Links LS 1998
{{short description|1997 sports video game}}
{{lead too short|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox video game
| collapsible =
| state =
| italic title =
| title = Links LS 1998
| image = Links LS 1998 cover.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| developer = Access Software
| publisher = Access Software
| series = Links
| engine =
| platforms = Microsoft Windows
| genre = Sports
| modes = Single-player, multiplayer
}}
Links LS 1998 is a golf video game developed and published by Access Software. It is part of the Links video game series, following Links LS (1996). It was released in 1997, and is the first game in the series to be published for Microsoft Windows.{{cite web |last=Bauman |first=Steve |title=Links LS '98 |url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/001/177/links_98_first_look.html |website=Computer Games Strategy Plus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030704221424/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/001/177/links_98_first_look.html |archive-date=July 4, 2003 |date=1997}} The game was well received, and was followed by Links LS 1999.
Gameplay
{{expand section|date=July 2022}}
Links LS 1998 Edition includes six game modes and features Arnold Palmer as a playable golfer. It also has a multiplayer option, and features four golf courses. Additional courses were released through add-on disks.{{cite web |last=Lackey |first=Jeff |title=Links LS 98 Course Disks |url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/005/119/links_courses_review.html |website=Computer Games Strategy Plus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030704231856/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/005/119/links_courses_review.html |archive-date=July 4, 2003}}
Reception
=Critical reviews=
{{Video game reviews
| align = left
| CGW = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |date=November 1997 |title=Hotter Links |magazine=Computer Gaming World |location=United States |issue=160 |pages=306–307}}
| PCM = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine | author=McDonald, T. Liam | title=After Hours: Click and Putt | magazine=PC Magazine | publisher=Ziff Davis | volume=16 | issue=16 | date=September 23, 1997 | pages=321–22, 324}}
| rev1 =The Sydney Morning Herald
| rev1Score =4/5{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Rosano|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103014815/the-sydney-morning-herald/|title=Playing Caddy and Mouse|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|page=194|date=September 6, 1997|accessdate=June 2, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
=Sales=
Links LS 1998 debuted at #4 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for the month of July 1997.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000311204446/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/97_08/26_pcsales/index.html | url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/97_08/26_pcsales/index.html | title=Top Selling PC Titles | date=August 26, 1997 | author=Staff | work=GameSpot | archivedate=March 11, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} It secured ninth and tenth place in its following two months, respectively,{{cite magazine | author=Staff | title=READ.ME; PC Data Best-Sellers | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1997 | issue=161 | page=56 }}{{cite magazine | author=Staff | title=READ.ME; PC Data Best-Sellers | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=January 1998 | issue=162 | page=56 }} but was absent from October's top 20.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19990210083600/http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/0,3,1331,00.html | url=http://www.gamecenter.com:80/News/Item/0,3,1331,00.html | title=October's Best-Sellers | date=November 26, 1997 | author=GamerX | work=CNET Gamecenter | archivedate=February 10, 1999 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} For December, it returned to PC Data's charts with a 19th-place finish.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502205940/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/009/198/top_20_december.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/009/198/top_20_december.html | title=December's hottest games | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | date=January 20, 1998 | archivedate=May 2, 2005 | author=Ocampo, Jason | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }}
During 1998, Links LS 1998 claimed positions in PC Data's monthly top 20 from January through March.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050217004828/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/010/178/titanic_pc_data.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/010/178/titanic_pc_data.html | title=Re-release rides movie's coattails on PC Data charts | author=Ocampo, Jason | date=March 18, 1998 | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | archivedate=February 17, 2005 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }}{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406150037/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/011/084/pcdata_march.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/011/084/pcdata_march.html | title=Do the PC Data figures prove lower is better? | date=April 21, 1998 | author=Ocampo, Jason | archivedate=April 6, 2005 | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} After two months' absence,{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050208083659/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/011/163/top_games_for_april.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/011/163/top_games_for_april.html | title=The top selling games of April, according to PC Data | author=Ocampo, Jason | date=May 13, 1998 | archivedate=February 8, 2005 | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} it returned to #17 in June.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502205001/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/013/083/pc_data_june.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/013/083/pc_data_june.html | title=StarCraft scores a hat trick with its third month at No. 1 | author=Ocampo, Jason | date=July 21, 1998 | archivedate=May 2, 2005 | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} During the first six months of 1998, Links LS 1998 was the United States' 16th-best-selling computer game, with an average retail price of $43 for the period.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406165646/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/013/172/pc_data_first_half_1998.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/013/172/pc_data_first_half_1998.html | title=Sales rankings for the first six months of 1998 | author=Ocampo, Jason | date=August 17, 1998 | archivedate=April 6, 2005 | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} It exited the monthly charts again after holding positions 13 in July and 16 in August.{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406150058/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/013/172/pc_data_july.html | url=http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/013/172/pc_data_july.html | title=SWAT 2 debuts at No. 5 | date=August 18, 1998 | archivedate=April 6, 2005 | work=Computer Games Strategy Plus | author=Ocampo, Jason | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }}{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817182653/http://www.gamecenter.com/News/Item/0,3,0-2128,00.html | url=http://www.gamecenter.com:80/News/Item/0,3,0-2128,00.html | title=August's PC Best-Sellers | author=GamerX | work=CNET Gamecenter | date=September 25, 1998 | archivedate=August 17, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }}{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000309200418/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_10/27_pcdata/index.html | url=http://headline.gamespot.com:80/news/98_10/27_pcdata/index.html | title=PC Data Hit List for September | date=October 27, 1998 | author=Staff | work=GameSpot | archivedate=March 9, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} Excluding hunting and fishing games, Links LS 1998 was the United States' best-selling computer sports game of the year, with sales of 193,434 units and revenues of almost $8 million for 1998 alone.{{cite news | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402045909/http://articles.courant.com/1999-02-28/sports/9902280213_1_software-sales-ea-sports-hard-core-gamers | url=https://www.courant.com/1999/02/28/reviews-matter-little-in-sales/ | title=Reviews Matter Little In Sales | author=Rosano, Paul | date=February 28, 1999 | work=Hartford Courant | archive-date=April 2, 2018 | url-status=live }} It was the 16th-best-selling computer game across all genres in the United States between January and November,{{cite web | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000901031920/http://pc.ign.com/news/6269.html | url=http://pc.ign.com:80/news/6269.html | title=Best Selling Games of 1998 | date=January 4, 1999 | work=IGN | author=IGN Staff | archivedate=September 1, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=February 28, 2020 }} and ranked 34th for the year overall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/692434/Microsoft-buying-Access-Software.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519230326/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/692434/Microsoft-buying-Access-Software.html|archive-date=2018-05-19|title=Microsoft buying Access Software S.L.-based firm is called the 'king of computer golf'|website=Deseret News |date=20 April 1999}}
=Awards=
Computer Gaming World, GameSpot and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences all nominated Links LS 1998 as their pick for the best computer sports title of 1997, but these awards went variously to Baseball Mogul, CART Precision Racing, NHL 98, and FIFA: Road to World Cup 98.{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615090128/http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardupdate.htm |url=http://www.interactive.org:80/html/award/awardupdate.htm |title=The Award; Award Updates |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |archivedate=June 15, 1998 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615090115/http://www.interactive.org/html/award/awardwin98.htm |url=http://www.interactive.org:80/html/award/awardwin98.htm |title=The Award; Award Updates |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |archivedate=June 15, 1998 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816000042/http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards97/index.html |url=http://www.gamespot.com:80/features/awards97/index.html |title=GameSpot's Best & Worst Awards for 1997 |author=Staff |work=GameSpot |archivedate=August 16, 2000 |url-status=dead }}{{cite magazine | author=Staff | magazine=Computer Gaming World | title=CGW Presents The Best & Worst of 1997 |date=March 1998 | issue=164 | pages=74–77, 80, 84, 88, 89 }} The editors of Computer Gaming World wrote that it "made the world's best golf simulation even better", while those of GameSpot remarked, "Each time Access Software releases a new version [of Links], it gets harder and harder to fathom how this game could get any better - yet it does."
In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 11th-best computer game ever released, and the editors wrote that "an enhanced color palette, quicker screen re-draws, more camera angles, and built-in TCP/IP support nudged this series a few inches closer to perfection".{{cite journal | author=The PC Gamer Editors | title=The 50 Best Games Ever | date=October 1998 | volume=5 | number=10 | journal=PC Gamer US | pages=86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 98, 101, 102, 109, 110, 113, 114, 117, 118, 125, 126, 129, 130 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.mobygames.com/game/links-ls-1998-edition Links LS 1998 Edition] at MobyGames
{{Links series}}
{{Access Software}}
Category:Access Software games
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games