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When we reviewed Leaderboard alongside Golf Construction Set way back in June, we awarded the Ariolasoft game a better mark since, although the Access game had neat animation, the courses were so bland. Well, Leaderboard went on to be the best selling game of 1986 and Golf Construction Set was some 98 places lower. We still say we were right, and it seems we had a point.

Our criticism of Leaderboard was that it played beautifully but that it lacked any kind of variation in the courses and a complete lack of the kind of things which make up any course. Things like trees, bunkers, 'rough' and sometimes water. Access must have taken the criticism seriously because that's exactly what Leaderboard Executive Edition contains.

This time there are only two courses but much more variation in landscape with an American links course set, by the looks of it, near San Francisco (there is something resembling the Golden Gate in the background). There are also mountains and thankfully trees. It's all very pretty but naturally it makes the game a lot harder.

The bunkers, for example, are huge, and the wrong choice of club will result in you bulldozing through sand with a pitching wedge. Another major hazard is the water. It seems that large parts of the course are islands! Choose the wrong club and you run the risk of ending up in the drink. The ball will drop into the water with a neat plop and an accompanying splash. Should this befall you a new ball is placed at your feet and you can have a hack. Quite how the golfer gets to all these islands I don't know; perhaps his motorised caddy has an outboard engine. One problem with the program here was that on one hole I ended up on what looked like a sandback in the middle of the sea. No matter which club I selected, the result was the same. Plop! I had to abort the game.

The trees can have an equally frustrating effect on the game. I completely blew one hole by landing in front of a group of them and then hacking the ball into their trunks and branches for about five minutes. Sevvy never has that problem.

After these additions just about everything else in this, the yuppie version, is the same as the original. Your golfer is still easily controlled from the stick. Select club and position the direction of the shot and then hit the fire button to allocate power and snap to the shot. This is the crux of Leaderboard. Control is easy on the novice level, but in the amateur and pro stakes completely unfair things like wind and slice can affect your shot dramatically! Whilst playing the amateur level I developed the golfer's nightmare, a seemingly inexplicable hook that bent the ball out of sight every time I drove. It's a good job you can't chuck your club at the caddy.

The graphics, of course, are beautifully drawn with a large sprite for the golfer and startling good animation. It really is a joy to watch him thwack the ball into the distance. The screen delay in drawing each new position is minimal and doesn't detract from it all. Sound is sparse but effects are good, particularly the swish of the club and the thwack when you clout a tree. The trees do look pretty Autumnal with their yellow leaves. A pity there are no seasonal variations - snow drifts maybe.

The crucial question about Leaderboard Executive Edition is do you want to buy it? If you haven't got it already then you have my unreserved recommendation. Find out just what made it the top game of last year. Those of you that do possess it, I'm not sure you'll want to shell out another tenner on what you should have got in the first place. Proper courses. The choice is yours but this has affected my value mark.