One of the early entries into the Lynx library was the aptly named ‘Awesome Golf’. Now, if you’re going to use the word “awesome” to describe your game, it had better be the case; or the laws of cause and effect will collapse in on themselves and we’ll all be sucked into a black hole, ending up in a mass galaxial quasar. Thankfully, this Lynx title is a really great golf game, and one that should be in everyone’s collection.
‘Awesome Golf’ hits you with great graphics and great sound right from tee off. Clear speech emanates, your golfer is bright and colourful, and the whole experience feels like a professional golfing experience. Once you’ve decided what you’re doing, you can hit the greens and begin whacking that ball. And wow does the Lynx keep up with the “awesome” visuals. You hit the ball with the camera just behind your player, and as the ball flies, you watch it from a top-down view of the course. As you line up for your next shot, the landscape around you matches directly to your course map. That is, if you hit the ball in front of a tree, you’re gonna see that tree in front of your player avatar!
All of this is seriously cool, especially since hazards like water and sand traps litter the surroundings. Of course, the objective of golf is to get the ball in the hole with the least strokes possible. This takes skill and it’s where the game excels in teasing you to get better and better, so that your scorecard improves. An ever-amusing shout of ‘In the cup!’ comes from your speaker once you sink the ball into the flag-hole. Love it! Music is not really needed in this game, much like ‘Jimmy Connors Tennis’, because both games are synonymous with concentration and silence.
Controls are great, whether your strokes be big hits or minor putts. The physics are truly one of the highlights. And yes, you can select your club (love the non-subtle Lynx advertising on the golf bag). The way you hit the ball is by use of a visual sliding column on the side of the screen, which measures the hitting strength. It takes a little while to get used to, but once you do, you’ll be hitting the more advanced strikes in no time. Did I mention you may also select your course? Yes, a few different countries have courses you can play on, such as America. It’s a nice touch and one that leads to a lot of variety and replay value. No two games are ever going to be quite the same in 'Awesome Golf'.
Overall, there are a number of great Lynx sports titles, but some would say that this is the best. Whilst I won’t argue one way or the other here, I will definitely say that I was really surprised at the quality of this game, and how smoothly it plays for a golfing sim. Even non-golfers will appreciate it and have fun with it, with plenty of great options to choose from and the game results changing with every play. ‘Awesome Golf’ is highly recommended and, well, it really is awesome! Grab it!
Score Card
Graphics - 9
Sound - 9.5
Controls - 9
Challenge - 9
Playability - 9
This review was submitted by Jon Mc from JMac Productions.
