''PGA Tour 96'' is a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by Hitmen Productions for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

versions, Unexpected Development for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

version,

NuFX NuFX was a video game developer, headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. NuFX is famous for developing the ''NBA Street'' video game series. They were List of acquisitions by Electronic Arts, acquired by Electronic Arts in Febr ...

for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

and 3DO versions, Ceris Software for the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

version, and Polygames for the

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

version and published by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...

for

, 3DO,

and

Gameplay

It has fewer courses and golfers than previous installments. The game features 10 professional golfers as playable or as CPU opponents: Brad Faxon, Lee Janzen, Tom Kite, Bruce Lietzke, Davis Love III, Mark O’Meara,

Peter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen (born March 4, 1954) is an American professional golfer and commentator on Golf Channel and NBC. He has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions ...

, Jeff Sluman, Craig Stadler, and Fuzzy Zoeller. The featured courses are Spyglass Hill, TPC at Sawgrass, TPC at River Highlands. The game has four modes:

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

, tournament mode, and practice mode.

Golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...

s are assigned automatically by the

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

as the

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

deems suitable for every lie and every situation.

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'''s two sports reviewers gave the PlayStation version scores of 8.5 and 9.0 out of 10, remarking that it retained the excellent aspects of previous games in the series while dramatically improving on the graphics. They also felt that it successfully appealed to both novices and golfing pros. ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' criticized it for having only two courses but highly praised the precise level of control over each shot, selection of players, three dimensional terrain, and digitized sprites. They concluded that "With spectacular graphics and amazingly comprehensive controls, PGA Tour '96 immerses you in intense armchair golf." In contrast, ''Maximum'' called it "the weakest of the series yet". While they too approved of the ability to control every aspect of each shot, they felt that the game was ruined by the unrealistic ball physics, particularly that balls stop dead with almost no rolling when they hit the ground, and that putted balls stop suddenly instead of gradually slowing. ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' approved of the game for its easy interface and numerous play options, though unlike ''GamePro'' and ''EGM'' they found the graphics to be "a little on the underwhelming side" by the standards of current generation consoles. Reviewing the 3DO version, Johnny Ballgame of ''GamePro'' commented, "If you thought golf was boring, think again." He was pleased with the selection of modes, accurate controls, and sound, and said that the graphics, though slightly grainier than in the PlayStation version, are stunningly lifelike in absolute terms. A reviewer for ''Next Generation'' found the game was an effective "jump in and play" experience, but lacked the realism and level of content that serious golfers would expect from a golf video game. Air Hendrix of ''GamePro'' remarked, "EA Sports tried to cram its marvelous PlayStation PGA game into a Genesis cart, and it just didn't fit." In addition to the inferior graphics and slow screen redrawing, he criticized the absence of the shot-planning features seen in the PlayStation version and previous iterations on the Genesis, saying this makes it impossible to precisely calculate one's shots. He gave the SNES version a lukewarm review, saying it fails to outdo the Genesis's ''

PGA Tour Golf III ''PGA Tour Golf III'' is a sports video game developed by American studio Hitmen Productions and published by EA Sports for Sega Genesis in 1994. Playable courses The featured courses are TPC at River Highlands, TPC at The Woodlands, TPC at Av ...

'', due to the weak audio and absence of features like backspin and 3D terrain, but is superior to the Genesis version of the game and makes an overall "good round of golf". He praised the detailed backgrounds and fluid movements. ''GamePro''s Scary Larry praised the Game Boy version as offering good options, graphics, sounds, and most importantly, an appealing "plug-and-play" style. He was less pleased with the Game Gear version, saying that the graphics and presentation enhancements serve mainly to slow the game down with heavy screen redraw. ''

'' reviewed the Genesis version of the game, and stated that "if you haven't sampled any of the ''PGA'' series, it is still the best golf game available for the 16-bit machines and a fine addition to your library."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:PGA Tour 96 1995 video games 3DO Interactive Multiplayer games EA Sports games Game Boy games Game Gear games Golf video games Multiplayer and single-player video games NuFX games PlayStation (console) games Sega Genesis games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games set in 1996