Sid Meier’s SimGolf (Jewel Case)
Grade: B+
Teachers’ Comments:  A fun game, even if you’re not a computer game geek.

Sid Meier’s SimGolf is a lot of fun. It’s not so much a golf game, as it is a business simulation.

You start the game with a small plot of land and a pool of money. Using your best instincts as a golf course designer, you then lay out a course (you may only have the cash for three holes at first), add some amenities and wait for golfers to show up.

As more players patronize your course, your income increases, and you have more to sink into the development of your course. You can buy more land, add food stands, hotels, clubhouses, and practice facilities, and of course, build more holes. You also have to hire staff to maintain the grounds, feed hungry and thirsty golfers, and generally make your patrons’ experiences enjoyable. If you are successful, your little golf empire continues to grow.

A review on the Cubed 3 game site pans the Tiger Woods 2005 for Nintendo DS. While the dual screen gameplay allows for a swing system where you actually “swing” the stylus, the reviewer says that:

EA have somehow managed to suck all the life, soul and fun out of this game leaving you with an infuriating, tedious pile of green and brown textures and annoying gameplay. In all fairness it looks quite nice, but animation is smooth, the courses look solid and detailed, but no matter how competent the game may look it just lacks any sense of fun and your incentive to play along will simply wilt away. The whole game looks drab, dreary and is utterly forgettable.

Videogame publisher UBISoft has signed Vijay Singh to do a videogame with his name in the title. Like Tiger Woods with his game, Vijay apparently will work closely with the software publisher to put his imprint on the game. UBISoft is best known for game like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 and Ghost Recon, and Baldur’s Gate. UBI Soft recently acquired the sports line from Microsoft Games Studio.

In one of the more insane things I’ve seen, the Squirrel Golf online game has you loading up the little rodents on your tee and launching them at a golf green.

But then I remember the battles that I have had keeping the tree rats out of my bird feeder and maybe it isn’t such a bad idea.

Stuck at work? Dreaming about the links? Then try this online golf game from Nabiscoworld. Its free and its actually quite fun.

Nabiscoworld Golf