Sensible Golf

Sensible Golf was a 2D golf game released by Sensible Software in 1994 for the Amiga. A Sega Mega Drive version was planned but never released.[1][2] Its theme tune was written by the lead game designer, Jon Hare and a promotional video was directed by Carl Smyth from the group Madness, and filmed in Regent's Park, London.

Sensible Golf
Developer(s)Sensible Software
Publisher(s)Virgin Interactive
Designer(s)Jon Hare
Programmer(s)Julian 'Jools' Jameson
Artist(s)Stoo Cambridge
Composer(s)Allister Brimble (PC)
Platform(s)Amiga, Windows
Release1994
Genre(s)Sports game
Mode(s)Single player, Multiplayer

The game featured the same pin-like characters that had previously been used with great success in Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder, although upon release it was deemed a commercial failure and received lacklustre reviews. Part of the problem was that it used the same game engine as its predecessors[3] and so had to be designed as an arcade game rather than a serious golfing simulation, which many critics felt reduced its overall longevity. Level designs were deliberately unrealistic, with small areas of fairway submerged in water. Although it contained four difficulty levels and a full career mode which could be played out over 25 separate courses, the courses were all made up from a pool of the same 72 holes. The 2D nature of the game also made it extremely difficult to putt a ball on the green, not helped by the greens being more hilly than those found on real golf courses.

Sensible Golf was awarded the company's lowest ever score by Amiga Power of 66% and marked a sharp decline in the fortune of Sensible Software,[4] which was regarded as being one of the most innovative and successful software houses in the United Kingdom during the early 1990s. It was to be their last commercial Amiga release, with only Sensible Train Spotting to follow.

In an interview carried out almost twenty years after its release, Jon Hare said of the game "Sensible Golf is a disappointment to me; I'm not happy with it ... We were greedy. We diluted our quality. To be honest, I was focusing on Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll at that time, and it was such a massive game. Between that and Sensible World of Soccer, I didn't have time for Sensible Golf, and it just slid."[3]

References
  1. "News: Sensible Sign Up With Virgin". Sega Magazine. No. 4. EMAP. April 1994. p. 11.
  2. "The Word Is... - Power". Mega Power. No. 10. Paragon Publishing. May 1994. p. 7.
  3. Barton, Matt (2013). Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers. Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-1-4665-6754-2.
  4. "Sensible Golf review". Amiga Power (95). August 1995.


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