What do you to pick yourself up? Watch people throw their clubs around on a golf course you made. ^_^
SimGolf, even though addictive, is by no means a graphical marvel. Like other older Sim games, (SimCity 2000 anyone?) the game deatures a type of 3D top-down set-up. And.... that's about it. You can tell that people are people, golfers are golfers, you can tell greens from fairway. That's all you really need, since the game doesn't need you focus on something specifically. I'm just wondering how I.M. Picky can walk across water. That's all.
Well, if you're not looking for a mind-blowing game to look at, what are you looking for? Gameplay. Simgolf has noe of the most addictive setups ever made. From the start, you can make devious holes that will frustrate and challenge golfers, even though you might want to start off easily, since many of your golfers belong the 'weekend duffers' club. The last thing you need to be doing is making the hardest golf hole in the world when the poor guy in the tee box can barely hit it 150. However, as you start to pick up greens fees from the golfers, you can make snack bars, hire staff, and add amenities to your golfer's liking. Most of the amenities have no real awe-inspiring affect, if you add a driving range, it'll help your golfer's driving length, but you'll wonder how it helps. No one ever uses it, as far as you can see. You'll probably place many of your luxurious addons except for the cart garage and snack bars off to the side, happy to let them do their thing for the golfers out of sight. But aside from CREATING your golf course, you can also play on it, with your resident golf pro, who you can customize to your liking. You can play on 3 levels: Just play a round with a regular golfer, play against a pro in a skins format, or have a full-blown tournament, with better conditions and TV towers. To have tournaments, you must meet some conditions to make your golf course noticed by the SGA. (Sim Golf Association) This adds another layer of depth to the game, making you think of how to construct your golf course if you want to bring in the major tournaments the SGA has to offer. Simgolf can be played in any number of ways, and can be picked up off your dusty shelf, a surefire way to have a little fun, or maybe use your brain a little. Just a little.
Sound? While sound is not a major premise in SimGolf, it has it's own gems. Some of the quotes that you hear while watching your golfers are priceless, from excited cries of jubilation to tired moans of golfers who need the 19th hole, you won't care that it's in the usual undecipherable language of the Sims, you'll crack a smile as a golfer celebrates after knocking a 4-iron onto the green from 180 out.
So, even though SimGolf is aging, it is aging well. A game like this never really needed to be graphically superior or have a mind-blowing effect on anyone. SimGolf is an original premise, that even if you picked it up today, you'd have the same fun with it as if you had picked it up 2 years ago. If you see in the mark-down bin, (if it's even there anymore) pick it up. You just might be glad that you did.