Not that I'm nocking the game for not being about Mario, but, he could have been left off completely and it would have still been a good game. Wandering around Target one day I happened upon a display for the game. I played some of the quick games that let you use the famous Nintendo characters - and figured, hey - mario, golf, sure thing. I get it home however and discover that it's a much deeper game than I thought. It's essentially a golf rpg that really draws you in to discovering the gameplay elements and how to control your golf game. The game overall is really worth playing, the course layouts are inventive and challenging and become even more as you progress through the game: Such as adding higher wind speeds, and new course obstacles that can affect how your next shot is handled. The most dissapointing factor of the game is the AI which I've found to be sporatically elastic. If you are doing poorly, the AI will dumb down it's game - likewise if you are doing spectacularly the AI can pull off Eagles on Par 5 holes. Othertimes however it works just the opposite, like it can't decide what it wants to do. I've played a terrible game and every other hole the AI pulled off a hole in one. Other times I'll have been doing so well that the AI takes 8 shots to reach the pin. This became especially obvious when I was competing against one of the best players the club had to offer. I started my round off with an Eagle and after that, the AI just refused to make anything Par or below. Another complaint about the AI comes up during doubles play. The story of sorts revolves around you and your partner attending this golf training club, and in some areas, you can select to play with your partner. How this works is that you just shoot the one ball: your character will take a shot, and then your partner (the AI) will take a shot where your previous shot landed. This becomes frustrating at later levels when you are competing against tough players. Mostly because your partner's AI responds in the same way as the competition's AI. Sometimes great, othertimes not. I've made opening shots that put the ball right on the fairway, easily one shot away from the green, and my partner would barely hit the ball at all where if it were me, I could have simply put the ball right beside the hole. The only good point I noticed about your partner's AI is the ability to hit difficult putt shots on sloped greens, or when the ball is far from the hole, but still on the green. Of course the putting system is very forgiving which is totally fine. It's hard to get that right on many of the golf games out there, and I'd rather have an easy time putting, than have to deal with frustration from putting the ball several times just barely missing the hole. All this isn't to say that the game is bad, quite the contrary, the game offers a challenging gameplay (even sometimes when the AI clearly cheats!) and wonderful graphics. I just think that some more work could go into the AI to make the game more fair - for both me and the AI. It takes a while to get used to and timing the control methods, but once you do, they are easy to master. Plus the game includes sets of clubs to unlock with different abilities that will improve your gameplay. Also, after facing off against opponents, you will earn points that you can use to boost yours or your partners stats - which is where the rpg element comes in. Also included is several golf inspired mini-games that help you improve your golf skills and give you points to increase stats. The instructors to some of these games will give you tips on how to hit difficult shots, and how to hit your ball to get the desired effect. The last thing I want to mention is sort of a double edge sword in the game and that is the save feature. You can save anywhere you want which does come in handy, especially if you have a good round going and are low on battery power or the like. The problem comes when lets say you've made your shot toward the hole and it lands behind a tree - this is going to ruin your hole for sure. The game actually lets you save and when you reload the game, you start off on the beginning of the same hole as if you had never made that lousy shot. This really just presents you with an opportunity to cheat as much as you want without consequence. Sure it's great to be able to take the shot over if you've landed in a water hazard (2 stroke penalty) but overall it takes away from the difficulty of the game. Those patient enough could save/restart through every single hole not having to worry if the shot comes off alright. And this works against the dilligent too who for some reason have to save and restart later. You could be in the middle of a hole, just having made a great shot, then have to save the game for later. When you get back, your great shot is gone. But this is really just a minor thing here because it really doesn't take long to finish off a hole - but I don't know, maybe an alien attack draws you away from your game - whatever, you get what I'm trying to say here. It really seems like I've bashed this game more than anything, and I really don't want to sound off like that. The game really is pretty great and immersive, especially with the graphics and inventive course design. The game just suffers from some minor flaws that will upset those of us obsessed enough with golf games to care. But for everyone else, it you'll enjoy it thouroughly and will barely even notice many of the things I've mentioned.
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