The Open

Big K

Graphics 1/3

Playability Bogey

Addictiveness Birdie

Overall 2/3

John Conquest 2/3

SEVVY SAVVY MAKER: CCS FORMAT: cassette PRICE: £5.95 Another of CCS's amazingly elaborate simulations, this time golf. You get a different Open course - Carnoustie and Turnberry - on each side of the tape. Decide the wind direction and force, choose whether to play championship, single or practice rounds and the starting hole. Then the real decision-making begins - which club to use, the direction and force of the stroke and finally, most difficult of all, the timing of it. Not knowing the first thing about the game, I failed dismally at this stage, alternately hooking and slicing. The odd balls I did connect with invariably went wrong and bu the time I called it a day, totally exhausted, I must have set a new high (or do I mean low?) for the course. Can't say I'm crazy about the graphics which are no more than adequate - a pity, given such a potentially promising subject as golf courses - but there's no arguing with the depth and subtlety of the mechanics. The inlay provides nice and clear, if rather daunting, charts of the maximum distances for each of the 10 available clubs, both from tee and fairway, plus wind factors, and of the effects of hazards. I don't know how many golfers own Spectrums but The Open looks like the perfect thing for rained-out or laid-up fanatics.

Micro Adventurer

Tony Bridge

TEE SHOT! MICRO: Spectrum 48K PRICE: £5.95 FORMAT: Cassette SUPPLIER: Cases Computer Simulations, [redacted] There have been many golf simulations for computers over the last three or four years, and none have given even a hint of the excitement of a 30-foot putt, or a 300-yard drive. How can a computer, after all, mimic the smell of freshly-mown grass, the click of the ball against the club-head, or the call of the birds in the trees, laughing at your last shot into the undergrowth? One day, I'm sure, some genius of the keyboard will take time off from writing the latest million-selling Zap-Climb game and turn his talents to creating a realistic golf simulation, complete with trees waving in the wind, the white ball arcing across the blue sky and a 3D view of the fairway and green. Until then, we'll have to make do with programs like this one from CCS. All the usual play methods are used here. First, the type of play must be decided - do you want to play a championship, a single round (with one to four players) or a practice round (in which the holes may be played in any order)? Then the club (1-10) must be selected, and the strength and direction of your shot. Several things, as in real life, will affect your choice. Wind speed (constant or variable) and whether or not you are in rough or a hazard, will all play a part. After the selection, and you have the opportunity of changing the parameters if you wish, comes one of the program's special touches. To one side of the screen is a little graphic of you, the player. Now the ball has to be hit with the club you've selected - by pressing SPACE, you set the club in motion. Watch it go back, and then swing down to the ball pressing SPACE again stops the club, the "shape" of the resulting shot depending on your reactions. This is a very neat way of building in a chance factor, and makes an addictive feature - once you "get into the swing", you'll find your shots going almost where you want them. When you finally arrive at the green, a close-up of the hole, the green and the immediately surrounding area is shown, and another little picture, not of your "man" this time, but of your putter resting against the ball. The same sort of reaction-testing action is necessary to get your ball moving, but this time you must take into account the direction and degree of the slope, which information is also shown. So far, The Open has proved to be a pretty good simulation, and much more playable than others, although each hole takes almost as long to play as on a real golf course! The other feature of the program which is unusual is that each side of the cassette contains a different course from the Open rota. Side one has Carnoustie, the longest Open course and a real test of accurate golf, and side two has Turnberry, with its spectacular seaside holes. It's a pity that each course has to be loaded in along with the game - if data alone could be loaded as required, we could look forward to playing some other courses. Although the block graphics used by author Watson (any relation?) cannot hope to evoke a realistic atmosphere, nevertheless, the program allows the novice golfer to gain some insight into the complexities and frustrations of these magnificent courses. The Open is the first golf simulation I've seen that is actually interesting and fun to play.