Links 2004

"Great Golf Game. Period. End Of Story."

Let me start off by saying, Great job to the makers. This was a game that a found myself playing for hours. The realism is second to none and the controls were easy to follow.

Graphics: 10/10
This game had a very realistic feel because of the great design of the courses as well as the golfers. It felt like you were in the game.

Sound: 8/10
The music can be very hard to listen to, but thanks to the XBox's Hard Drive, you can import your own music! So everything works out. There's nothing better than listening to your favorite bands while playing against Sergio Garcia. The sound effects were also very well done.

Career: 9/10
The only problem that I had was that the game was relatively short. It only took me 5 days to beat it. It was a great season nonetheless. If you have friends to play against, this game won't get boring quick.

Gameplay: 10/10
Incredible gameplay, from the wind at St. Andrews to the Hardened Lava in Mauna Lani, this game showcases almost everything that could hamper a real golfers game. (Just don't go too overboard if you happen to hit it out of bounds or into the trees)

Characters: 7/10
The biggest problem in the game is that it's lacking the Characters to make it great. When the top stars are Sergio Garcia, Mike Weir and Vijay Singh, it's obvious that it could have been improved. It was great even without Tiger Woods.

Create A Golfer: 8/10
Although you can customize the equiptment, there isn't much to change about the actual look. All you can do is take a base model of a previous character and edit the clothing. It's a bit of a problem when you only have half a dozen characters in the game that you can look like. For the African American Fan, you pretty much have to look like Vijay Singh, but maybe that's your style.

Overall: 9/10
Great game with very few problems. This game could have gotten a 10 if it had more characters. Better music wouldn't hurt either. But the amazing graphics, gameplay and various playmodes will be more than enough to keep the average gamer happy. Whether it's playing a skins match at St. Andrews or playing a stroke play at the fictional Ocean Mills, this game won't get boring quick and I recommend it to any golf or video game fan. It will have you wishing you were out there doing it for real.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/23/04