PGA Tour 96 is a sports video game developed by Hitmen Productions for the PlayStation and MS-DOS versions, Unexpected Development for the Game Boy version, NuFX for the Sega Genesis and 3DO versions, Ceris Software for the Game Gear version, and Polygames for the SNES version and published by EA Sports for PlayStation, MS-DOS, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, 3DO, Game Gear and SNES. Gameplay It has fewer courses and golfers than previous installments. The game features 10 professional golfers as playable or as CPU opponents: Brad Faxon, Lee Janzen, Tom Kite, Bruce Lietzke, Davis Love III, Mark O’Meara, Peter Jacobsen, Jeff Sluman, Craig Stadler, and Fuzzy Zoeller. The featured courses are Spyglass Hill, TPC at Sawgrass, TPC at River Highlands. The game has four modes: stroke play, match play, tournament mode, and practice mode. Golf clubs are assigned automatically by the caddie as the computer deems suitable for every lie and every situation. Reception Electronic Gaming Monthly's two sports reviewers gave the PlayStation version scores of 8.5 and 9.0 out of 10, remarking that it retained the excellent aspects of previous games in the series while dramatically improving on the graphics. They also felt that it successfully appealed to both novices and golfing pros. GamePro criticized it for having only two courses but highly praised the precise level of control over each shot, selection of players, three dimensional terrain, and digitized sprites. They concluded that "With spectacular graphics and amazingly comprehensive controls, PGA Tour '96 immerses you in intense armchair golf." In contrast, Maximum called it "the weakest of the series yet". While they too approved of the ability to control every aspect of each shot, they felt that the game was ruined by the unrealistic ball physics, particularly that balls stop dead with almost no rolling when they hit the ground, and that putted balls stop suddenly instead of gradually slowing. Next Generation approved of the game for its easy interface and numerous play options, though unlike GamePro and EGM they found the graphics to be "a little on the underwhelming side" by the standards of current generation consoles. Reviewing the 3DO version, Johnny Ballgame of GamePro commented, "If you thought golf was boring, think again." He was pleased with the selection of modes, accurate controls, and sound, and said that the graphics, though slightly grainier than in the PlayStation version, are stunningly lifelike in absolute terms. A reviewer