Sid Meier's SimGolf

The Good
The concept, really, is excellent; designing AND running a golf course. It's generally pleasingly executed, too.

The Bad
Frankly, there just isn't a lot of game here; it's very shallow, more of a child's product. Designing and managing the courses, even at higher difficulty levels, is very, very easy, and beyond designing the holes there just isn't a whole lot to do. The tournament function is neat but easy to win. There is no financial management of any kind except designing good holes. The structures available for placement are very limited in number and scope and once placed are totally beyond the player's control. Sadly, SimGolf has almost no replay value; once you've mastered the art of making an imaginative hole, the game's more or less over.

The graphics are not up to 2002 standards. Frankly, I don't much care about graphics if the underlying GAME is good, but the underlying game here is not good; these graphics look as if the game was designed seven years ago.

The Bottom Line
It's a fun game but not really a full-blown gaming product you should pay $40 for. Wait until it's a $9.99 bargain bin purchase.