Ah, summertime–the season of active sports. Why, just yesterday I shot 18 holes of golf and pitched both ends of a doubleheader. Then I left my house. For those days when you’d rather stay inside to play, here’s a roundup of some of the most notable summer sports CD-ROM releases.
– “Tony LaRussa Baseball 4” (Maxis; IBM; $50) is the latest incarnation of the best-selling baseball simulation. The 1997 edition features every player on every major league this year, and it uses their stats from last year. The program shines in season-long re-creations of pennant races. Moreover, the graphics and animations just keep getting better. Rating: (star) (star) (star) 1/2 (out of four stars)
– “Triple Play 98” (Electronic Arts; IBM; $50) lacks some of the realism of LaRussa, but for arcade play it is a solid hit, thanks to the polygon 3-D animations. The game also has a bevy of nifty touches. For example, if a team is losing big, its stands will start to empty; and if a team is faring poorly in the season, games will be sparsely attended — unless, of course, it’s the Cubs. (star) (star) (star)
– “Davis Love III at Sea Island” (Access; IBM; $30) is an add-on disk to “Links LS,” the best golfing simulation on the market. The golf course, set on a verdant coastal island in Georgia, has been lovingly re-created here. But it’s a shame Access didn’t line up a more charismatic player for this title. Davis Love III is surely a fine golfer, but it’s hard to get excited over a multimedia interview with him–at least, not so long as a Tiger lurks in the woods. (star) (star) (star)
– “PGA Tour Pro” (Electronic Arts; IBM; $50), while a solid competitor, it doesn’t have the awe-inspiring graphics of the computerized courses in the “Links” series. However, it is the best golf simulation if you’re looking to compete against fellow humans over a network or the Internet. (star) (star) (star)
– “Formula 1” (Psygnosis; IBM; $55) is a re-creation of a full-season of world championship auto racing, and it features all 35 Formula 1 drivers and all 17 tracks. The game is the first of a new generation of computer games that raise the technological bar even higher: it requires a 3-D acceleration card to run. The resultant graphics are almost video quality. (star) (star) (star)
– “You Don’t Know Jack: Sports” (Berkeley Systems; IBM, Mac; $30) is simply the most clever and enjoyable sports trivia game you’ll find anywhere. Over 800 questions cover everything from hockey to water polo. (star) (star) (star) (star)
