PGA European Tour

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a game by Electronic Arts, Polygames, and Infogrames
Genres: Sports, Simulation
Platforms: PC (1996), Sega GenesisGenesis, SNESSNES, Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
Editor Rating: 5.3/10, based on 5 reviews, 6 reviews are shown
User Rating: 7.7/10 - 6 votes
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See also: Sport Games, Golf Games, PGA Games

Bon jour, golf fans! Pack your clubs for a tour of five of Europe's most challenging golf courses with EA Sports' PGA European Tour for the Genesis. Using the same, easy-to-play game engine as PGA Tour Golf, plus sharp graphics and extensive detail, this game is accessible to golf die-hards and novices alike.

Europe or Bust

On this tour, up to four players compete for pounds, liras, and francs on five actual courses (two in England and one each in Spain, France, and Switzerland). In addition to playing your friends, you can also compete against 50 European pros, with recognizable names like Seve Ballesteros. Their performances are continually tracked by the computer. Two new game formats include an Elimination Tournament and a four-player Sudden Death hole.

Where's the Windmill?

Just like EA Sports' other titles, PGA European Tour is as realistic a golf simulation as you can get. You have full control of which clubs to use, how hard to hit the ball, and how to line up your shot. Responsive controls enable you to get the most out of your skills. Adding to the realism are uncontrollable variables, including gusting winds and uneven terrain.

ProTips:

  • Note the maximum distance of the club you're using when you place your aiming cursor on the course. Don't aim at the hole if it's far beyond the reach of the club you're using. Play for position instead.
  • Timing is everything. Achieve the maximum swing by exactly hitting the 100-percent mark on the strength meter and exactly zero percent on the follow-through.

Sharp graphics provide three useful views: overhead bird's-eye; behind-the-player; and a rotating, 180-degree, topographical grid of the putting green. Every option is represented by easy-to-read onscreen icons. These solid graphics help compensate for the game's average, lackluster sounds.

When putting, remember to compensate for dips and inclines by hitting with extra power.

Viva la PGA

While golf can sometimes be an uninvolving game to watch or play, this video game is perhaps the most user-friendly, engaging golf sim available. After a couple of rounds, you'll discover the subtleties that make golf such a challenge. Golf fans will love this game, and curious novices will be able to jump right in and play.

Download PGA European Tour

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

SNES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Pentium II (or equivalent) 266MHz (500MHz recommended), RAM: 64MB (128MB recommended), DirectX v8.0a or later must be installed
Nintendo 64

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

PGA Tour '96 Scored A Whopping 94 percent when we reviewed it way back in November. Not only did it sport drop-dead gorgeous graphics as well as a very user-friendly interface (phew), but it introduced the infamous 'waggle' feature and two quite splendid new courses - TPC at Avenal. and Spyglass Hill. In fact the only fly in the ointment/black crisp in the packet/nice table, but too near the kitchen, was that it was full of Americans.

Not the type of Yank who talks really loud, mispronounces every syllable and wears garish shirts, but the kind who thinks that when the photographer says "Cheese" they should make like one of the Brady Bunch and pull an expression akin to those found in Fstate Agents Year Books. Most had a pretty hot swing however, and would whip your bottom as soon as look at you. For the die-hard Yanko-phile the only real enjoyment was playing as them, but doing your utmost to make them miss the easiest of shots... then you could have the pleasure of watching them squirm at their hopeless ineptitude - sheer golfing bliss.

New and improved?

Well, not quite... it's more like 'new and the same as before', except that it's now chock-full of European golfers and there are three new courses to choose from: Wentworth, Gut Kaden (Germany) and last but not least, The K Club (Ireland). And not a Yank in sight.

PGA European Tour still looks gorgeous, it plays extremely well and the presentation is. of course, immaculate. There's fmv footage of each course, 'glowing' profiles of the individual players, lots of cheesy music, 'waggle', nice fly-bys of each hole, pips aplenty - and this time round it even features a rather staid commentary by Peter Allis.

Apart from the new commentary however, it's pretty much business as usual. Sure you can play as or against Bernard Langer or Monty (sadly there's no Seve or Faldo - they have their own separate licenses) and there's three new courses to hack around, but that really is it. PGA European Tour is a full-price, standalone product, so if you already own PGA Tour 96 you probably won't want to fork out another forty odd quid on what is basically the same game, especially when HA Sports have also just released a course disk for PGA Tour '96 known as Spanish Bay for around half the price (see our panel above).

Question time...

Bearing all this in mind, it's really a question of asking yourself how much you love playing PGA. If you already own PGA Tour '96 your money might be better spent on the course disk (unless you really and truly can't abide the bloody Americans). On the other hand, if you're looking for a new feature-packed golf game, then PGA Huropean Tour must come highly recommended.

  • Machine: Genesis
  • Manufacturer: Electronic Arts/by Polygames

Try really hard and you can smell the grass and feel the breeze when you play PGA European Tour. Well, maybe not, but EA's new links sim offers very realistic golf in the line of the first two PGA Tour games. It's even accurate down to the frustration you experience when you play poorly.

Fans of EA's earlier clubhouse cartridges will find this one structured much the same, but, as the name indicates, a change of setting offers a whole new challenge. Even the seasoned veteran will feel the demands of five European courses and their respective tournaments. Ten European pros - the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer - and 50 new roster players try to keep you off the leader-board. After all, this is for cold, hard cash (in pounds of course; the Scots did invent the game, after all).

But if you're not ready to take on the heavy hitters, there's still plenty of opportunity to get out on the links. Brush up with a practice round, play a home version of the Skins game, challenge up to seven friends in a match-play elimination tournament, or pit up to four players in a three-hole sudden-death shootout. Compatibility with EA's 4 Way Play insures your foursome's never again denied a tee time, no matter how much you annoy the other country-club members.

Solid controls, clean graphics, and dead-on sound effects make your round enjoyable... unless your golf game determines otherwise. Eventually, though, the shots all start to look the same no matter what hole you're on. Less patient gamers may not want to make their way through a full 72-hole tournament. If you have enough patience however to play golf - or watch it - you should thoroughly enjoy this one.

  • Manufacturer: Electronic Arts
  • # of players: 1 to 4
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Available: 1994
  • Theme: Sports

Welcome to PGA European Tour - the game that allows you to enter the most prestigious tournament in golf. Now it challenges you to tee off on five of the most beautiful courses in Europe.

The game play is the same from the original PGA carts, but the added features of PGA European Tour will definitely have golf fanatics gassing up their golf carts on this one. Besides the tournament, you have the option of playing a skins game, match play or even a shootout! If you think you have what it takes to go against 61 of the best golfers in the world, grab your caddy and hit the greens, European style.

People say:

1

Golf, when done right, can make for a downright addictive video game. I've sunk countless hours into Golden Tee (arcade), PGA Tour (Genesis), Hot Shots Golf (PSX) and, most recently, Mario Golf (N64). From the arcadey to the sim-tastic, I've enjoyed all the great ones over the years. PGA European Tour is not a great one, nor is it even a good one. Like John Daly after a three-day bender, this game misses the cut by a long shot. Poor camera control prevents you from getting a good read on where your shots are going, which tends to be kind of important on the 'ol links. The game's graphics are putrid, consisting of blurry scenery and players who are almost entirely faceless. Also, in case you're considering a rental to beat the game, figure that you'll need about a week just to enter the Tour portion. That's right, you need to qualify through three different levels before you even begin the tour. I appreciate the realism, but I want to beat down on those Euro-slobs as soon as possible. I did work my way up the charts eventually, but who cares? Those of you still considering this title probably want to know what the game does have, so here goes--full PGA European License, four authentic courses, all the requisite playing modes (four-ball, matchplay, etc.), and BBC-style commentary. Still, it's a very uninvolving experience that I wouldn't recommend. Save the 50 bucks and hit some real golf balls.

3

There's something strange about the graphics in this game. Yeah they're ugly, but ugly in way I've never seen before. During any kind of movement the golfers and greens seem to modulate at a high frequency. Or, it looks like you're seeing everything through heat vapor. In stark contrast, the bunkers are nothing more than beige blobs, no texture whatsoever. This is also the loneliest game I've ever experienced. As you play all you hear are birds, the wind, and an occasional smart-alec quip from commentator Peter Allis. The gameplay mechanics, physics and aesthetics are all average at best. Plus who knows half these European golf pros?

1

If Mario Golf is the Pebble Beach of N64 golf titles, ET is the strip of grass running between north- and southbound lanes of a busy expressway. Everything about this game is subpar. The motion of the golfers has the fluidity of marionettes. Ball physics are so bad that when I lined up and took a perfect swing, the flight and trajectory of the ball were represented so poorly that I couldn't tell if the shot was good until I looked at the distance meter. The feel on the putting green is equally blunt--instead of trickling to a standstill my ball would just stop rolling abruptly. Even the license is weak as barely recognizable players bear only a slight resemblance to their real-life counterparts.

Welcome to PGA European Tour--the game that allows you to enter the most prestigious tournament in golf. Now it challenges you to tee off on five of the most beautiful courses in Europe.

The game play is the same from the original PGA carts, but the added features of PGA European Tour will definitely have golf fanat jcs gassing up their golf carts on this one. Besides the tournament, you have the option of playing a skins game, match play or even a shoot-out! If you think you have what it takes to go against 61 of the best golfers in the world, grab your caddy and hit the greens, European style.

THE GOOD

The match play, shoot-out and skins game make this an excellent golf cart. Great sound!

THE BAD

If you're looking for a major change of game play from the earlier versions of PGA, there's not much.

THE UGLY

The ugly would have to be the competitiveness of the other golfers-they don't cut you any slack!

Snapshots and Media

PC Screenshots

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Screenshots

SNES/Super Nintendo/Super Famicom Screenshots

Nintendo 64/N64 Screenshots

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