Links LS 2001 Expansion Pack Review
Posted by admin on Tuesday Sep 2, 2008 Under Sports
Another year another version of Links, the most successful golf simulation ever. And to keep the cash flowing between new versions there are expansion packs… a handful of new courses to keep you in a purchasing mood and to add variety to the Microsoft sponsored online golf tour in it’s second season.
What’s New
The main appeal of the Links 2001 Expansion are the four courses. Included are Thanksgiving Point (Lehi, Utah), The Canyons at Bighorn (Palm Desert, California), Pelican Hill (Newport Coast, California) and Banff Springs (Alberta, Canada). At first glance that seems like a great deal… four new courses for just under a yuppie food stamp (that’s a $20 bill for those not in the know.) But when you look closer you’ll find that two of the courses have been released for Links before: Banff Springs and Pelican Hill. Both get updates here, but if you already have the courses they don’t have a lot of value.
For those who don’t have these courses both are a treat to play. I especially enjoyed Banff Springs. It’s a moderately difficult course overall but the scenery is exceptional and there are some tricky approach shots to the greens. Pelican Hill was also first rate, with some brutal greens and trees in awkward locations on fairways to keep you honest.
On the other hand, the all new courses were less interesting to me. They are both desert locations and the scenery has a generic sameness. You’d be hard pressed to figure out which course was which if I mixed up holes from the two of them for you to play. Still, play variety is adequate and the courses are solid. The very long par 5’s at The Canyons were intriguing, they make a nice change of pace from those where you can usually get to the green in two shots if you are a long driver.
The bottom line for the new courses… decent but not stellar. They play well, make no mistake, but they lack character in computer form. That’s something that can’t be said for the recycled courses… they have a definite flair to them unlike other courses you may have played in the series. Definitely worth adding to your collection if you don’t have them.
Every expansion package for the Links series features additional courses. With this expansion you also get a few other bits as well. First of all you get more objects for the Arnold Palmer Course Designer, a whole lot of them. That may not thrill you unless you are a serious golf geek and are able to use complex 3D modeling software though.
The next added feature is a course converter. It will take older courses designed for previous versions of Links and convert them to the new Links 2001 format. 36 courses in total can be converted. Now, in my opinion the original Links 2001 package should have come with the converter included, and in any case you can download it for free from the Microsoft web site so that really doesn’t add a lot of value either.
Finally you get two new animated golfers to play with: Mike Weir and Keith Clearwater. Not exactly the biggest names in golf but variety is good right? Maybe. I liked the Mike Weir golfer… first off he’s a lefty which is nice and his comments are subdued and fit into the game well. On the other hand if Mr. Clearwater really acts like his comments in the game on the real course, I’d hate to have him as a play partner in a major tournament! Many of his comments were simply annoying. So it’s a mixed bag, at least for me, but many may like over the top voice comments so to each their own.
The Verdict
I have mixed feelings about this expansion. One the one hand it does include two all new courses and updates for two more as well as two new players to compete against. On the other hand the new courses didn’t excite me at all in terms of overall play experience and the other bits don’t really add much in the long run to the game. If you must have a complete set of courses this is probably worth picking up but it isn’t the best bang for your buck in terms of packages.
Game Rating
( 65 out of 100 maximum )
Pros
- Includes four courses
- New computer golfers to play against
- Course converter allows use of courses from previous Links versions
Cons
- Course converter is available for free download
- Only two courses are all new for Links
- Course editor objects will appeal to only a few
 The two new courses are both desert ones, scenery-wise they are hard to tell apart in actual fact. |
Two new pro golfers, Mike Weir and Keith Clearwater, are available to play against. |
That is absolutely bombed. That’s it baby, that’s killed! |
The best course in the collection is recycled… an updated version of the Banff Springs course in Alberta Canada. |
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