| Links 2001 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft |
| Designer(s) | Bruce Carver[1] |
| Artist(s) | Eric Parkinson[1] |
| Composer(s) | Matt Heider (Next Level Music)[1] |
| Series | Links |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Links 2001 is agolf-basedsports simulationgame developed byAccess Software andMicrosoft Games Group and published byMicrosoft. It is part of theLinks series and followsLinks LS 2000. It is the first game in the series to include a golf course designer, allowing the player to create custom courses. It also featuresArnold Palmer,Sergio García, andAnnika Sörenstam as playable golfers.
It was released forMicrosoft Windows in October 2000, and received "generally favorable reviews" according toMetacritic. Critics praised the graphics,game physics, and the addition of a course designer, but the game's voice-overs were criticized, particularly those of García and Sörenstam. The game sold an estimated 240,000 copies in the United States.
Links Expansion Pack, released in May 2001, offers additional features for the game.Links Championship Edition, released in September 2001, consists ofLinks 2001 and the expansion pack.
Links 2001 features five real golf courses:Aviara Golf Club (California), Chateau Whistler (Canada),Old Course at St Andrews (Scotland),Prince Course at Princeville Resort (Hawaii), and Westfields Golf Club (Virginia). A fictional sixth course, called Mesa Roja, features a red rock desert environment meant to be somewhere in thesouthwestern United States.[2][3][4][5] The game includes informational videos of each course.[6] A course converter allows courses from theLinks LS games to be played inLinks 2001. Courses fromMicrosoft Golf 2001 Edition can also be made compatible.[7][8]
The game features 14 golfers, includingArnold Palmer,Sergio García, andAnnika Sörenstam,[9] and the player can choose to make their golfer left-handed.[3] The on-screen golfer makes comments in reaction to the player's golfing.[10] The player can create new golf characters with various customization options, which include the golfer's appearance. The player can also customize the golfing clubs.[6][11] The player chooses from three different golf swing methods: Easy, Classic (traditional two-click and three-click methods), and the complex PowerStroke.[2][9][12] The swing meter can be moved around to any location on the screen.[9][3] Whenputting, a grid overlay aids the player, and includes varying colors to help determine terrain differences.[11][9][3]
Links 2001 features 46 game modes, includingBingo Bango Bongo,match,scramble,skins, andstroke.[11][9] Rather than a set of default tournaments, the player creates their own custom tournaments,[10] with up to 63computer-controlled opponents.[5] The game also includes the Mode of Play Designer, which allows the player to edit the existing game modes.[2][9] Additionally, the game's Arnold Palmer Course Designer allows the player to create custom golf courses. The designer includes over 1,000 textures, and additional textures can be imported.[11] The player can also create custom sound effects for the game and can import sound scripts from previousLinks games. The game also offers 3D video support.[4] Upon its release, the game featured threemultiplayer options: modem play,Microsoft Gaming Zone, and the online Links Tour.[5][3] Online tournaments were also offered through the Virtual Golf Association.[13][14][15][16][17]
Links 2001 was developed byMicrosoft,[18][9] and uses a revampedgraphics engine and newgame physics over its predecessors.[12][19] Thegreens in the game were created through 500GPS points taken on the actual golf courses.[9][5][3][20] Microsoft described the game as "the most comprehensive upgrade to the series sinceLinks: The Challenge of Golf was introduced ten years ago".[21]Links 2001 is the first game in theLinks series to include a course designer. The Arnold Palmer Course Designer is the same tool used by the development team to create the six included courses.[11][20][22] García and Sörenstam provided their voices to the game,[23] and Sörenstam is the firstLPGA golfer to be featured in theLinks series.[24]Links 2001 was completed in mid-October 2000. It was published forMicrosoft Windows and was released in the United States at the end of the month.[25][26] The game was published by Microsoft as a set of four CDs.[6][27] The course converter was released in January 2001.[7][8]
Anexpansion pack with additional features, titledLinks Expansion Pack, was announced in February 2001 and was released in late May.[28][29] Apatch forLinks 2001 was released in June 2001, offering various corrections.[30]Links Championship Edition, consisting ofLinks 2001 and the expansion pack, was released for Windows in September 2001,[31][32] and aMacintosh version was published the following year byBold.[33][34]Links Expansion Pack Volume 2 was released in November 2001, and is compatible withLinks 2001 andLinks Championship Edition. Among its new features are additional courses and golfers.[35]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 86/100[36] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [18] |
| Computer Games Magazine |  [9] |
| Computer Gaming World | [37] |
| Eurogamer | 8/10[10] |
| GameSpot | 8.7/10[5] |
| GameSpy | 92/100[38][3] |
| GameZone | 4/10[27] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[6] |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 88%[21] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 91%[39] |
| PC Zone | 7/10[40] |
| Gamecenter | 9/10[12] |
| Hartford Courant | 9/10[41] |
| Sports Gaming Network | 90/100[4] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Software and Information Industry Association | Codie Awards (Best Sports Game; 2001)[42] |
Links 2001 received "generally favorable reviews" according toMetacritic.[36] Critics considered it an improvement over its predecessors, includingLinks LS 2000.[11][3][6][21][4] Some considered it the best golf simulation available,[11][12] while others felt thatPGA Championship Golf 2000 was a superior game.[18][5][40][4] Keith Pullin ofPC Zone wrote that "only the most loyal of Links fans will actually notice any difference" betweenLinks 2001 and its predecessors.[40]
The graphics were generally praised and considered the best in theLinks series up to that time.[11][3][9][12][4][5][37][10][39] Stephen Poole ofGameSpot called it the best-looking golf simulation available at the time.[5] However,IGN's Dan Adams considered the graphics and the golfer animations to be lifeless.[6]Eurogamer stated that the golfers were "superbly done," but that they "can appear a little false and fuzzy around the edges when set against some of the course backgrounds."[10] Alan Lackey ofComputer Games Magazine stated that the golfers "look more natural to their surroundings and no longer have the appearance of being pasted into the scene."[9]
The inclusion of a long-awaited course designer was praised and viewed as a significant addition to the series, although some critics noted its complexity.[11][3][12][5][37][39] Michael L. House ofAllGame wrote that "the ludicrously uninformative and hopelessly inept documentation in the manual and online instructional help doesn't remotely provide enough data for the casual gamer to even begin to complete a playable course within a reasonable time period."[18] However, Steve Brown ofPC Gamer felt that the course designer was easy to use.[21]
The voice-overs were criticized as being repetitive and of poor quality, particularly those of García and Sörenstam.[3][12][4][5][6][37][10][18]Eurogamer praised the audio, especially the sound of crowd murmuring.[10] Sports Gaming Network complained of missing and delayed sound effects, and wrote about the audio, "What has always been a strong point in the series has actually gotten a little worse."[4] The game physics were mostly praised,[11][3][12][10][6][9][39] although Pullin considered them to be poor, and also felt that the PowerStroke method was too complex.[40] Some critics noted game installation issues andvideo card compatibility problems, as well as the large installation size of more than onegigabyte.[3][9][12][4][37] Some criticized the lack of changeable shirt colors for the golfers.[18][5][4]
House was disappointed that the game did not release simultaneously with the course converter, and also noted various game glitches.[18] John Brandon of GameZone felt that the game was bloated with too many features. He criticized the game's sluggish pace and wrote that the game takes golf and realism "way too seriously," stating, "I don't want to play actual golf, I want to play simulated golf."[27]
In 2001, the game won aCodie Award for Best Sports Game from theSoftware and Information Industry Association.[42] During the4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as theD.I.C.E. Awards),Links 2001 was nominated in the categories of "PC Simulation", "PC Sports", "PC Game of the Year", and "Game of the Year", but lost all of them.[43][44] The game was tied withMadden NFL 2001 for a fourth-place ranking in the 2001 PC Sports Game Writers' Poll, conducted byHartford Courant andCTNow.[45][46]
Links 2001 was the ninth best-selling computer sports game of 2000, with 87,521 copies sold.[47] Ultimately, the game sold an estimated 240,000 copies in the United States.[48]
Several critics reviewed the Macintosh version ofLinks Championship Edition. Peter Cohen ofMacworld called the game "a startlingly realistic simulation of golfing," but stated that its "complex interface may make it daunting for casual duffers."[51] Niko Coucouvanis ofMacAddict wrote that non-golfing fanatics would be bored by the game.[50] Eddie Park ofInside Mac Games praised the variety of options and recommended the game for hardcore golfers, but noted "a minimum of animation, a lack of sound," and graphics that "look flat and dated".[49]
The Windows version sold an estimated 100,000 copies in the United States.[48]
This list is for the U.S market only. This list only features games released since January 2000 for Windows PCs. Other Franchise Hits qualify if they use the same IP or character in broadly the same genre, and if they managed respectable sales of (roughly speaking) above 100,000 units.