PGA TOUR (GOLF) 97

Developer

E A Sports

Options

Distributer

1-4 Player

Game Type

Sports Sim

Mem. Card

Review Date

Oct 1996

Multi-tap

Setting the Scene

Electronic Arts has been on a roll later with their PSX sports titles. When PGA Tour '97 came out, I eagerly purchased the game with the premise that EA would not drop the ball on their new golf offering. I am not a "real life" golfer. I personnally cannot see the joy of going out and hitting a little ball...then going after it and hitting it again...but I do enjoy video versions. My all time favorite being Jack Nicholus Golf. It was simple and a blast to play with friends...Anyway, PGA Tour '97 is yet another golf game with good intentions...

Genre

Golf sim.

Graphics

Graphics are mostly good really, with a few annoying drawbacks. The characters are nicely presented using motion-capture techniques. When you play against (or as) one of the professionals, they look like that person including some of their "signature" moves. The course (there are two to choose from), while being slighly grainy, are gorgeously presented. When you play at Saw Grass, it looks just like the real things. the courses seem to have been painstakenly reproduced with hole layouts and backgrounds all accurate. When you drive the ball, chunks of grass and dirt actually fly off the club...neat! Now for my complaints...the overall graphics could have been crisper. When doing a fly-by look at a hole, the screen image kinda chops along. Another major gripe is when you get close to an object, say a tree for example, it pixelates so bad you have a hard time telling it's actually a tree...This I find unbelievable, come on EA you could have done better than that! But, really these are just minor complaints and don't detract at all from the actual gameplay elements.

Sounds and Effects

Decent sound effects. The swing of the club, ball contact and ball dropping into cup sounds are rich and on the money. There are also various other sound effects that are interesting. When you are by a water trap you hear frogs croaking (no, they don't go bud - wise - er). At other places on the court you hear various other sounds like crickets chirps, birds, ocean waves crashing along the shore and ship fog horns sounding. There is an announcer that hands out advice on difficult shoots, as well as commenting at the end of a hole. The only music to speak of is on the option screen at the beginning of the game. This makes sense though, as I would not expect to hear a driving soundtrack in the background of a golf game.

Playability

You get to choose to play as an amature or professional golfer. The profiles can be changed to match your name, club selection, etc. These characteristics can then be saved to your memory card for later use. Within each golfer you select you also have a range of dificulty (beginner, amature or pro). This choice will effect the outcome of your shots and your overall gameplay. Needless to say, the pro setting is killer. Wind can be set at calm, breezy and windy conditions. You can choose from one of four tee-off locations and you have loads of camera options to choose from. There is even a picture-in-picture with multiple view options. You can set the angle, pitch and backspin of the ball also, to name a few options. There is even stat tracking for the entire game. Really, no stone was left unturned. There are two 18 hole courses to choose from and four game mode to play in. The Skins game and elimination are a lot of fun with multiple players, but just try beating one of the pros yourself in a Skins match-up...My major gripe in the playability department would be with the load times. It's not that they are super long, but after ever single stinking shot you geta busy message on the screen and need to wait around 2 to 3 seconds for the next screen to load up! When playing with friends it gets annoying, when playing along, it gets downright boring. Other than that, I believe EA has yet another winner on their hands.

Value for Money

Above average graphics, loads of options and two great courses make this one a winner. If you really like to play video golf then get this one. It is THE best golf game available for the Playstation right now.

Opinion

TOM

GRAPHICS:

Good

A solid golf game. I am still trying to learn all of it's little nuances.

SOUND:

Average

PLAYABILITY:

Good

VALUE:

Good

OVERALL
7.5/10

JIM

GRAPHICS:

Good

I think that all the programmers have done here is changed the wording on the box from "96" to "97". Not nearly enough has been added to this game to make it worthwhile purchasing if you have last years version.

SOUND:

Poor

PLAYABILITY:

Good

VALUE:

Poor

OVERALL
6/10