Generally speaking, Links 2004 isn’t as easy to pick up and play as Tiger Woods 2004, and it starts with the controls. Links 2004 offers a much more comprehensive control scheme than Tiger Woods, even though there are the similar power meter and over-swing options. As in real life, choosing to over swing may score you a few extra yards, but you’ll pay for it in decreased accuracy, often slicing or hooking off the fairway. You can also use the right thumbstick to add spin, and there are several other precision (read: advanced) shots available if you want them. Most gamers, though, won’t really need them.

The gameplay options are also a bit more comprehensive than Tiger’s, but the depth and challenge of the career mode in Links 2004 is actually a good thing. In career mode, players complete objectives and tasks to advance in tournaments. As you progress, the courses and AI become predictably more challenging and keep you on your toes, whereas the early stages of the game will have you wondering "why on Earth would he take that shot?"

As the challenge increases, though, so do the rewards. In fact, if you’re good enough, you can "pull a Tiger" and rake in as much s $47 million in career mode, which you can then use to buy clubs, purchase clothes and add skills points that subsequently improve your golfer.

As in real-world golf, the best way to excel in Links 2004 is by wind analysis, club selection and hitting at the appropriate power level. Unlike real golf, though, once you have these key factors down pact, there’s little stopping you on your quest for victory. Consider it Microsoft’s arcade-inspired gift to the armchair golfer.

Where all this gameplay comes to a tee is on the courses, and the course design in Links 2004 is the best I’ve seen in a golf game. Everything is exactly where it should be, and the game’s eight courses are simply beautiful. From ocean-side fairways to lush desert settings, every iota is mapped to make you feel like you’re actually strolling the course rather than at the end of a controller looking in.

Still, where Links 2004 truly shines like a new Buick is in the Xbox Live play. As MC Hammer would say, Tiger Woods can’t touch this (I’m quoting Hammer? Please, reader, don’t hurt me). The Xbox Live play offers a whopping 10 modes, plus features that will make you sing with delight. Fast Play is my personal favorite, as it allows you to jump in and get serious with minimal hassle of match decisions. You can also have two people play online on the same TV using the mighty "guest" feature, an under-utilized option, in my opinion. For those without Xbox Live, you can still play a regular "versus" match and have a lot of fun doing so, it’s just not quite as much fun as taking to the course online.

Links 2004 is eye candy for the new generation of videogame golfers. Landscape textures are very well done and fit in perfectly with the almost photo-realistic backdrops. The character models are extremely detailed, and every minor aspect is fully animated and behaves as it should. Clothes animate as golfers’ bodies turn, wind blows through trees, waves roll on the seaside courses, birds fly, bears wander … it’s all here, and it’s done superbly. The matrix-style replay is an added touch as well, and for the first few times, it looks astounding. But after a while, they get repetitive and you’ll be pressing "A" to get past them.

Unfortunately, the sound is a mixed bag of excellent and terrible. The game features a huge library of music, which appropriately keeps things well-paced, and custom soundtracks are an option if your tastes differ from the developers’. The sound effects are also good, particularly the sound of the crowds, wind and birds.

But the commentary is terrible, and by that, I mean it’s almost unbearable. I actually had to turn it off at one point because it distracted far too much from the game. This is the one thing Tiger Woods really has on Links 2004. I hope that in the next installment of Links we see better commentary, because it’s desperately needed.

In the end, whether you pick up Links 2004 or Tiger Woods PGA Golf 2004 comes down to one thing: do you want online or offline play? If you’re looking for a good online golf game, it just doesn’t get better than Links 2004. For those not interested in playing online, Tiger Woods will be your game of choice. Microsoft really worked its butt off to make this the best online experience for the golf genre, and it shows.

See more screens on the Links 2004 media page