This could be golfing's biggest comeback since Tiger Woods returned after, ahem, crashing his car. After all, Nintendo's biggest star hasn't been seen on the green since Advance Tour was released nearly a decade ago. Thanks to his other recreational habits (football, tennis, rescue missions), it doesn't seem that long, but it is a welcome return and with EA and the Big Cat Known To His Mother As Eldrick going their separate ways, if you want to play a golf game in the near future you'll have to do so with a cartoon plumber.
Or do you? The strange thing about Mario Golf: World Tour is that your first game probably won't be as the man himself. It will be as your Mii as you hone your skills in the Castle Club. The princess is in this one, however. As is Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Diddy Kong. She wants you to earn a handicap out on the Forest Course before visiting a second time to win a tournament and earn the right to face the current plumber champion.
Yet you won't see these players outside of the Royal Room - it's just your Mii out on a normal course, attempting to get the birdies that will win you the tournaments. Although you're trying to beat Mario's score, you never see him practise his swing in this club, which, although a little odd, comes as a relief once you've been forced to watch Wario shank every shot into bunkers on his way to a double bogey in a game against the AI outside the comfort of the Club.
There are some amusing moments to be enjoyed in the Club itself. Being told by Birdo that you're in the wrong changing room, for example, (solving the riddle of his/her gender) or hearing a Hammer Bro and a Shy Guy sharing their golfing wisdom. Step out on the course, though, and it's down to business. In fact, if someone on the bus glanced over your shoulder while you were out on the Forest Course, they wouldn't know that you were even playing a Mario game.
As you're playing as your Mii, the only signs that you're in the Mushroom Kingdom are the hills in the distance. Same goes for the Seaside Course with its small, star-shaped patches of grass in the middle of the bunkers. Only the Mountain Course, with its giant colourful cacti dotting the fairway, looks like something you definitely wouldn't see on the PGA Tour.
Still, the plumber's best sports games are the ones that take themselves more seriously. The ridiculous sight of unstoppable power shots that count for two goals in Mario Strikers, or a player getting a shock from Wario's Thunder Cast in Mario Power Tennis puts sports fans off playing. That said, it might have been nice if there was a little more Mushroom Kingdom-y detail on these courses. Toads in temporary stands cheering you on the 18th hole, perhaps. Or Shy Guys shouting "Light the candle!" as you tee off. Or Pianta people serving drinks. Actually, scrap that last idea. Never Pianta people.
You have to bring your own little piece of the Mushroom Kingdom to the course by dressing up. In one break from tradition, you can wear all sorts of outfits that are patently unsuitable for the golf course. A dolphin mask, a creepy Birdo costume, shorts... there's so much to unlock and even if you fail to beat, say, Sky Island's one-on- one-putt challenge, you'll still earn coins and unlock more gear. And you will fail. Many times.
Mario Golf: World Tour can be challenging - desk-thumpingly so. But it's at least pretty easy to get the hang of. Although there's an option to use the touchscreen to apply spin, most players will use the same golf meter they've always used. You know the one: press A to start your swing, then again at the top of the stroke and once more when the pointer goes back to the beginning. You can add top and backspin at the end of your shot and hook or slice by hitting the ball early or late. In terms of your swing, it has everything you want from a golf game. Putting, when you start getting it right, is particularly satisfying, even if there are (very rare) occasions when the meter doesn't quite give you the freedom or guidance you want it to on longer efforts.
After getting used to driving and putting on the Forest Course you'll likely win the opening tournament on your first attempt. The Seaside Course is more difficult but, if you've played any of Mario's golf games before, you should beat it fairly easily. The Mountain Course with its six under par target will cause you problems for a couple of rounds, but sinking that last birdie to get your score is so gratifying you'll be instantly up for the next challenge. Instead, the credits roll.
The tournaments are captivating while they last, but to finish the single-player campaign after only three rounds is rather deflating, especially considering you need to win 16 races to finish Mario Kart's equivalent. Okay, Camelot would understandably point out that each golf course has 18 holes, but even so, it does seem stingy.
The credits are a bit of a false ending, though, because not only is there all that juicy clobber to unlock, but you'll also open up the Sky Island, which sees you shooting shots between floating islands, attempting to get a birdie on every hole. It is very tricky and family members will probably roll their eyes at you when you're fist-pumping in the kitchen after finally sinking that last ball at the ninth. Then you'll be told to do the same again, only over 18 holes this time. No chance!
As much as it would be nice to have more tournaments, there is enough entertainment for the single player when you take into account the 100 challenges you need to complete in order to unlock the extra six Mario World courses where the Mario madness really ramps up (and which, in turn, join and bolster Castle Club). Challenges include hitting balls through clusters of coins, driving it through gold rings and the obligatory smashing of the ball into the giant gold coin.
Occasionally, you'll need power-ups. For example, to make a really long straight drive, you'll have to hit your ball into a Bullet Bill icon before sending it soaring over the fairway. There are also Bob-ombs that send your ball shooting high into the sky, while Ice Flowers freeze the water hazards. The 10 challenges included for each course include tense matchplay contests against the AI-controlled likes of Waluigi, Wario and Bowser, while there's also a fiendish shot challenge where you must score five under par in nine holes. It's not all daft, then.
The Mario World courses get more ridiculous as you unlock them, even if, thankfully, the golfing principles remain the same. There are no shot bonuses for hitting the heart-shaped speed boosts that dot Peach's gardens, or those oh-so-tempting bouncy cushions on Yoshi Lake.
Think that sounds silly? Wait till you get to the ludicrous Cheep Cheep Lagoon, where Mario and Luigi are playing underwater without breathing apparatus. In between you've got the beautiful Wiggler Park which, with its flowers and foliage overhanging the fairways, is as picturesque as the Augusta National, home of the Masters. Mario Golf: World Tour looks every bit as good as Mario Tennis Open, its dynamic camera angles really giving you a perfect view of your ball gliding into the hole with a pleasingly realistic rattle. Every thwack of the ball, thwomp of a landing and splash of water is wonderfully captured and the music is most agreeable.
Hopefully, World Tour will be appreciated by a wide audience, as one of its big draws is its online mode. Thanks to its Community Matches you can compete with other players from around the world as well as your online friends. You can also upload your scores in Tournaments. Sadly, these modes weren't live at the time of review but given the quality of the online modes in Mario Tennis Open and Mario Kart, we have no reason to doubt that World Tour will work online. However, the success of any online game is determined by the strength of its community and given that Nintendo hasn't released a Mario Golf game for nearly 10 years, it is only right to question the popularity of the series.
The wealth of challenges ensures that Mario Golf: World Tour is more fulfilling for the single player than Mario Tennis Open. Just as Tiger Woods couldn't quite manage a major on his big comeback, however, the plumber's new sports game just falls short of gold thanks, in part, to a lack of tournaments in Castle Club.
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