British Open Championship Golf

Edit links
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the actual golf tournament, see The Open Championship.

British Open Championship Golf
sports game
Mode(s)Single-player

British Open Championship Golf is a 1997

Wide World of Sports host Jim McKay
.

British Open Championship Golf was the third self-published game released by Looking Glass Technologies. It was directed by Rex Bradford, designer of the early golf title

PGA Tour
.

The game was a major commercial failure, and Looking Glass ceased its self-publishing operations after its release. Despite this, it was generally well reviewed by critics, who praised Jim McKay's commentary and the game's graphics and atmosphere. Criticism was leveled against its lack of multiplayer or course creation functionality, and some reviewers found fault with its brevity.

Gameplay

The player, as Sandy Lyle, prepares to shoot for the first hole on the Old Course at St. Andrews. The semi-circular "swing meter" curves around the golfer.

British Open Championship Golf is a three-dimensional (3D) video game that simulates golf, a sport in which players attempt to hit a ball into a hole with as few strokes as possible. In particular, the game is based on The Open Championship, the oldest tournament in golf.[2] The player may compete as a pre- or self-created amateur golfer or as one of eight celebrity athletes, including Sandy Lyle, Vijay Singh and Ian Baker-Finch. Three modes of play—Practice, Match and Tournament—are available. Practice and Match are non-binding preparatory modes: the former allows the player to practice each hole of a course, and the latter engages the player in a pre-tournament match of stroke play, match play or fourball. In the Tournament mode, the player competes in The Open Championship, which consists of four 18-hole matches.[3]

Before making a shot, the player may select a club and adjust the general direction of the swing.[4] As with other golf games, a "swing meter" is used to simulate the act of swinging the club. The player clicks three times: first to initiate the backswing, which causes a timing indicator to move along the meter; second to begin the downswing; and third to "snap" the shot, which determines accuracy. Changes in the timing of these clicks alter the shot.[3][4] A red section on the far end of the swing meter represents overswinging, which negatively affects shots.[3] The crowd reacts to the player's shots, and Tournament mode features announcer commentary that analyzes the match overall; it can frame the player's current performance in the light of past shots.[3][4]

The player may choose one of two courses: the

heads-up display to determine such factors as wind speed and direction, the ball's distance from the flag and the height difference between the ball and the hole.[3]

Development

The Old Course at St. Andrews—the oldest golf course in the world—had never before been authorized for reproduction in a video game.

stereophotogrammetry techniques used to create the landscapes in the company's earlier Flight Unlimited.[7] The team's reproduction of the Old Course at St. Andrews was the first ever authorized for a video game.[8]

Looking Glass officially announced British Open Championship Golf on July 18, 1996. Coinciding with this news, the company launched a website to cover

Wide World of Sports, would provide color commentary for the game.[10] Actor Michael Bradshaw was hired as the play-by-play announcer.[3] The pair recorded more than 5,000 lines of dialogue in total.[4] In January 1997, Looking Glass and Eidos Interactive announced a four-year partnership. As a result, British Open Championship Golf was distributed and marketed in North America and published in Europe by Eidos.[11] However, like Flight Unlimited and Terra Nova, the game was self-published in North America by Looking Glass.[12] In March 1997, near the end of the game's development, part of the team moved to Thief: The Dark Project; this included Mark Lizotte, who became that game's lead artist.[13] British Open Championship Golf was released on April 30, 1997.[14] That May, Looking Glass collaborated with golf website GolfWeb to host a "Virtual British Open" tournament. Players competed in the game to win a trip to The Open Championship in Scotland, complete with "air fare, hotel accommodations and spending money."[15]

Reception

British Open Championship Golf was a commercial failure. Following its release, Looking Glass ceased self-publishing operations and closed a division of the company, laying off a group of employees that included

PC Magazine's Shane Mooney highlighted its "outstanding graphics" and detailed course reproductions, and noted that it "[immerses] players in a realistic tournament atmosphere." The writer considered the inclusion of only two courses to be the game's "one major drawback".[5]

Jeff Guinn of the

PC Gamer US praised the game's graphics and atmosphere. While he liked its gameplay, he noted that it lacked the genre refinements seen in Links LS, a decision he believed would appeal to genre novices but not to veterans. He disliked Michael Bradshaw's commentary, but praised Jim McKay's for "adding much to the overall feel." Ending his review, Whitta summarized it as "one of the most user-friendly, accessible, atmospheric and attractive golf games out there".[16]

Peter Smith of Computer Games Magazine found the game's swinging mechanics challenging, and noted that "making a dead-on accurate shot much more difficult than in any of the other golf games out there." He found the mechanics of the putting green to be badly designed, which he cited as "an incredibly serious flaw that takes British Open Championship Golf out of contention for the gold cup." Ultimately, he recommended Links LS and Jack Nicklaus 4 over the game, but suggested that future installments or patches might fix the issues.[17] Computer Gaming World's Scott A. May wrote that "the game is solid, but ... somewhat unspectacular" compared to Jack Nicklaus 4 and Links LS. He stated that the links courses gave the game "a somewhat desolate look and feel", and that, "Historic or not, the scenery is downright dull". The reviewer considered Jim McKay's commentary and the simulated physics to be the game's high points, and he believed that, "More so than any other golf sim, the reactive crowd and interactive caddie are ... totally integrated into play." He summarized the game as "a very good simulation" that was somewhat deflated by its lack of multiplayer, course editing and match replays.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Staff (April 21, 1997). "Looking Glass Ships British Open Golf". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c May, Scott A. (August 1997). "Tee Time". Computer Gaming World. No. 157. p. 174.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Corbin, Jim (1997). British Open Championship Golf On-Line Manual (WinHelp file). Looking Glass Technologies. Swinging the Club: Using the Power Bars; The Caddie; The Announcers; Choosing Players: Pros vs. Amateurs; Quick Start; Practicing; Match Selection; The British Open Championship: Starting A New Tournament; Choosing Course Conditions; Shot Information.
  4. ^ a b c d Himowitz, Michael J. (June 23, 1997). "The Digital British Open". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  5. ^
    PC Magazine
    . 16 (16): 321, 322, 324.
  6. ^
    Telegraph-Herald
    . Hobbies; 7E.
  7. ^
    Next Generation Magazine
    (26): 78.
  8. ^ a b c d e McDonald, T. Liam (May 1, 1996). "British Open Championship Golf Preview". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  9. ^ "Looking Glass to Bring the Excitement of the British Open to the PC; British Open Golf to be First "Major" Tournament Developed into Computer Golf Game; Web Site Launches with Game Information, British Open History and 1996 Tournament Facts". Business Wire. July 18, 1996.
  10. ^ "Looking Glass Brings Jim McKay to the British Open". Business Wire. November 25, 1996.
  11. ^ "Looking Glass Studios Announces Exclusive Four-Year Publishing and Distribution Agreement with Eidos Interactive" (Press release). Looking Glass Studios. January 27, 1997. Archived from the original on May 26, 1998.
  12. ^ a b McDonald, T. Liam (August 2000). "Game Theory". Maximum PC: 31.
  13. ^ Stellmach, Tim (March 14, 1997). "The Dark Project Project Diary". Looking Glass Studios. Archived from the original on February 24, 1998.
  14. ^ McDonald, T. Liam (May 20, 1997). "British Open Championship Golf Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014.
  15. San Jose Mercury News
    . Sports; 7C.
  16. ^
    PC Gamer US. Archived from the original
    on February 26, 2000.
  17. ^ a b Smith, Peter. "British Open Championship Golf". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on May 22, 2003.
  18. ^ Stellmach, Tim (2000). "Once more through the Looking Glass" (Interview). Interviewed by Opii, Valoria. GameSpy. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  19. Gamasutra. Archived from the original
    on March 24, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  20. Next Generation Magazine. Archived from the original
    on June 6, 1997.
  21. ^ Guinn, Jeff (May 22, 1997). "Disc-o-Tech; A Software Review". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Life & Arts; 3.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Open_Championship_Golf&oldid=1094161898"