Links 2004 Xbox: "Be The Ball"

[The Empty Way]

<P align=center>Prologue


In this thread, I'll offer a variety of the tips and tactics that I am aware of and utilize regularly in the wonderful video golf game for Xbox known as Links 2004. There are many details to encompass and I may leave some out. Please feel free to list your tips for this great game within this thread. But before I get to the meat of my own tips, I must preface this post with a brief ramble about my thoughts on the game and playing in the Advanced character mode.


As a fan of console (and to a degree PC) video golf games since theSNES, I can hardly express enough how much Microsoft's Links 2004 for the Xbox has answered my hopes fora console golf game that offers gameplay with minimal use of meters or shot assist visual aids. The Advanced mode of playin Links 2004 is the best possible answer tothose hopes to date.


While at first, the challenge of playing as an Advanced character in Links 2004 may seem daunting if not near impossible at first, it is the only mode in the game that brings you a very realistic "play by judgement and feel" video golf experience. Let me assure you that choosing to play in the Advanced mode is not impossible and with a bit of perseverance, a fair amount of proficiency can be acheived and a great amount of realism in video golf becomes your reward.


Iam obligated to note that the Advanced mode is not for all players and yet I must also recommend that all players with any thoughts of playing in the Advanced mode do so right away. While the Beginner mode may very well "prepare" you for the Intermediate mode, neither mode is like a stepping stone to the Advanced mode. The Advanced mode is a style of play unto itself and it will make little or no difference when taking on an Advanced character if you've played at the previous levels - so jump right in! Be persistent and patient (at first, your patience will be tried - a lot) and soon enough you will pick up on the feel, flow and sheer enjoyment of playing the game this way.


The following tips are geared towards the Advanced character mode primarily because I only put a couple of hours into the Beginner and Intermediate modes before jumping into the Advanced mode with both feet and never to look back. So there will be no commentary related to meters, only the blue putting line which is available to Advanced mode characters.
<P align=center><U>Hints &amp; Tips</U>
<P align=center>Skill Points, Equipment&amp; Skill Itself
<UL>
<LI>
<DIV align=left>Skill Points &amp; Equipment:

These are bought with money earned by playing the offline Career mode, the Skill Challenges (within the Career mode) and to a smaller degree, the Live mode. You can also earn money to use towards skill points by playing Single Rounds offline (Skins being the most generous), but the most money is earned in the Career mode and the Career mode Skill challenges.

Skill Points allow you to increase your character's attributes in Power, Putting, Control &amp; Recovery. Initially, I found that adding Skill Points to Power &amp; Putting was the most helpful until I could add more to the other attributes.
</DIV>
<LI>
<DIV align=left>Equipment:

First of all, ALL the available club Brands play the same. When you choose a "pro" as your character you are limited to use the Brand associated with that player. If you choose a "non-pro" character you will have the option to choose your brand of clubs. Again, there is NO difference in playability between theBrands of clubs, only appearnce of the clubs.

There are however,equipment upgrades (althought not many, they are worthhaving). Theequipment upgrades canimprove your distance and control, etc. The ONLY way to earn upgrades is by playing through the Career Mode Skill Challenges (I do not recall at the moment if equipment upgrades are unlocked also in the Career Mode Tournaments). &nbs

[Anonymous]

Wow. This has to be close to the mother of all posts. BUT, with so much useful information from the Links zen Cheif himself. Amazingly great tips. Thanks empty.

[The Empty Way]

Short on wind I am not... lol. And neither is Links 2004. :smt002


This is the first post I just had to stop and take a break. 8-[I'll edit in the resttoday or tomorrowas stated.


I do hope you and others find this useful. Granted, it is based almost strictly on my own Links 2004 gameplay approach and admittedly will not encompass all aspects of this game or ways to play it. In that vein, I do hope that it will spawn additional Links 2004 tips and suggestions in this thread to enable players a well rounded pool of information.

[Anonymous]

hey, .... Mr Empty Way .... just thought I'd drop on in and say "hey".



Nice place.

[soul embrace]

hey, .... Mr Empty Way .... just thought I'd drop on in and say "hey".



Nice place.





welcome shivasirons



make sure to post in the introduce yourself (http://www.adultgamingenthusiasts.com/AGE/Default.aspx?tabid=30&amp;g=topics&amp;f=17) part of the forum and intruduce yourself.



also go here to add games (http://www.adultgamingenthusiasts.com/AGE/Default.aspx?tabid=40) to your gamertag

[The Empty Way]

Hey back Shivas! :smt006Nice of you to stop by. Soul Embrace is our well intentioned "greeter" (amongst the many great things he does here at AGE), but I am aware you already have an affiliation with a group similar to ours. However, if you want even more affiliation, just follow Soul's pointers above and consider yourself affiliated. :smt004


Either which way Shivas, looking forward to continued gaming with ya out there!

[Anonymous]

thanks Empty .... btw, it's no prob to me to delete these "hey's" if
you want to clean this up ... as it appears you're trying to post
a good FAQ or tips. And, it may look better without the
extraneous stuff in it. So, it's no prob to me to delete this if
any want to.

[DavidNDC]

Wow great post Empty!

[Anonymous]

Very nicely done, Empty. This may be one of the best games on (or off) Live and the ONLY thing I see replacing it is its next edition!

[Moefugger]

Very nice empty. I'd say you pretty much covered everything I can think of. If you want to get good/better at Links I'd definately recommend checking out this post, and following it to the tee. get it, tee. LOL. Empty, your corn is rubbing off man. :-D

[DavidNDC]

Bumping to get some of these "Moved" threads out of view.

Great thread btw! :smt002

[Gennataos]

Great post! I learned all of this myself, but it's nice to hear confirmation of what I do already.



If there was anything I'd add, it'd be these two things:



1) Every "character" you choose as your golfer model has a different
animation for their swings. If you find yourself switching around
character that you play with different animations, you'll likely have a
harder time finding the "feel" Empty talks about. I use the
Brandon character for my guy, and I just stick with that character.



2)If you add large amounts of skill points at a time, it'll throw off
your game. I did just this. I saved up a ton of money and
spent it all at one time on power. I must have improved my power
by about 8-10 points in one shot. Not surprisingly, I was
absolutely hammering everying, including putts. It took me quite
a while to relearn how to hit approach shots and putts. I
actually stopped playing a while I became so frustrated with it.
So, spend money as you get it....no sense in saving it.

[The Empty Way]

Damn.. I totally forgot I wrote all this. Thanks for the bump David!



I'm sure there's some assistance or at least thought provocation (as in Genn's additional tips - good ones at that)in here for Linksters.. new to the game and veterans alike.

[Gennataos]

I finally got around to playing some more of my career today.
I've finished up all of the tournaments except Skins games and one more
in Legend that I'm only one round into. (speaking of Skins....do they
ever get to the point that they're worth playing? They don't seem
to bring in enough money to warrant spending time on)



So...while there's still more money to be made, I made enough to max
out my power and putting. I'd been playing with a 19 power for a
while, but my putting was around 11-13 until today. I have two
words about maxing out your putting.



Holy shit.



No wonder people make so many long putts! I already thought I was
a pretty good putter....now I don't think I'll miss anything
under 30ft! Not only is the line now around 30-40 foot long, it's
twice as wide! I'll never have to worry about going left or right
anymore, it'll all be about speed!



Everyone needs to stop playing Outlaw Golf and Tiger Woods. Let's
get a big XSN tourney going....I'm not scared of anyone anymore!:smt029