Maxis/Firaxis for PC

Golf Course Building Simulation

1 Player

The Rollercoaster Tycoon of golf course simulation.

Indeed it is, and the pedigree shows in every facet of the game. As a huge fan of Rollercoaster Tycoon, I was disappointed by the so-so quality of Microsoft’s attempt to corner the ‘tycoon simulation’ genre, Zoo Tycoon. The game offered almost nothing new to the genre, and ‘borrowed’ an awful lot from Rollercoaster Tycoon. SimGolf, on the other hand, adds so many new elements to the genre, and does so many things so well, that it very well may replace Rollercoaster Tycoon at the top of my ‘sim-games’ playlist.

Just about everything. The game looks good, it’s incredibly intuitive and easy to play, even right out of the box without even cracking the manual, and most importantly, it’s a lot of fun. You begin the game by purchasing a tract of land on which to build your golf course. You get a clubhouse and a big chunk of empty land to work with. From this start, you lay down holes using an interface that will be instantly familiar to fans of The Sims. Creating holes is very easy – you place the tee, and then lay down fairway, obstacles like water hazards, sand traps and trees, and then place the green. You can add ballwashers, benches and scenic elements like landmarks and special trees to enhance the play experience for your patrons.

After you have one hole completed and open for play, the golfers will begin to arrive. You’ll see them play through your course, commenting on their shots, holding detailed narratives that can actually end differently depending on their play experience, and, most importantly, they’ll shell out money for you at the end of each completed hole. They’ll also spend liberally if you send out drink carts or put a snack bar near your clubhouse. As your course grows, you’ll be able to host pro golfers who want to challenge your resident pro for a high stakes money game. You’ll be able to play a rudimentary, but surprisingly fun, round of golf, controlling your pro against the challenger. Playing your course couldn’t be any simpler – you choose from a few different types of shot, aim and click. A helpful trajectory line shows where your ball is likely to end up, but different factors like obstacles and your pros own skill ratings can change that. The pro will take over for putting after you get the ball onto the green. Hit an especially good shot and your pro is likely to improve one of his different stats, and he’ll lose points in a stat if you flub a shot. Playing your course personally is also a great way for you to get a feel for which holes work and which ones might need some rearranging.

After you’ve created the perfect 18 hole course, complete with a plethora of support buildings like pro shops, tennis courts, and putting greens, you can start selling plots of land near your course, and people will start moving in. If you’re lucky, you’ll attract a celebrity like Shaquille McNeil or Britney Aguillera, who will buy a vacation home on your course and raise its prestige. Finally, when everything is perfect and you’ve earned a huge amount of Simoleans from your course, you can retire it to Championship play and return to the world map to begin anew with a new map.

Customization options in SimGolf are amazing. You can rename any player on the course and change their physical appearance, attributes and even their favorite quips for different situations. You can track your course in a variety of different ways and expand your territory if the county commissioner is sufficiently impressed. The biggest reason that SimGolf succeeds so brilliantly is that there is so much to do. If you’re not tweaking your course design or trying to figure out where to put your new airstrip, you’re busy playing a practice round or a pro challenge with your resident pro. When your course gains enough notoriety you may even get the opportunity to host a major tournament.

Almost nothing. The screen has a tendency to get cluttered at times when there are a lot of players onscreen and they’re all talking. Occasionally two or more pop-up windows will appear simultaneously, and you won’t be able to make out what any of them say. Finally, a resolution setting higher than 800x600 would have been nice, but the game does look very good even at the default setting.

Aside from the interface, which is set up almost exactly like The Sims, fans of Will Wright’s life simulation game will recognize the Simspeak that the players use to communicate, and the games currency is Simoleans.

Graphics – 9 (Everything looks nice, golfer animation is good… a higher resolution may have cranked this up to 10)

Sound – 8 (the Sim gibberish gets repetitive after a while, but its not deterrent to the fun factor. Ambient sounds and the sounds of golf re well done)

Replay – 10 (Did I mention that there’s a Sandbox mode right out of the box which lets you choose any piece of land in the game and build a dream course with unlimited funds? Will and Sid were very obviously paying attention to criticism of their chief rival in this genre – Rollercoaster Tycoon – which has never included such an option even after two expansions)

Overall: 9