Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001

Herald rating: * * * *

EA Sports

PC, all ages

Review: Peter Eley

Tiger Woods is perhaps the greatest sportsman ever, so far above his peers that the contest usually is who comes second.

And any golf game that bears his name must be a winner. But unlike in real life, the computerised Tiger Woods PGA Tour plays second fiddle, to good ole Arnie Palmer, believe it or not.

Arnie is the guide around Microsoft's Links golf game, which has been top of the leaderboard for many years. And the question is: will Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 take the title?

Both Links and PGA Tour are first-rate golf games with brilliant course reconstructions and realistic swing models.

EA's title scores with a grand total of 17 real-life courses and a first-rate reconstruction of the PGA tour. Links has much better graphics, especially since their 2001 title is a complete rebuild of a game first designed for the 386 chip.

But Tiger's sheer presence makes EA's title hard to ignore. And he's not the only superstar to appear in the game — Michael Jordan, yes, the former basketballer, makes a cameo appearance.

In the end, it comes down to a choice between Links' stunning photo-realism and the chance to play alongside Tiger Woods on a wide variety of courses.

E-mail: peter_eley@herald.co.nz