Links LS 2000

List Price: $54.95 Discount Price: $0.47

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine	Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf

Customer Reviews:

Great golf-sim, period [Posted on 2000-11-13]
I've played with all the Links versions, starting with Access Links 386... when was that again? This is just a great golf simulation and it keeps getting better. You got it all, from the beginner to the expert gamer. The game is incredably realistic, with backspin, punch and flop shots (yes, I do play golf for real) and tournament style options. It is actually MUCH better than the 2001-version, which was a disappointment in speed (I've a PIII-700 with lots of everything!) and compatability (with the older versions). Importing my old courses was a snap, as is using the game over the Internet. Enjoy!

Back To 2000 [Posted on 2000-11-18]
Graphcs are great. PERIOD. Sound set up is almost impossible to coordinate with selected motions. None of my 25 add-on courses purchased over the life of previous versions work on this engine. I've taken it off my machine and reinstalled Links 2000. Now I'm useing the good one.

4 years after its release, STILL the best. [Posted on 2003-08-27]
Even though it's the latter half of the year 2003, I recently 'upgraded' from my former golf game -Links LS 99- to its sequel, the supposedly outdated and obsolete 4-year-old Links LS 2000. Why did I opt to purchase a four year old golf game instead of a new golf game such as Links 2003 or Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003? Because the supposedly obsolescent LS 2000 is still, even today, the best golf game available.

Being an avid fan of the LS series, I can say that LS 2000 is, by a slim margin, the best of the series. I was pleased to find that it is an improvement (albeit very small) over Links LS 99 -something I CAN'T claim about its sequels, Links 2001 or Links 2003: Both of these installments had many changes made...and the changes weren't good ones, either. In a nutshell, ever since Microsoft bought out Access Software in 2000, the Links series has gone downhill. Microsoft, like most software companies, has no understanding of the addage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' The numerous tweaks in Links 2001 and 2003 brought more graphical 3D rendering and better depth perception as well as increased the detail of foliage on the golf course. Most of the good changes were graphical improvements, but the graphics in those two games ALSO look more 'cartoonish' than LS's graphics. Almost all other tweaks have been de-improvements: Worse physics, very inferior swing meter, horrible real time swing, no Virtual Tournament (offline), and a host of other inferior tweaks. Microsoft discarded the original and creative ideas of Access Software and adopted, in its place, the inferior ideas and physics of Links LS's competition such as Jack Nicklaus 6 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Thank you Microsoft; you people are such geniuses.

If you are a casual PC golfer who enjoys getting a quick round in and likes your golf course to appear as aesthetically-pleasing as possible, as 3D as possible and animated graphics to boot, I would suggest purchasing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003. My main complaint (if not only) with the Tiger Woods game is that it looks and plays like video arcade game or something more fitting for the Playstation than for the PC. On its own merits it's a very good game filled with many cool features, very good animated graphics (albeit a 'cartoony' graphics engine), decent physics and a very good real-time swing. If EA Sports software programmers had the rocket scientist mind-sets of Links LS developers and tried to make Tiger Woods as die-hard realistic as possible (especially graphics and physics-wise) I would jump on the Tiger Woods bandwagon. As it is, the Tiger Woods series is still a great game and will win over millions of arcade-minded fans but for the rocket scientist-minded golf connoisseurs of utmost realism -such as I- Links LS 2000 is the only golf game to own. The graphics of LS 2000 -though not as 3D or 'animated' (e.g., trees swaying, water rippling) is photorealistic, not 'cartoony,' and still -4 years after its release- very good. The courses are virtually indestinguishable from their real life counterparts whereas in Tiger Woods you have no idea what course you're golfing: they all look similar and certainly bear no resemblance to their real life counterparts. Gameplay is what makes the game and LS's physics are much more realistic than Tiger Wood's. And there are far more options for customizing shots and customizing the actual gameplay in LS than Tiger Woods. As far as I'm concerned, LS 2000 is still by far the best PC golf game ever, as far as extreme realism is concerned. My only complaint is that in Links LS 99 I could set my display to 1600x1200 resolution in 32 bit (16.7 million colors). In LS 2000 the 1600x1200 resolution is only available in 16 bit (65,000) colors. Why, I have no idea. Not a big deal, but it makes a little difference. Still, an excellent game and I even find the new sound script (Craig Bolerjack and Dave Feherty's comments) pretty funny.

If you want the hardest-core golf sim with great graphics, sound, gameplay, and options, then take it from me -an avid PC golfer who has been playing computer golf since the mid '80s and has sampled virtually every golf game past and present: Opt for Links LS 2000 over its inferior sequels and the new Tiger Woods series.

Links LS 2000 [Posted on 2003-12-16]
The best computer golf game period.I have downloaded Demo,s of
2001 thru 2003 and no comparison.A look backward by Microsoft
might give them a clue for the future.

Still A Great Game after all these years [Posted on 2007-02-08]
I am still playing this golf game despite having the EA Tiger Woods game. EA still hasn't come up with a course as challenging as Devil's Island. Never mind the ancient graphics, Devil's Island is still the greatest challenge. There are a number of other nice courses as well. Links has the MOP Designer which EA's TW game does not have. Points can be assigned for different events occuring in a golf round or play for money for each event. There isn't much choice for player appearance or apparel as there is in EA's TW golf but it's still interesting to play with what is available.

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