Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 32

T2 The Arizona RrpuhHr Monday, June 2ft, 1 Computings Golf games get more realistic Credit cards develop safety for online use Sound Bogey Ease of play Eagle Realism Bogey You would think age. Each hole includes instant-replay options, a "fly by" animation, shown from the perspective of helicopter, as well as quick movies of golf pros giving tips on how to play each hole. Sounds arc fairly conventional unless you choose the "Whacky Sounds" option, which is fun. Once. In all, a game that's awfully tough to master, but done well enough that you won't mind trying.

Access Links 386CD' ($30) Graphics Birdie Sound Birdie Ease of play Eagle Realism Birdie uses thousands of actual photos of Harbour Town (a popular place); where you hit your shot determines the view of the course you're then shown. This eliminates screen redraws, and offers a more realistic view of the course. Then there's your perspective in most golf games, your swing controls an animated player you see on the screen. In Picture Perfect Golf, you can't see anything but the ball, just like on a real golf course (the swing is controlled by the same dial mechanism as the other games). Ideally, this makes you feel more a part of the game, but it takes some getting used to.

What looks like a cartoon golf ball shoots out onto the photo, landing where your swing sent it. (The balls on the greens look much more realistic.) Commentary is adequate, even though it includes the ubiquitous, "You the man!" after you hit a great shot. Ugh. Like Microsoft Golf, however, the swing mechanism is tough to master; the snap is especially Unforgiving, so you wind up with a lot of your balls wickedly sliced or hooked. Hmm.

Just like real life. A fun, if challenging, game, and certainly different. 'Accolade Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition' ($20) Graphics Double Bogey able brand names in the world and they'd have a leg up on any efTort they undertake," said Adam Schocnfcld, senior analyst at Jupiter Communications, a market research company in New York. VISA has a joint venture with Microsoft to develop a software program tolcep credit-card payments private by issuing passwords to customers. MasterCard has been working with Netscape Communications a Mountain View, Calif.

-based software company that makes a popular system for browsing the Internet's World Wide Web and is developing scrambling software for secure payment transactions. The announcement is the latest in a slew of partnerships and product offerings for transacting businesses and handling payments on the Internet. Europe's largest credit-card company, a consortium of banks called Europay, recently announced a joint venture with International Business Machines Corp. to develop secure card payments over the Internet. In recent weeks, several banks have announced online banking services on the Internet.

The market for online bank accounts and payment services is thought to be huge, and the ability to ensure consumers that their money will be safe from hackers is key to CREDIT CAWS, from page El They absorb millions of dollars a year in expenses related to credit-card fraud, some of hich gets passed on to consumers. The companies said consumers will be able to make secure purchases on the Internet by early next year. Because VISA International, based in San Francisco, and New York-based MasterCard have enormous brand recognition among consumers worldwide, their partnership could have a powerful impact in the online financial services arena. The two companies, both owned by groups of banks, together have 691.5 million cards worldwide and have each made enormous investments in developing global networks for handling electronic payments. The partnership underscores the pressure credit-card companies, banks and technology firms are under to make a splash in the online world as Microsoft gets ready to roll out its new operating system, Window 95, which is slated to have an online service bundled in.

Windows 95 is scheduled to go on sale Aug. 24. VISA and MasterCard are intensely competitive, but online experts say that teaming up in this case makes sense because it will give them an edge. "They're two of the most recogniz COlf, (am page El Some games are set up so that you can buy add-ons that let you play other courses. For instance, you can spend $20 more on a CD-ROM that will tee you up on a Microsoft version of PinehurM, a well-known course in North Carolina.

If that sounds like a waste of money to you, well, then, you probably haven't shelled out $95 for greens fees at a local course, have you? That's the way golf is, even in computer versions. You hesitate to call it merely a game; it's more a way of life. And if you aren't careful, the computer versions can become just as addictive as the real thing maybe even more so, since once you've bought the software, you can always get a tec time. It's like that old golf saying: A bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work. And a bad computer golf game is better than no computer golf game at all.

What the ratings mean: Fatjle: As g(xxl as it gets. Perfect swing, great follow through it's in the hole! Kirdie: Awfully good. You'll be happy with it. Par: Consistent, nothing outstanding. Bogey: Oops.

Had shot. Keep your head down next time. Double bogey: Forget it. Play out of the sand trap and move on to the next hole. 'Microsoft Coif (S45) Graphics Birdie Sound Birdie Ease of play Bogey Realism Birdie MH if the greatest golfer of all time lent his name to a game, he would want it to be a little better than this.

But Nicklaus' game, while easy to master, sufTers from amateurish graphics that bring back the feel of a video game played at Pizza World with Grand Funk Railroad on the jukebox old and outdated. The swing mechanism is a little different in this game. Instead of a dial, you use a bar, again using the click-hold-click technique for back-swing, power and snap. But the bar is broken down in such a way that it makes judging the distance you need on your shots easier. It doesn't take long to develop a good, consistent swing.

You can choose from courses Nicklaus himself designed. In fact, one of the more interesting options this game gives you is the chance to design your own course. But with these graphics, what's the point? Still, it's not a total loss. Since it's easier to play, it's inviting. After all, after playing Doom for hours, it's always fun to go back to Pac-Man.

For a while, at least. q)(q) Intrepid ES! XX p.n,..iu' You've BOt tO say this for Microsoft it does things right. Merely installing this game is a lot of fun, with a lot of entertaining distractions and instructions to help you bide your time. The game itself is realistic too realistic, right down to how much I curse after each shot, and that's the problem. Which is to say, I'm bad enough at real golf.

I'd like to be a little better at the computer version. The problem here lies with the swinging mechanism. It's fairly common you click on the mouse button to start your swing and hold it down until you have the amount of power you need, then release it (it's easier to do than explain). Then you click again to determine the accuracy, or "snap." The problem with Microsoft Golf is that, even on the amateur level, it all happens too quickly it takes what seems like forever to hit a satisfyingly good shot (talk about realistic). Torrey Pines, in San Diego, is the course provided with the basic pack Onion worm it" This game takes Microsoft Golf and refines it.

The is basically identical you click-hold-click- again to select power and snap. But it's easier to control, and the dashboardlike tool bar has a better layout, offering better choices in a more user-friendly format. The screen takes longer to redraw between shots, but the graphics are similar to Microsoft's; a grid is displayed on the greens to help your aim in this game, too. Links 3StCD also includes instant-replay options for each shot, as well as helicopter flybys of each hole; the video includes music and a voice-over that gives you hints on how to play the hole much like Microsoft flybys and pro tips, all in one place (though these movies are animations, not real-life footage). Banff Springs, a Canadian course, and Harbour Town, in South Caro lina, are provided with the basic package.

The commentary ranges from annoying to maddening, depend ing on the option you choose. When a smarmy-sounding guy says, "That's in the short stutt when you hit your ball in the fairway, it merely bugs you. But when comedian Bobcat Goldth- wait says, for the 10th time, "You're bad, man I mean, like, real bad you want to throw a brick at the screen. Still, this is the best of the lot we tested. 'Lyriq Picture Perfect Golf ($35) Graphics Birdie Sound Par Ease of play Bogey Realism Eagle By far the most unusual game we tested, Picture Per fect Golf can also be the most maddening.

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