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Links 2004
by Kyle Johnson
Monday, December 22 2003
Microsoft's golf series is competitive golf goodness.
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Title:
Links 2004
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Platform:
Xbox
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Publisher:
Microsoft Game Studios |
Developer:
Microsoft Game Studios |
#
of Players: 1 - 4 |
Genre:
Sports
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release:
December 2003 |
Grapevine:
The fact that Tiger Woods PGA Tour remains the top selling golf game comes to no surprise to me. Why? Because people have continued to stick with what works the best for them. |
When most gamers think about the great golf games, they mostly think of EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour series. You know you think about it too, admit it! So why is it that whenever a new golf game arises, we some how find ourselves over looking it and going back to the same series over and over again? Because generally, we stick with what has worked with us in the past, and we don’t bother to try anything new, even if it could potentially be better than what we’re used to. And, this is what has happened with the release of Links 2004 for the Xbox. Most gamers still go with Tiger Woods PGR Tour 2004, despite it being repetitive.
For the first time in a long time, at least that I can even remember, I have chosen a game that was different than what I’m used to, and different than what I like. I’ll be one of the first to admit, that I enjoy the Tiger Woods golf games, because they’re not that difficult, and anyone can pick up the controller and play. But this year, I went with Microsoft’s first golf game for the Xbox, Links 2004. Why? Well, for some unknown reason I felt compelled to go with something, different. Something that was more challenging and one that could possibly be more like going out to the local golf course and playing a round with some friends. And, so say the least, I’m glad I did. Links 2004 has brought me hours upon hours of fun golf.
Sure, in Links 2004 you might not be able to go out and play as the #1 player in the world, which for those who don’t follow golf at all, that would be Tiger Woods, but in Links, it’s a lot more than just being able to conquer your opponents, it’s about beating them so badly that they go running to the local putt-putt course and trying to beat the little kids….yet, still failing. Okay, so maybe that won’t happen, but I can dream….can’t I?
In the world of Links 2004, you can play through the career mode and build up your created player, and give him (or her) skill points in power, putting, control or recovery. Depending on what type of player you want to have. How fast you gain skill points determines on, well, your skill, as well as what difficulty setting you are playing it on. There are three different difficulty settings, which include beginner, intermediate, and advanced. When playing on beginner, you pretty much have everything handed to you on a silver platter, since the game will show you where on your power bar you should hit the ball. When playing in intermediate, you have the power bar, but the game doesn’t tell you where you should go for the best shot. It makes you think, and use the best process known to man, trial and error. Now, for those gutsy players who don’t want to have a power bar on their screen, there’s the advanced difficulty. It’s by far the hardest (duh!) setting, and it could quite possibly make you the best golfer, in Links 2004, of course.
Now, while you may be able to play a good round of golf no matter what difficulty setting you’re playing on, there is a couple aspects of the game that could cause you to finish your round above par, which is something no golfer wants to do (although, I’ll openly admit, I do every round I play…just not in Links). Microsoft took their time when creating Links 2004, and I thank them for that. They took their time and made sure Links 2004 was the most realistic golf game out on the market today, and I would say they did a very good job of doing so. They took their time and made sure the wind effects actually effected where the ball would go, not just make the wind meter move to make it look like there’s actually wind. When you hit your ball, you can instantly tell that the wind has taken affect, and will be taking your ball where you don’t want it to go, unless, of course, you compensated for the wind already, then it might take it where you wanted it to go.
The one aspect of golf that I’m sure most golfers wish they didn’t have to do is putt. Putting can be the most difficult part of your game, no matter who you are or where you’re playing. The way they green slopes and the location of the pin can be treacherous for golfers of any skill level. Microsoft knows this, and took this into major consideration when creating Links 2004’s putting surfaces. Putting, no matter what difficulty setting you’re playing on, can be a major pain in the ass depending on where you have the pin locations. In which case, you only have three options, which are easy locations, medium locations, and difficult locations. Now, I’m pretty confident that you can tell which means which, so I won’t go on and explain each. But for those of you, who don’t know, just think of which one (easy, medium, or difficult) you’d rather play on.
The beat feature in Links 2004 has to be the Xbox Live play. No other golf game, with the exception of Outlaw Golf 2 later this year, is Xbox Live enabled. Once you have your created character built up to your liking, you’ll probably want to jump onto Xbox Live and tackle other golfers to see who in fact is the #1 golfer in the world. In an Xbox Live match, you have the same game modes and same round setup that you do offline. The major downside to the Xbox Live match is that only four people can play at once. But one thing that Links 2004 supports on Xbox Live that not many other games do is the guest feature. And I must say, playing a round of golf with a friend on the same Xbox, while playing a friend on the other side of the country, is very fun.
One aspect of video games that many people look at, but it’s not necessarily the most vital aspect of the game, are the graphics. Many gamers look at games because of amazing graphics, and sometimes overlook the most important aspect of the game, which is the gameplay. Well, I’m here to tell you that Links 2004 offers kick ass gameplay, while giving the gamer a sense that they’re on the course themselves (except in the third person view of them). Since I’ve been comparing Links 2004 to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 this whole time, I might as well continue. Both games, graphically, are impressive. But the simple fact remains, that Microsoft doesn’t rush its sports games very often, which is the case with Links 2004. The development crew behind Links 2004’s graphics did an excellent job with the rough, fringe, greens, trees, character models, and the overall look of Links 2004. There aren’t very many sports games that are more graphically impressive than Links.
Links 2004 features some beautiful stage graphics... for a golf game.
But let’s face it; Links 2004 is no Halo 2 when it comes to graphics. Sure, different graphic engines, but I honestly think that the graphics for Links could have been pushed a little more than what they were. Okay, so right now you might be calling me a hypocrite. I said at first that the graphics were very impressive, and then say that they could have been better. The fact remains, for a sports game on the current consoles, Links’ graphics are very, very impressive, by far some of the best out there for a sports game. But when compared to non-sports games, it doesn’t look very great. If the graphics artists would have taken a little more time on the graphics, I’m pretty confidant that we’d be able to see the trees sway with the various wind conditions that are available, as well as the flat stick would be swaying with the wind as well. And let’s face it; your pants don’t stay in one position when you have 30mph winds going right at your face.
Whoever was in charge of the sound aspect of Links 2004 needs to be beat severely with the moron stick. No, the sound wasn’t bad. In fact, it was very well put together. So, why does he (or she) need to be beat severely with the moron stick? Because of the commentators that were put in the game. They’re annoying and obnoxious. They have to be some of the worst commentators I have listened to in any sports game that I have played. It came to the point, that after a while, I ended up going into the sound options and turning them off! I couldn’t stand listening to them for another second. I pray that for the next Links game (if in fact there is one), that these people do not become the commentators again.
Now, aside from the horrible commentary, the overall sound in Links isn’t half bad. In fact, it was very well planned out and executed in the game. The sound of your club smacking the ball is beautiful, as is the clapping of the crowd after a hole in one, or any good shot for that matter.
Overall, I love Links 2004. I’m very glad that I took the step away from what has worked well for me the past couple years, and tried something new. I’m pretty confidant that if more people were to do the same, then the overall quality of games would drastically increase in every genre. The fact that Tiger Woods PGA Tour remains the top selling golf game comes to no surprise to me. Why? Because people have continued to stick with what works the best for them. But with the way Links 2004 turned out, I’d be very surprised if both titles don’t start to share the title of best golf game.
If Microsoft continues to release sports games as well as Links 2004, there’d be no surprise if they started to make the better sports games, especially in the golf department. If you haven’t picked up Links 2004, or haven’t even tried it out, trust me, it is a game that you shouldn’t pass up. No matter what.
--- Kyle Johnson
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