Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf
Score: 79% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Infogrames Developer: IT Incredible Technologies Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 4 (MultiTap) Genre: Sports
Graphics & Sound: Living up in Wisconsin, I sometimes forget what green courses look like from the snowy winters I have to endure, but Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf sure did remind me. All twelve custom designed courses are immaculate, following suit from the arcade. Unlike some golf games that I have played, Golden Tee Golf's background graphics aren't choppy and blocky. They actually fit well with the mold of the game, not focused on, but not forgotten. The golfers themselves look realistic also, and their animations flow well with the pace of their speed. Sounds are always an added bonus to any game, and with golf, they tend to be more background than anything else. The problem was that I don't think there was enough background noise. I like to hear birds chirping and such, but there really wasn't much of that at all. The crowd applause sounds great, but they don't follow the play very well. For instance, they and the announcer will go crazy when you hit the green, but if your ball bounces off, they won't pick up on that at all. However, I do like the announcer, especially when you're putting for double bogey when he has a chuckle in his voice. Plus, Peter Jacobsen is there with the ITalk feature to cheer you on and give advice or praise.
Gameplay: The great thing about Golden Tee Golf is that it copies real-life golf in an arcade way. If you are in the rough or the sand trap, it will take more power to get your ball in play. Plus, there is always a wind factor that you have to consider. If you forget about the wind for even one shot, there's a good chance you'll find yourself in the drink. To counter that or any other obstacles in your way, you can use the Aiming Indicator to direct your ball with the greatest of ease. You'll find that hooking and slicing will work their way into your repertoire... on purpose! The Game Modes are a plenty for Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf with Strokes, Tournament, Skins, Bingo-Bango-Bongo, Speed Golf, Club Roulette, and Shadow Games. With Strokes, you play a standard round of golf, where you can choose Take a Mulligan or not, and select your level of difficulty. You definitely want to play this before heading into Tournament play. That is where you go up against the computer, with the difference being you can't select difficulty or Take a Mulligan. With Speed Golf, the added feature is to beat the clock on every hole. If you don't put the ball in the cup after 20 seconds, an additional stroke will be added to your score. Club Roulette is the toughest of all, where you are randomly given a club to use for every shot. This is where your golf skills and knowledge are needed most. The final single player mode is the Shadow Games, where you play a regular round of golf, but then you save that round, allowing you to come back again to see if you can beat your previous score with the same weather conditions. The two Multi-player games are Skins and Bingo-Bango-Bongo. For the Skins game, you and your friends try to win each hole to get the money. Whoever has the most money at the end wins. Bingo-Bango-Bongo is somewhat like Skins, but it deals with points and with whoever can reach certain goals for each hole. Three points are awarded on each hole, one for the first player on the green, another for the closest to the hole once everyone is on the green, and one for the first player in the cup. Most points win in the end.
Difficulty: Golf is never easy, whether it is in real life or on the video game. However, with a difficulty bar that you can adjust between Easy, Medium and Hard, you should be able to find the level of comfort for your game in Golden Tee Golf. Also, you can select whether or not you want to take a Mulligan or not. Sorry though, no gimmies. That really doesn't matter when putting is extremely easy, as it is in the arcade too.
Game Mechanics: Golden Tee Golf loads very quickly, so it doesn't feel like you're waiting for the group ahead of you to finish up the hole. The controls are just as easy to follow, with just the press of a button. Plus, the innovative TrakSwing feature with your Analog controller allows you to adjust your shot, creating a realistic mentality regarding your distance, direction and placement. Plus, only two memory blocks are used up when you save, keeping the pressure off so you can concentrate on your next shot. PS2: After changing the settings on my PS2 to Fast speed and Smooth graphics, I found that there was a serious change. All of the graphics had been completely smoothed over, especially player models and backgrounds. It really did seem like it was in the arcade. The loading time wasn't much different, but it wasn't long in the first place. Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf is by no means an award-winning game, but it is definitely fun to play. If you've seen it in the arcade or the bars, you'll find it mimics it completely on the PlayStation. Enjoy!
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
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