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half of the year 2003, I recently 'upgraded' from my former golf game -Links LS 99- to its sequel, the supposedly outdated and obsolete 4 year old Links LS 2000.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 connoisseur of the LS series, I can say that LS 2000 is, by a slim margin, the best of the series. I was surprised to find that it is an improvement (albeit very small) over Links LS 99, which I CAN'T say about 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. The only good changes were a few graphical ones, 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 as alive as possible, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 is your game. The physics are good and the real time swing works well and is an added bonus. But for the true PC connoisseur of utmost golfing realism and simulation, the 'obsolete' Links LS 2000, even today, still blows the BRAND NEW Tiger Woods game out of the water. The graphics of LS 2000 -though not as 3D or 'alive' (e.g., trees swaying, water rippling) is photorealistic, not 'cartoonish.' 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 makes a 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 game 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 simulations go (if you want a kiddie's 'arcade' opt for Tiger Woods). My only complaint is that in Links LS 99 I could set my display to 1600x1200 resolution for 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 sound script (Craig Bolerjack and the other guy's comments) pretty funny.
