Zany Golf Download (1988 Amiga Game)

I don't think that I have ever seen anything quite as silly as Zany Golf (except perhaps a Brosette). The latest release for the Amiga from Electronic Arts is a crazy golf simulator with a difference - it is playable.

The introduction screen is an impressive 3D scrolling picture of a nasty looking course, this is backed by a jaunty piece of music and, from this screen, you can choose between the number of players, between one and four.

Each hole is 3D and features normal, everyday obstacles to negotiate, like bouncing hamburger, giant ketchup bottles and magic carpets. The mouse is used to control your putter and also to scroll the screen about. Many holes feature special puzzles that must be worked out before progress can be made. Hints on how to do so can be found on the preview screen.

The graphics are excellent all the way through, shading and perspective are used to a standard that I have not seen since Marble Madness. Each hole has a different piece of music which partly makes up for the lack of spot effects.

With many other golf games you simply putt around the whole course trying to better your previous best - not so with Zany Golf. You start with three spare shots and each time you play a stroke you lose one of them. Should you get to the next hole the par for it is added onto your spare shots counter. It is also possible to gain extra shots by squashing fairies with the ball or completing a hole quickly on a bonus timer level. This system means that you are going to need a lot of practice to see all the holes, which makes the game all the more playable. Overall, it is rough.

Zany Golf is an outstanding piece of software. Graphics, sound and presentation are all excellent. You will never want to play another game of clock golf on a miserable day of the seaside again.

It's a crazy golf simulation! Isn't that a coincidence, what with this being a crazy golf sim as well? The difference is that in Mini Golf most of the play takes place on flat, two dimensional greens, whereas in Zany Golf all the action takes place in a multi-directional scrolling, forced perspective environment.

Each hole has its own theme - castles, windmills, fans, etc. - and requires special tactics to complete. You only have a certain amount of strokes for each hole and there are bonus strokes for, say, touching the fairy with your ball or completing a time bonus.

Grab your putter and head out for the strangest miniature golf course you ever played. One to four players can try their hand at nine very odd holes. Using the mouse you control the direction and velocity of the ball as you navigate such hazards as pinball machines, bouncing hamburgers, and places where the laws of physics just don't apply. If you complete a hole using less than the allotted number of strokes the extras are carried over to the next hole (you will need those extra strokes to complete the course.) The graphics are very good and the course is fun, at first. The only problems are in the loading times for each hole and the fact that you can't go over par (if you do then you have to start all over again at the first hole) which makes it a little frustrating. I also wonder how much playability you will get from the game. It isn't bad but it isn't great either.

Nine of the craziest holes you have ever seen. Each one like a separate arcade game. Featuring individual music tracks, rich animated background graphics and a host of very unusual obstacles.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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