An overall description of the changes could be summed-up by saying that this particular sequel is a very much more polished version of its predecessor. Tournament option is the main one-player mode, where the player competes in an eighteen-hole competition course where the object is to win and unlock the next course in the tour. Other one-player modes include ring and coin challenges, in which normal play is combined with either collecting money from hitting the ball near to a particular reward, or passing the ball through rings dotted about the holes. There are also side challenges to test driving, approach shot and putting skills.

Most people hopefully already know most of the basics of how to play Golf. However, there is no Golf quite like Mario Golf and, whilst many of the features are far from realistic, in their own way they make the game just a lot more fun to play. Each character has both a normal and a "star" version of themselves that can hit the ball further but at some sacrifice to their statistics. These are earned through beating the regular character in challenge mode over eighteen holes.

There is also a limited number of power shots available per round, but if the ball is perfectly struck, then this number is not decreased. Not only does this allow a player to land closer to the pin, it may also allow certain parts of certain holes to become accessible for greater scores. Occasionally there are a few pipes dotted about the holes that will warp the ball to the corresponding exit somewhere else on the course, and there are the ubiquitous Mario-like hazards such as Bob-ombs, Thwomps and Boos to contend with from time to time.

The controls are actually pretty simple, but allow quite a wide range of variance and precision to each shot. Making a shot follows the tried-and-loved power bar and accuracy gauge first introduced with Leaderboard on the C64. There are two choices for the Gamecube version of Mario Golf, in that the player can either let the game randomly decide on the accuracy (it will never miss-hit) or they can manually stop it themselves. The trajectory of the ball can be manually altered to avoid objects on the course either through hitting the ball on a particular side, or by deliberately hooking or slicing on the accuracy gauge wherein, upon landing, topspin or backspin can be applied.

The C stick handles the camera and trajectory judgement on the ball, which does not take into consideration the wind, which can be quite blustery. Apart from this, everything else is handled off the control stick and A and B buttons. It isn't at all in the realm of realism provided by Tiger Woods Golf for example, but on the other hand there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it either. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Everything provided in the game allows both new and veteran players to find their own level and to improve as time goes by, and there is never the feeling of constraint or impossibility about shot making.

Graphically the game is smart-looking without being flashy or over-the-top, and certainly won't trouble the likes of F-Zero GX or Zelda in the appearance stakes. Each character is sufficiently polygon-infused to be fluid and smooth moving - with simple colours and textures - applied as per the usual way, and maintaining the Mario-style 'look'. There is something refreshing and fun about the way this appears as opposed to the ultra-realistic approach that many games tend to follow today. Everything does its job within the game; nothing more nothing less. It is impressive due to the fact that it doesn't set its stall out to be impressive.

The courses have a lot more detail this time around though: many more undulations, features, types of terrain and so forth. Many of the background objects are also highly thought-through, including a pirate ship, castles, King Bom-omb and even trying to land the ball upon Bowser's hover vehicle from Super Mario World.

Sound wise, the game is a bit of a mixed bag. Many of the tunes sound like they have been ported over from the N64 version, but just improved upon quality wise. Which is no bad thing, but it would have been nice to hear all-new compositions for the game. The original tunes that are present are actually rather good, with the theme music for Bowser's course especially noteworthy. Sound effects are, to the reviewer's ears at least, highly accurate and about the closest thing to realism that the game gets. The sound of the club through the air, the hit on the ball and when it finally plops into the hole do, for once, almost make it believable that real golf is being played. A couple of the voices (notably Toad and Peach) sound annoying, but for the most part they are humourous and funny. Given some of the outbursts and exclamations that the characters make, especially during "taunt" mode in multiplayer, it appears that the voice artists in question must have had a lot of fun doing their recordings.

Anyone who has played the N64 version will have a headstart over any new players - that fact is certain. But it doesn't take all that long to pick up and play. In fact, as long as the person in question has some co-ordination, they can play Mario Golf - that is where a lot of the appeal comes from. For players who want to master the game, the time spent learning the intricacies is part and parcel of realising how the game engine performs, and gaining the experience and skill to pull off the right shots at the right time. Hidden depth is where this game is at: easy to learn and difficult to master completely.

Do Nintendo deliberately ask their third party partners to make their games harder, whilst making some of their own easier? Certainly some of the challenges and (as mentioned) the latter two courses are not easy, not for the faint hearted and with some of the wind settings that occur, not for the easily frustrated. This is not a bad thing, far from it; it actually makes thinking about shots a pleasant yet competitive aspect. The challenge of getting the ball round some of the holes will test skill and judgement, making Mario Golf as much of a cerebral entertainment package as it is different to all the serious golf games on the market.

So where does this leave Mario Golf in the league of things? It is everything that the N64 version was and a whole lot more on top. It is the definition of fun, assuming of course that playing Golf is something that a person may consider fun in the beginning. With such a wide range of playing options to choose, it will take a long time before they are all exhausted, and there are separate records kept for each character within the game. Even better is the fact that shots are recorded and can be replayed to annoy anyone else who happens to be in the room at the same time.

The single player options are good and comprise what will build up a player's skill, but to get the whole gist and point of the game you have to compete in the multiplayer modes. There is nothing quite like having a group of friends around, all buzzing about the screen trying to avoid whacking the ball into the bunker and using the ingame speech modes to annoy merry hell out of each other. Who needs online gameplay when people clustered together can have just as much fun?

Mario Golf, then. It isn't Tiger Woods, and it isn't wholly realistic, but it's a damn fine game all by itself.