Lets Look at the Control System

But let's put aside what I think for the moment (otherwise I'd stop the review right here with a link to E-Bay for a Gameboy) and head straight out onto the links. We've got five golf courses to travel through (one of which needs to be unlocked on a visit to the N-Gage Arena – making sure you at least initially explore the online options in the game – we'll come back to the Arena shortly). Three of the courses are based on real life courses (Bay Hill, St Andrews and Scottsdale) and the other two are “made up by the programmers” Fantasy courses.

So here we are, having chosen to Practice a Course. We've got our chosen Golfer in the classic stance in the middle of the screen. Looking around for a tiny flag, is (given the size of the screen) almost impossible – this is the only time that the small screen size is a problem, so kudos awarded to the programmers there – anyway, tapping button (5) shows us an overhead view, which then flys up the screen to show where the ball is going to land.

Okay, here's the Big Problem With The Game. My shot is already lined up towards the hole, the correct club for my aiming cursor is selected for me, and when I change the distance, my club changes. So any sort of skill in working out shot distances, or crafty places to drop my shot have been removed. There's no real need for the overhead section now, I can just trust the computer, bang away at top power and be pretty confident my shot is going to end up in the right place.

Sur,e the rabid games player is going to look to try and shave a few yards here and there, but the casual gamer is going to go in, see this detailed game, with lush graphics, that's just waaaay too easy to play. I think we've dropped a few strokes here, EA.

The Multiplayer Stuff

Nokia and EA are very proud of all the connectivity stuff they've put in. We've got multiple player options on single handsets, local handsets and handsets hundreds of miles away.

On a Single N-Gage

This is pretty nifty. Basically it's turn-about (or passaround as they call it), you take your shot, then pass it round to the next player. And so on, and so on, and so on. It's not bad, and great when you're stuck on a long Bus trip, or if you're in a crowd in a pub. You've got a choice of three game styles – Stroke Play, Play for Money, or 'Battle Golf' where you get a tank... actually when you lose you lose a club from your bag. Given the control system, this isn't a great loss.

Over Bluetooth

This is even niftier. Instead of passing a single N-Gage between two players, you can connect via Bluetooth and when your opponent takes his turn, you can watch him make his stroke on your own screen. Very nice, and adds quite a lot to the single unit multiplayer game.

But, just like on the single unit version, these challenge games are all one-offs. There's no way to have a little league held in the machine. Which is a shame. Three or four more lunch hours and the AAN offices would have become very competitive.

N-Gage Arena

The N-Gage Arena functionality in the early games has been limited to high score uploads (wow) and the occasional Shadow Race. And while Tiger Woods has all these functions, it promises the first multiplayer game of golf that can be played anywhere in the world. And while it does deliver this, it doesn't feel special... more like a quick fix so that they can say "we did it first" before Pocket Kingdom turns up.

You log in, and there are a number of lobbies, where other players are online. If there are rooms created from these lobbies, then in you go and join a game. Otherwise, create your own game room and wait for the other N-Gage Users to log in to the Arena and join you. Once you start a game, set up the properties, just like the local multiplayer games and...

...play the holes yourself. When you're finished, your score and the other people's scores in the room are posted. Best score wins. Now pardon me, but multiplayer isn't about comparing scores at the end of a round, it should be played as you go (points at Bluetooth). Yes you might have to wait while a slower player completes the round, but this is a Golf game, and some golf players are a lot slower than the speedy 14 year olds that will win all the online games.

Great function, looks nice, but I feel cheated.

The Career Mode - Keeps You Coming Back?

While single games are all that's available in multiplayer games, the N-Gage, as a personal device, is always going to be played by one main person. You. And you can create a golfer, live with him and breathe with him through a huge number of tournaments (some of them stretching out to 288 hole, 4 day extravaganzas), with some challenges along the way (e.g. 7 strokes to do 3 Par-3 holes). This is the career mode, and you earn dollars (points) as you go along. However much you earn can be posted on the N-Gage Arena for bragging rights (and not much else). If you share the unit with your Dad, then more than one career can be stored. Which is nice.

But the main fault of the career mode is nothing to do with the idea itself, or the implementation. It''s just that it doesn't hide the simple nature of the golf game present in Tiger Woods. There's very little that makes you want to come back to a below average control and game system.

Graphics

It Just Doesn't Have Any Mojo