Golf - 5/1/84

The title screen has a seemingly innocent line at the bottom - "TOP +28 100". +28? That's a pitiful score! I can beat that easy! And several games later I finally got +10. Still pathetic, but better than the high score. The course is diabolical, and the controls are primitive. There are 16 directions which you can face to take your swing, and quite often none of them are exactly the direction that you want. Fortunately, by using the classic power meter, you can finesse your shot to go the direction it needs to go. The winds are often tricky, and to make things even more difficult, if the ball lands in the trees it is out of bounds and adds a penalty stroke to the ever growing score. Another great difficulty is the lack of distance indicators to tell you how far away from the hole you are. The clubs also have no indication of their range, and the game does not help you select a club. There is only one single player mode, but there is both stroke and match play for two players. The graphics are sufficient in most cases, although the fairways are all flat. The close up shot of the golfer is a nice touch as well. The sound alternates between annoying and acceptable. The slide-whistle effect when the ball goes up and down is not really necessary, although the thud of the ball is fairly decent. For a quick listen to one of the most annoying sounds ever - get a birdie. A high pitched beep sounds in celebration which is almost enough to make you wish you had a bogey. Even though this is a bit of a primitive golf game, it is quite a bit of fun once you get the hang of it. Recommended if you enjoy golf games in general.