Links 2004 - Best-selling golf franchise

Xbox Awards: Links® 2004

• Editor's Choice, Perfect Score (5 out of 5), GamePro, December 2003
• Editor's Choice Award, Official Xbox Magazine, December 2003
• Review Score: A, PLAY magazine, November 2003
• Best Golf Game of the Year, Runner-up, PLAY magazine,February 2004
• Best Sports Game of E3 2003, TeamXbox, May 2003

Description

Links, the best-selling golf franchise for the personal computer, has been rebuilt — from the ground up — exclusively for the Xbox video game system.

Links® 2004 delivers one of the most realistic and competitive golf experiences for Xbox. Golf fans worldwide can compete online in friendly matches with old golfing buddies or compete in tournaments against the best golfers in the world via Xbox Live.

Links 2004 also features top championship courses and top professionals, including cover athlete Sergio Garcia.

• Take your golf swing online, using Xbox Live. Enter one of the most comprehensive online golf arenas ever created. Compete against the best players from all over the globe, track your stats, or simply play a social round of golf with friends—all from the comfort of your living room.
• Feel like real pros, as you compete in tournaments broadcasted in a remarkably realistic TV-style presentation.
• Work your way up the professional ladder online or in the challenging Tour Mode. See who really is the best in the world. Crowded galleries of fans will cheer you on, as you compete for tournament purses and tour recognition.
• Links 2004 features some of the most luxurious and challenging golf courses in the world, including Greywolf (Canada), New South Wales (Australia), and the Four Seasons Resort Aviara (California).
• Hit the sweet spot for a 300-yard drive, and roll in a 20-foot putt for a birdie—all while enjoying the dew-covered fairways and crosscut greens. Links 2004 is the ultimate golf experience. The top courses from around the world come to life with animated water, ocean surf, 3-D trees, divots, galleries of golf fans that react to your shots, and golf course wildlife, such as birds, ducks, squirrels, and gophers. The lifelike courses feature sun-cast shadows that change, depending on the time of day; birds that are spooked when a ball hits a tree; and ducks that will scatter when a ball hits the drink.
• The Real-Time Swing feature gives you complete control over every shot. Advanced players have the opportunity to draw, fade, punch, chip, or flop to win a hole. The left thumbstick acts as the club, with ball physics factoring in speed, tempo, direction, and course conditions in real time.
• Play as a golf superstar, such as Sergio Garcia, to perfect your game. Or, create a character with unique physical characteristics, skills, apparel, and personality. Be aggressive and take risks, or be conservative and lay up. Links 2004 has a personality to suit every type, and each character's celebrations and audio commentary will match their personality.

You Da Man

Links® is the best-selling golf franchise for a reason. It is the most realistic golf game ever made. And now it has been rebuilt exclusively for the Xbox and XSN Sports. The result is the ultimate golf experience.

The Real-Time Swing feature gives you control over every type of shot. You use the left analog stick to take the club back and swing through with consideration to speed and tempo, deciding how well you hit the ball. It’s simple, intuitive, and incredibly flexible, allowing you to do things on the virtual course that most of us just can’t do without the help of Xbox. Take your swing through the eight beautifully rendered courses from around the world (plus one fantasy course) and notice the dew-covered fairways, 3-D trees, realistic divots, sun-cast shadows, scattering birds, and galleries that actually react to your shot (including ducking for cover).

Work your way up the professional ladder online or in the Tour mode. You can choose to play as a golf superstar, such as Sergio Garcia, to perfect your game. Or, create a character and build him (or her) up to go online. Play like Tin Cup or lay up like your dad; Links 2004 has a virtual personality for every type, and the animations, celebrations, and audio will match the way you play. As you play through the Tour mode, you go through a realistic pro golf progression, earn money, and be treated to the most dramatic TV-style presentation ever in a golf game. Ken Venturi and a host of reporters bring you in-depth analysis and will cut away to a great shot that happened somewhere else on the course while you were playing. It brings a new level of immersion to the game.