Links 2001

Herald rating: * * * * *

PC, Microsoft

All Ages

Review: Peter Eley

Links is the low-handicapper of golf games and has been for the best part of a decade. That was when Links 386 hit the shelves at a time when the PC was moving from business machine into the home.

The game has seen progressive changes since then, and developer Access has been taken over by Microsoft.

But it's not had the course to itself, and has been given a run by Electronic Arts' Tiger Woods Golf, which made Links' Arnie Palmer look a touch tired.

Microsoft hit back for the 2001 version with new graphics, and younger players, most notably Sergio Garcia, who is one of the few capable of taming Tiger.

The result is a top-notch, near photo-realistic game which uses GPS readings to map courses to almost perfect detail.

Links' main featured course is St Andrews, and real golfers will get a kick out of playing, albeit on a computer, at the home of golf.

E-mail: peter_eley@herald.co.nz