Mean 18

aka: Mean 18 Ultimate Golf
Moby ID: 152
DOS Specs

Description

Mean 18 is a golf simulation released in the early years of 16-bit technology. The three-click control system was used, whereby the first click starts the swing, the second sets the power, and the third sets draw or fade.

Apart from the Bush Hill course the game comes with Famous Course Disk Volume I which includes:

  • St Andrews, Scotland, UK
  • Pebble Beach, California, USA
  • Augusta National, Georgia, USA

A unique feature for the day was the Course Architect, which was quite versatile with practice.

Beginner and Expert difficulty options are given - the latter mode has more pronounced draw and fade effects, making the timing of the third click even more crucial. You can also choose between regular and professional tees - in the latter option the distance on the holes is longer, and the computer doesn't choose the best club automatically. Because long drives aren't a crucial aspect of many of the holes, the Beginner/Expert setting is a bigger factor on your likely scoring.

Screenshots

Credits (DOS version)

Design
Graphics / Artwork

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 59% (based on 4 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.1 out of 5 (based on 22 ratings with 1 reviews)

The first great PC golf game

The Good
The 3D perspective of the fairway actually looked like a golfers view of the course. By the time I bought this there were better looking golf games out there. But this one had the course editor and there were dozens of great courses available on computer BBS's

The Bad
Putting was too hard and took a while to get used to. And it was replaced by another golf game too soon.

The Bottom Line
3D CGA golf at it's finest. EGA wasn't bad either. Pick a course and head out to the links.

DOS · by gametrader (208) · 2003

Discussion

Subject By Date
Atari 7800 port: split? Rola (8486) Nov 22, 2014

Trivia

Innovations

Mean 18 was one of the first (if not the very first) golf games with the "tap to swing, tap for power, tap for hook/slice" control metaphor that has survived to the present day.

References

The gopher with sunglasses dancing on the title screen is a reference to the last scene of the movie Caddy Shack.

Y2K Bug

When registering a high score, the player is required to enter the current date in three parts; month, day and year. (Why the computer clock couldn't be consulted is not known!). When entering the year part, only 2-digit values between 86 and 99 are accepted.

Unreleased version

A prototype was developed for the 8-bit Atari XE computers but was ultimately not released.

Analytics

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Related Sites +

  • Mean 18 courses
    The web's only resource for new and alternate Mean 18 courses.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 152
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Contribute

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Trixter.

Macintosh added by Kabushi. Atari 7800, Amiga, Atari ST added by Servo. Apple IIgs added by Garcia.

Additional contributors: Martin Smith, formercontrib, GeeTee, Patrick Bregger, trembyle.

Game added May 31, 1999. Last modified January 23, 2024.