1997 жылғы «Британ Ашық Чемпионаты» гольф ойыны

1997 video game
the actual golf tournament

British Open Championship Golf is a 1997 sports video game developed and published by LookingGlass Technologies. A simulation of The Open Championship, it allows the player to engage in multiple forms of golf, including stroke play and fourball. The player competes at reproductions of the Royal Troon Golf Club and the Old Course at St. Andrews as and against famous golfers of the time. Announcer commentary is provided by actor Michael Bradshaw and 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 Mean 18. The team sought to create an accurate simulation of tournament golf play, which they felt was missing in the genre. To achieve this goal, they focused on recreating the atmosphere of a tournament, and included reactive crowds and announcers. The game was placed in competition with popular golf series such as Links and 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.

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. He had also worked on earlier Looking Glass games, such as Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri. Bradford decided to revisit the golf genre because he felt that other games did not recreate the structure or capture the atmosphere of golf tournaments; he complained that golf titles took place on "The Lonely Planet of Golf". The team sought to fill this perceived void by more accurately simulating the tournament experience, with a particular focus on crowds, commentary, atmosphere and the caddie. According to Bradford, the company was "hoping to make a splash" with the game, which was placed in competition with popular series such as Links and PGA Tour. Actor Michael Bradshaw was hired as the play by play announcer. 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. However, like Flight Unlimited and Terra Nova, the game was self published in North America by Looking Glass. 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. British Open Championship Golf was released on April 30, 1997. 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."

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 Warren Spector. Writing for Maximum PC, T. Liam McDonald called the game "a costly bomb that bled the company." However, it was generally well received by critics. A reviewer for Next Generation Magazine hailed it as "one of the best golf games in years", praising the atmosphere and calling the graphics "among the best around." The writer cited the game's lack of a course editor as its main downside, and summarized, "If you are looking for a golf simulation, this one delivers." PC Magazines 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". A writer for the Telegraph Herald praised its courses, and stated that its gameplay was a "state of the art simulation". The reviewer believed that the tournament atmosphere had been "re created faithfully." Gary Whitta of 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". 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. Computer Gaming Worlds 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.