Review by: Shawn Quigley

Published: August 8, 1997

In the past year we have seen some strong contenders for the greatest golfing simulation, with Links LS always being in the running. Access Software has taken another step forward with the update to their award winning series in the form of Links LS 1998 Edition.

At first glance everything will look the same between the 1998 edition and the regular edition of Links LS. Arnold Palmer is still the golfer that comes with and endorses the game. The courses included in the package are also the same. It was good to see that Access decided not to ship Links LS 1998 Edition in the form of two boxes like they did with the Links LS original version.

This new version represents some major changes to Links LS, including the move to a native Windows 32-bit application. This means that those golfers who have not jumped on the Windows 95/NT bandwagon must do so in order to play this new version. Since the game is now completely in the Windows environment, a lot of those installation hassles that were a big factor in the first original Links LS should go away. This turned out to be true with the three different times I installed the game.

Links LS 1998 Edition could be considered a true golfing simulation when it comes to the different factors that make up the game of golf, even though Access still is using the standard “mouse clicking” way of hitting the ball. Some features that were sorely missing in the last version are now included in this version. There were different aspects of the previous versions that users have complained about from time to time. One of these aspects was that playing Links was like playing golf on a picture. Even though the game looked amazing, you always felt like you were looking at a static screen. Access has taken great strides toward fixing this. The environment that you play in is “living” now instead of static. The flags on the greens will blow in the wind and every now and then you will see a plane or a blimp fly by.

The enhancement made to make things look more alive is just one of the enhancements to the graphics that Links LS 1998 Edition has received. Even though this edition is a great one, it probably is not as important as the next one. The most notable one most likely would be the “look ahead” rendering that Links LS 1998 Edition has built into it. Since the application now is built around a more robust architecture, the developers were able to begin rendering holes while the player is taking a shot. This allows for very fast redraws in between shots. It definitely is a noticeable feature! Another look that has changed in the graphics is the way that water looks. Water now looks like glass with real reflections coming off the surface. Compared to the original Link LS, the new water look is amazing. These are some of the graphical changes that are noticeable along with the ability to have more windows on the screen, new golfer animations, and smart cameras that allow you to watch the action from basically anywhere on the course.