Sound:  
Depending on your age, you'll either like or hate the sound. The music seems rather bright for my tastes, but the ability to make noises while other people are preparing for their shot is a stroke of genius. Each character has four different noises they can make, and if they're human, those noises would be different phrases. So, if a friend of yours shoots one into the bunker, you can sarcastically tell them, "Nice Shot," through the game (Warning: If playing with the wrong people, this cool feature can become rather annoying when they make their character chatter EVERY second). The golf balls sound like golf balls, and swings sound like swings.

Control:  
These are among the best controls I've ever experienced in a golf game.There is the traditional bar meter which is started and stopped by pressing A, and players have complete control over the point of impact on the ball, shot strength, club selection, and even a zoom feature that takes you to the landing grid and back.

Gameplay:
At the base of Mario Golf, there is the tournament mode, "Get Character" mode, min-golf, speed golf, stroke play, ring shot, and a training mode. When you first plug the game in, you will find that there is only one 18 hole course and four characters available. For each successfully completed tournament (as well as the other modes), you'll get rewarded course points. The better you finish, the more course points you get. Once you get 50 course points, you can open up a new course, and so forth for the other courses. In the "Get Character" mode, you play against a computer opponent one on one, and if you beat that in a 18 hole game, you get to use that character from that point on. Believe me, you'll have to play through a lot of 18 hole courses in order to unlock everything. Fortunately, you can save your game during the middle of a round, so you don't have to play through 18 holdes all in one sitting. Each of the different golfers, some of which are from Hot Shots golf, and others from the Mario Universe, have different attributes. As you could probably guess, Donkey Kong can drive further than Peach, but consequently Peach's shot is much straighter. Also, some characters naturally have a higher trajectory on their shot than others.


While golfing, rain creates slower greens, and wind does effect and change the direction of shots slightly. Basically, the physics in the game closely match real life.


Finally, when you do well on a hole, the game will create and save an instant replay of your shots on that hole, and you can view it at any time. So, now you can prove to your friends when you get a hole in one.

OVERALL:
Certainly an enjoyable golf game. I would have liked to see more detail in the courses, and slightly more forgiving putting, but all in all I'm pleased. I'm glad to report that both young and old gamers will most likely find stuff to appreciate in this game. I realized I was hooked on (golf pun intended) this game when I was planning on playing nine holes before going to bed, only to wind up playing 54 holes before shutting the game off. There's just so mcuh to do, you'll always feel like you're progressing towards something more.

 

The Lowdown on  Mario Golf Aesthetics: Very Good Control: Awesome Gameplay: Awesome Multiplayer: Very Good Sound: Very Good Innovation: 6/6 Lasting Appeal: 6/6 Overall: Awesome! "Top of the Genre"