Links LS 2000
A golf simulation with online multiplayer and six courses.
Access Software and Microsoft released Links LS 2000 for Windows in 1999 and Macintosh in 2000. Critics saw it as a minor update to Links LS 1999, praising its multiplayer and physics but noting rivals like Jack Nicklaus 6 offered a course designer. It sold 104,225 copies, ranking sixth among 1999 computer sports games.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Access Software
- Publisher
- Microsoft (Windows version); MacSoft (Macintosh version)
- Artist
- Brian Johnson
- Composer
- Dave Shelton (Shelton Productions); Matt Heider and Jeff Abbott (Third Ear Music)
- Series
- Links
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows; Macintosh
- Released
- Windows; October 9, 1999 (NA) (retail), NA, October 28, 1999 (nationwide); Macintosh; November 14, 2000 (NA)
- Genre
- Sports
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Links LS 2000 includes six golf courses: St. Andrews Old Course, St. Andrews New Course, St. Andrews Jubilee, Mauna Kea, Hapuna, and Covered Bridge. Courses from earlier Links add-on disks can be imported. Short movies discuss each course. The game adds four new golfers compared to Links LS 1999, among them Arnold Palmer and Fuzzy Zoeller. Five new game modes are featured, including Fuzzy Zoeller's Wolf Challenge, a skins game variant. New online multiplayer options include MSN Gaming Zone and compatibility with the LS Tour 2000. The SkyScape feature lets the player adjust cloud coverage, and other options control wind, fog, haze, and camera angles. Players can create and edit sounds. Commentary is provided by David Feherty and Craig Bolerjack. Three swing methods are available, including Easy Swing and the complex PowerStroke, which uses mouse motion. Online events included tournaments by the Virtual Golfing Association, e-World Shotgun 2000, and the World Links Championship.
Development and release
Links LS 2000 was developed by Access Software. Due to a limited development period, few new features were added compared to its predecessor. The game was completed in September 1999 and released in North America the following month on three CDs. Microsoft, which had purchased Access Software earlier in 1999, published the game. The Links LS 2000 10-Course Pack add-on was completed in January 2000 and released in February. Links LS Classic, a version with 21 championship courses, was released in November 2000. A Macintosh version, ported by Green Dragon Creations and published by MacSoft, also on three CDs, was released in November 2000.
Contests
In late 1999, Microsoft ran a contest for Links LS 2000 where players aimed for a hole-in-one on Mauna Kea's seventh hole. The prize was a Hawaii trip for two, five nights at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, $500, and a round on the real course. The following June, Microsoft launched another promotion tied to Father's Day. Two grand-prize winners faced off in both real golf and the video game; the victor got to play a round with Arnold Palmer. Additionally, 100 first-prize winners each received a complimentary copy of Links LS 2000.
Reception
The game received favorable reviews according to GameRankings. Critics viewed it as a minimally upgraded version of Links LS 1999 and hoped Links 2001 would be a more substantial update. Tony Wyss of GameSpy described it as Links LS 1999 with more multiplayer options and minimal feature improvements, calling it difficult to assess and recommending it for first-time players while suggesting owners of the previous version reconsider. Sports Gaming Network also found it hard to review due to similarities to its predecessor and recommended it for beginners. William Abner of Computer Games Strategy Plus called it terribly difficult to rate, praising its gameplay and features while noting similarities to the previous game. Paul Rosano of Hartford Courant wrote that the $50 price made it hard to recommend to owners of the predecessor but worthwhile for those who had not updated since Links 98. Tom Ham of PC Accelerator felt it was more like an upgrade than a full product. Stephen Poole of GameSpot found the additional features unimpressive and said it felt like an add-on course bundle. Jeff Lackey of Computer Gaming World called it a meager repackaging with the bare minimum of additions.
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