Links 2004

"A great golf game on and offline."

Golf games seem to be amazingly popular and whilst many would claim the sport is not the most exciting or enthralling around it still makes for an enticing videogame. The market is certainly not short on golf games either and the great thing is many of them are high quality. Tiger Woods PGA Golf 2004 grabbed a lot of attention and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour takes a different spin on the genre but pulls it off with flair. The other major player is of course Links which has established itself as one of the best and is certainly the biggest golf game in the world based on sales.

Links 2004 brings the classic PC golf game to Xbox and in some real style. Everything has been completely reworked for the console version and in many ways it beats out the competition through the sheer number of features it has. In golf games once you get the control system correct and chuck in plenty of good courses you have basically done all you can do and this was first achieved ten years ago on systems we consider these days to be retro. Since those ‘glory days’ not much has changed and the most major innovation seems to be the analogue swing control which is now executed by pulling the control stick back to begin the swing and then forward to hit the ball. Other than that the differentiation comes through visuals, commentary, licensed courses, licensed players and of course - extra features.

Once you get into the core gameplay and control system it feels very different from the PC version. The control system has been simplified to make it easy for new players to grasp and this is in line with the games main competition, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. The level of simplification depends greatly on which difficulty level you choose – beginner, intermediate or advanced. As you up the challenge the game takes away many of the visual aids forcing players to up their skill level. If you are looking for the total hardcore precision swing style of previous Links titles then stick to the PC version but the Xbox version is certainly more accessible than its PC counterpart.

As with most sports titles on Xbox the game is decided into two main parts – online and offline. Career mode is the focus of the offline realm and the there is an extensive list of challenges their for players who are ready to chase glory. Players will go head to head against computer opponents in various match-play, stroke-play and tournament competitions. Players have the chance to create their own custom character that can be based on themselves or can be an all new alter-ego. Unfortunately the create-a-character is a little thin on options and it may be hard to find various hair or face styles.

The cover athlete for Links 2004 is Sergio Garcia and while he doesn’t come close to the status of Tiger Woods it’s nice to have a fresh face featuring on the golf title. As well as a handful of PGA players included Links features nine official courses from around the globe, here’s a full list for you golf-heads:

-Four Seasons Resort Aviara
-Greywolf
-Mauna Lani Resort
-Superstition Mountain
-New South Wales
-Oakmont CC
-Loch Lomond
-St. Andrews
-Ocean Mill

Links 2004 is the one and only golf game that is playable online for Xbox. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 does have an online mode but you can only play it if you have the PS2 version and even then it’s still not officially available in New Zealand until March 2004. Regardless Links 2004 doesn’t take the fact that it’s the only online golf game for granted piling on plenty of modes and options through the XSNSports.com. Players can access world rankings, enter official tournaments, create their own leagues and even go online with a friend from the same Xbox. The seamless integration between Xbox Live!, Links 2004 and XSNSports.com make it easy to navigate around.

As a rule golf games always look good. It’s fairly easy to replicate courses into a 3D virtual world and the only real challenge these days is creating authentic swing animations since pretty much nothing else will move during the game. Links 2004 does what it supposed to do and delivers everything we’ve seen before in a golf game and adds in a few flashy details here and there. If you hit a drive nice and sweet the game will give you a nice instant replay in slow-motion Matrix style. Touches like that only remind players of the simplicity of the game and it’s target market as it heads away from the hardcore simulation style of its PC roots.

Links 2004 is a great golf game. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is also a great golf game. You could argue for days which one is better but in the end it comes down to personal preference. The online modes of Links 2004 are brilliant but offline it’s not quite what Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is. The style of play is very similar to Tiger Woods yet Links 2004 for Xbox is completely different to the PC game bearing the same name. The title has done what it set out to do and it certainly is a great platform to work off and gamers should look forward to the next battle of titans with the 2005 versions of Tiger Woods and Links hit shelves. Until then you can’t go wrong with Links 2004 as a great, accessible golf simulation.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/07/04