I need a trackball
We talk a lot about games that are played by a ton of people, that are just not mentioned amongst core gamers. If you have ever been to a sports bar, you have likely seen a Golden Tee arcade machine. These things are everywhere, and people absolutely love them. It is a simple golf experience that uses a trackball to make shots, and there are always high scores aplenty at each machine. This is because they are also super fun.
Until now, these titles have never really been available at home outside of some arcade cabinets and even an Arcade 1UP version. Digital Eclipse has been on an absolute tear lately, bringing tons of classics to home users, and their latest brings a collection of these games to modern platforms. The real question is how the trackball arcade fun translates to home consoles.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
Let’s kick off with what is included in this package. There are six original games included, starting with the original Golden Tee 3D Golf, followed by the four year-numbered follow-ups, and then rounding out the package is Golden Tee Classic. There are also two included mini-games in the form of Shuffleshot and World Class Bowling. Digital Eclipse is known for their respect for the original games, and these are no exception. These are the original games with nice chunky pixels and nostalgic sound effects and music. There are some CRT filters and such, but for the most part, these are the original games.
So let’s talk about these controls. The original games were built with trackball in mind. It was chaos in the arcades, no doubt about that, but it worked. Bringing this home has brought its fair share of issues. On consoles there are a couple options depending on your platform. Xbox users are limited to using the analog stick, which has its own two options. The first is the virtual hand. This method has players pressing and holding a button down, then using the analog stick like a trackball, it even makes the noises. This method took me forever to get used to. The other is the aim assist option. Basically, this has you set the forward and backward swings, then pressing a button to confirm. Either way I went, there was a steep learning curve.
PlayStation users have a third option, which is to use the touchpad. I was not able to test this as I only had the Xbox version, but it seems like it might be a little better. PC players can opt for a mouse, or better yet dig out that trackball. I know these games are niche, but it would have been awesome to have a custom controller for this one. All the other options make this game harder than it should be. I have yet to finish a game under par.
As I mentioned earlier, the visuals here are bare bones. These are the original games with some minor tweaking available for that CRT feel. This being Digital Eclipse though, the extras are nice. We get some banners for the arcade games that show how to play. There are infinite mulligans, which I definitely needed, and of course the addition of Trophies and Achievements. Multiplayer is also available, but only locally. Online would have been excellent, but sadly it is absent.
Golden Tee Arcade Classics is a decent package with some awkward controls. These games have a place in history, and it is great to finally see them come to modern consoles, but the controls are going to throw off a whole new generation of players. I was excited to dig in until the game humbled my skills with its controls. I still love having these available to play whenever I want, but unless you have deep-seated nostalgia for the series, there are better golf games to check out.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
