Publisher: Sierra Sports Developer: Headgate Genre: Sports Rating: Everyone Minimum Requirements: Pentium 166Mhz 32 MB RAM 4X CD-Rom 150 MB free HD space Mouse SVGA which supports 800X600 @ 32K colors Supports Windows 2000/98/95 Sierra Sports Da Introduction: Sierra Sports follows up from their smash hit with this year's version of the game. Never has a golf game been so realistic before. This year, Sierra has improved the gameplay with "true swing" technology, which we'll talk about later in this review. Da Graphics: The graphics in this game are very well done. The players look realistic in every aspect of the game. Their movements such as swings, misses and triumphant dances look like the real golf pro's that we see on television. Even more impressive are the golf courses themselves. The fairways, greens, bunkers, and backdrops look terrific. They're a little two-dimensional at times, but I think we can all live with that. The graphics aren't without their let downs though. The crowd is poorly done. They don't move at all, nor do they look real. Two-dimensional at the very best, and not very attractive to look at, but then again, who cares about the crowd? Da Sound: Commentary in this game can be fun at times but at others it's completely annoying. The quality of sound you hear in titles from EA Sports games isn't quite there, but that will come in time with Sierra. One example of the annoying commentary was when I hooked a shot on purpose. The commentator just jumped down my throat. Little did he know that I had planned to do this because the hole was a dog left to the right, and it turned up exactly where I wanted it to. The commentator tried to "recover" by saying, "That shot is exactly where he wanted to put it." Nice save big guy! The sound isn't all that terrible though. The swings sound fluid and the crack of the club connecting with the ball sounds very realistic. The background noises sound decent as well, such as the birds chirping. The crowd's applause when you place a good shot can be appreciated in this game as well. Da Controls: Earlier in this review I was ranting and raving about the realism of PGA Championship Golf 2000. The controls perform where other golf games lack. Sierra has incorporated the "True Swing" feature into this game. For those who aren't familiar with "true swing," here it is. You use your mouse to swing, so to pull back you go down on the mouse, and to swing you push up on the mouse. The faster you push up, the further your shot. It sounds easy, but it's not. You have to get it straight because if you start going to the side, you'll end up hooking the ball, or missing the ball altogether. Gone now are the days where you needed to tri-click to place a shot. However, if "true swing" isn't your cup of tea, you can still use the tri-click method, but who wants to use that once they tried out the new stuff? Da Gameplay: There is enough variety in this game to keep the replay value very high. There are 13 courses to choose from (8 from the original plus 5 new ones). In addition, there is an option that allows you to download over 150 free courses. If you don't find the courses challenging enough, the game comes with a golf architecture program that allows you to build your own course as well. There are tons of different game modes for people to choose from such as Tournament, Career Season, or the really fun Quick Game mode, which allows gamers to jump into the game without too much setting up. In the Normal mode, there are tons of options to choose from which include Medal, Match, Stableford, Skins, Best Ryder Ball Cup, Best Ball Greensome, Two Player and Four Player Scramble. The most addictive and enjoyable mode is probably the Stableford mode. Each shot in this mode is given a point, and the object is to get the highest point total. For example, if you get a birdie, you get 2 points, an eagle will give you 5 points. However, when you start shooting over par, you'll be penalized for those strokes and have points taken away. If you have a bogey, it takes away 1 point. Therefore, if you're playing on the Internet, it can lead to some very fun or frustrating times because it's important for you to play well—if you mess up you lose major points. If you need to practice some specific parts of your golf game, there is a driving range, putting green and chipping green that you can play on as well. I really had to use this to practice my chipping and my putting, and by practicing my skills seemed to have improved. Like most golf games there are adjustable conditions like weather and wind. I didn't notice the wind playing much of a factor in my games though. Maybe it's just my powerful shots? For those gamers who crave building their own player, that is possible as well. There is so much detail involved that you can change their appearance from hairstyles to clothes to skin color. Gender options have also been added in this game as well, which should attract a larger audience. One of the really nice parts of PGA Championship Golf 2000 is the Internet play. Playing with friends here in town is quite fun, but playing on the Internet against good players on the net is really enjoyable. The final thing I would like to say about this game is the AI. It is very well done and challenging. No complaints here. Da Conclusion: Sierra Sports did a wonderful job. The abundance of variety and golf course options gives PGA Championship Golf 2000 excellent replay value. In addition, Internet play allows for some pretty fun times while sitting at your computer. I've also installed this game on my laptop, and can't stop playing. I wonder when I'm going to get canned for this behavior. Graphics: 7 Sound: 6 Game-Play: 8 Tilt: 8 Overall: 7.4 PGA Championship Golf 2000 was reviewed DA GAMEBOYZ contributer Steve Wan on his: Pentium II 400 52X CD-ROM 128 MB's of ram Full installation (466 Megs) 15 inch monitor Monster Fusion 16 MB 3DFX video card Creative Labs Ensonique Sound Card GNT Speaker system