We may not play real golf much, but here at OXM we love a virtual four-player face-off for skins. There's something soothing about cracking a hard ping pong ball over 300 yards surrounded by lush green countryside and placid lakes. But when things don't go to plan and we end up in the sand, you'd think we were playing Halo from the language spewing out of the games room. Golf is a video game best played with friends or, better still, played online. And this is the advantage Links 2004 has over the other golf game, Tiger Woods. He might be Tiger Woods but he's not online and that's the big difference between these two rivals.

Straight from the first tee you'll notice how much more solid the environments look compared to Tiger Woods 2004. Microsoft has taken full advantage of the horsepower to create some luscious scenes. There's no pop-up or long loading times, just great views and well-designed courses packed with enough atmospheric ambiance to calm the shattered nerves of a political leader on retreat. The in-game commentary provides a more serious overview of the action than Woods' comedy approach.

All the usual modes you'd expect from a golf game are here, plus a wide variety of mini-challenges that help boost your ranking when going through the deep career mode. They make a nice little break from gruelling 18-hole, two-round marathon sessions. Challenges include a wide variety of mini-games played on various courses in some pretty testing weather conditions. You'll feel compelled to take them all on for the benefit of your player. You can win hard cash that goes towards buying extra stat points and they'll all count online.

If you're familiar with the control system of Tiger Woods then you'll be right at home here as Links' is exactly the same. The Left thumbstick controls the swing of the club, the triggers flick through your selected clubs and the D-pad moves your aiming cursor. You can also zoom across the course to make sure there aren't any trees, bunkers, lakes and more trees in your way. The only obvious difference is the lack of a comedy power shot with Top of the Pops presentation. You can whack the ball extra hard though by pulling back on the Left stick for longer until the pad rumbles at you. Judging where the ball will land can take a while to figure out though. Putting is pretty simple thanks to the game showing you the line up to a certain distance. Clicking the Right thumbstick brings up a handy grid of the green showing any sneaky slopes that lie between your ball and the hole.

Links 2004 is right up there with Tiger Woods 2004. There's no super-deep player creation tool but the addition of Xbox Live playability and downloadable content makes this a worthy addition to anyone's trophy cabinet of games.

1. Excellent eye candy
2. Captivating career mode and top challenges
3. Great presentation

1. Lacks humour
2. Not challenging enough offline

Power
Amazing. The courses look good enough to eat. You won't find a better-looking golf game on Xbox.

Style
Simple to navigate through the many menus. You'll be swinging with the best of them in no time.

Immersion
Not the deepest playing experience but easy enough for everyone to pick up and play.

Lifespan
Full online play and recorded stats through XSN Sports will see you trying to better yourself for ages.

Verdict Golf has never looked so good or played so intuitively. You'll be hooked from the minute you strike your fist tee shot.