Released in the middle nineties by Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Europe) Limited and developed by Sensible Software, Sensible Golf is yet another in the long line of Sensible Sports games. The game is in the user friendly top down perspective. The developers at Sensible Sports previously adopted the motto: “No fuss, just fun.” They applied it nicely to Sensible Golf.
Sensible Golf is a two-dimensional golf simulation, hence the top down perspective. Following closely on the heels of Sensible Soccer, this game features cute little action figures, just like the members of the soccer team.
With the cartoonish, silly figures, Sensible Golf cannot be described as a realistic simulation of the game of golf. It is a game that was designed with a very easy user interface to make it fast to learn, easy to manipulate, and fun to play.
The realism in the game stops at the arrows that point up and down on the greens to show a bit of the slope. Other than that, it is made for simple and fun. There is no weather to deal with, such as wind, that makes teeing off a factor. The terrain is always the same. The greens are not fast or slow based on rain or landscaping constraints, such as long grass. There is some variation in the terrain, with the
game featuring sand traps and water hazards.
The game play, itself, is very simple. The user must judge the distance to the hole, point the little aimer in the appropriate direction, and mash the action button three times. All the user does is set the strength of the swing. The computer will even suggest what would be the real life choice of clubs, although the user can veto it and choose his own if he wishes.
The game features hundreds of different golf courses, but they are all fictional. Most are composed of different combinations and variations of a few basic holes. The user can choose between an eighteen hole game, or he can choose a campaign mode that will allow the user to play seventy-two holes. Ironically, seventy-two is allegedly the number of multi-players who can compete at once. This sounds a bit extreme, and it is just about unfathomable to sit through the play of seventy-two players.
If you are looking for a realistic golf simulation, this is not the answer. There are many other choices available that can offer a much more realistic play. However, for a game that is fast to learn and features very simplistic play, this could be a good one for you.
