Mario Golf is an excellent golf game for the Nintendo 64 brought to you by the same folks who made the Playstation golf game, Hot Shots. Mario Golf, while having numerous similarities with Hot Shots, including many identical characters, will be a completely new experience for any Nintendo 64 fan. I, before this, never have liked golf, nor any video games based on golf, but I must say, this game proved me wrong.

Graphics (8)-The graphics are done in the typical Mario style. Vibrant colors, smooth textures and just an overall nice looking environment combine to make a pleasing gaming experience. Rarely is there a framerate drop and never any pop-up. I do have a few complaints, however. One is the inundation of 2-Dimensial objects. Pretty much everything but the characters and the courses are 2-D. While this isn’t a big problem, it just might have been nice to see some 3-D trees or something. Another annoying thing is that while most of the characters seem fairly round, Bowser just looks horribly demented. His arms seem out of place and doesn’t even come close to what he looked like in Super Mario 64.

Sound (9)-Typical Mario music fills the game, and even the classic Mario theme can be heard on one of the courses giving the game a very nice feel. All the characters also have their own voices with many different sayings. The sound FX are also impressive from the smack of a golf ball, to the birds in the distance.

Play Control (9)-The controls are about as simple as you’re going to find in any golf game, which is by no means easy to pick up and play. The controls require several hours of getting accustomed too, in order to get a feel for the game. Thankfully though, the button layout seems to be perfect for Mario golf. While there is a steep learning curve, once you get used to them, its incredibly easy to play.

Fun Factor (10)-Like I mentioned earlier, I never have cared for Golf Games, that is until I found Mario Golf. The one-player mode offers many different modes of play, none of which are very tiresome. Then there’s the multi-player-player mode, while might seem odd in a golf game, is really quite fun and can get pretty intense. Definitely a great party game.

Replay Value (9)-The game’s “Get Character” Mode is just one of the many modes offering a ton of replay value. You initially start the game with just a few characters, but through this mode, you play a computer version of a particular character and if you beat him, you get to play as him. The multi-player also never seems to get old, with it’s 18 hole game, or mini-golf. It’s great fun.

Overall 8.5/10