games have successfully made a C meter). And I just tried PGA Tour 2000 (now they call it Tiger Woods) and sure enough, the gameplay is still perfect and polished. I think it was european
I've also enjoyed Pebble Beach on the Genesis. That was the only golf game I had for console back in the day, so my dad and I used to play skins game a lot. It was unique for adding the extra step where you pick what spot on the ball you hit. Plus it was 3D, and had elevator music (compared to the "no music" found on most games).
The genesis collective assures everyone that Leaderboard has always been the "best" golf game. But I tried it, and it just felt unpolished and incomplete. Some gameplay elements seemed missing, like distance judging.
Another game I liked is Valora Valley (Saturn), it's cool because you play golf in volcano's and stuff. Makes the game a bit more interesting for non-golfers, or if you've already got enough regular golf games.
Another surprise was Virtua Golf for DC. You can still play it, even without the special golf controller. The gameplay is solid, and the atmosphere of japanese-inspired cartoony characters, voices, and graphics makes it more fun and energetic to play. It basically is for Golf what Virtua Tennis is to Tennis.
36-holes for 32X is very solid arcade style. It's simpler than the PGA, but easy to pick up and play. The putting though seems to be overly sensitive, making it easy to 5-putt until you get it down.
Links for Sega CD is good, though there's some long loading times when it renders courses.
Dynamic C.C. for Sega CD is one that makes it impossible to figure out how much power you're putting on the ball.
Hot Shots 1 for PSX is one that has poor hit detection on the power/aim meter, forcing you to guess and lead your button presses.
Fox Sports Golf for PSX also has poor hit detection, but it is very amusing because after every hit you get simon cowell-quality comments about how bad your shot was.
There's two basic things that kill a golf game for me:
1. No distance judging. Normally you're told that the max-power is say 200yards. And if you hit 50% power, you know it will be 100yards. The putter is also set to 100ft or 30ft or 10ft, etc. But some games, amazingly, don't give you any indication of the distance your putter is hitting. So the fareway game is great. But once you get on the green, you have no idea what the hell the putter is doing. Even trial and error never seems to lock in on a predictable distance for what 100% means. It seems to change randomly. There's also games that use non-linear power meters. And it becomes impossible to figure out where in the meter 75%,50%, etc are, which makes chipping impossible.
2. Poor hit detection. The only actual gameplay element in the game is the fast-twitch hitting the button on a dime to latch in the power and aim meter. If the game is not perfectly responsive to your button press, hitting the aim meter becomes impossible.
So, any suggestions of golf games for any system?
As you know I've been picking up the 1$ games (predominantly PSX and DC, some Genesis, SNES, Saturn, etc). Of course the majority of what's left is sports, but of the sports, driving and golf are what I like best.
I already posted about driving games. Thought I'd post about golf games now.
I've been a big fan of the PGA series. The very first PGA Tour Golf (for the 386 PC!) got it right on the first try. The gameplay was perfect and polished right from the first game. For the most part I think they've kept their series up simply by not changing it. The PGA 96 on the genesis was a bomb due to trying 3D graphics (even though Pebble Beach managed to use them successfully), and also failed at trying to make a C meter instead of the powerbar (even though other games have successfully made a C meter). And I just tried PGA Tour 2000 (now they call it Tiger Woods) and sure enough, the gameplay is still perfect and polished. I think it was european
I've also enjoyed Pebble Beach on the Genesis. That was the only golf game I had for console back in the day, so my dad and I used to play skins game a lot. It was unique for adding the extra step where you pick what spot on the ball you hit. Plus it was 3D, and had elevator music (compared to the "no music" found on most games).
The genesis collective assures everyone that Leaderboard has always been the "best" golf game. But I tried it, and it just felt unpolished and incomplete. Some gameplay elements seemed missing, like distance judging.
Another game I liked is Valora Valley (Saturn), it's cool because you play golf in volcano's and stuff. Makes the game a bit more interesting for non-golfers, or if you've already got enough regular golf games.
Another surprise was Virtua Golf for DC. You can still play it, even without the special golf controller. The gameplay is solid, and the atmosphere of japanese-inspired cartoony characters, voices, and graphics makes it more fun and energetic to play. It basically is for Golf what Virtua Tennis is to Tennis.
36-holes for 32X is very solid arcade style. It's simpler than the PGA, but easy to pick up and play. The putting though seems to be overly sensitive, making it easy to 5-putt until you get it down.
Links for Sega CD is good, though there's some long loading times when it renders courses.
Dynamic C.C. for Sega CD is one that makes it impossible to figure out how much power you're putting on the ball.
Hot Shots 1 for PSX is one that has poor hit detection on the power/aim meter, forcing you to guess and lead your button presses.
Fox Sports Golf for PSX also has poor hit detection, but it is very amusing because after every hit you get simon cowell-quality comments about how bad your shot was.
There's two basic things that kill a golf game for me:
1. No distance judging. Normally you're told that the max-power is say 200yards. And if you hit 50% power, you know it will be 100yards. The putter is also set to 100ft or 30ft or 10ft, etc. But some games, amazingly, don't give you any indication of the distance your putter is hitting. So the fareway game is great. But once you get on the green, you have no idea what the hell the putter is doing. Even trial and error never seems to lock in on a predictable distance for what 100% means. It seems to change randomly. There's also games that use non-linear power meters. And it becomes impossible to figure out where in the meter 75%,50%, etc are, which makes chipping impossible.
2. Poor hit detection. The only actual gameplay element in the game is the fast-twitch hitting the button on a dime to latch in the power and aim meter. If the game is not perfectly responsive to your button press, hitting the aim meter becomes impossible.
So, any suggestions of golf games for any system?
