EA Sports have built a reputation as the leading edge publisher for sports games and nowhere is this more apparent than in this excellent golf simulation.

Graphically, this is the best-looking golf game yet with picturesque golf courses and highly detailed, well animated players. All of the attention to detail is there that makes you really feel as though you're playing in a televised golfing game - the players pause and assess their next shots exactly as in real life (although you can skip this and get straight to the shot if you want to). When the ball is hit, the camera follows it through the air until it lands and rolls to a stop, with very convincing ball physics. The trees are more detailed and varied than ever with the scenery stretching into the distance and a range of skies from overcast to sunny look very realistic. Meanwhile the players' faces are fully animated with a range of expressions from happy to angry and when their shot ends badly they often throw tantrums! The only thing slightly letting the realism go is the patented cardboard crowds that EA seem to love so much - it's only a detail guys, but please, get those crowds moving and looking three dimensional would you?

Rather than being overwhelmed with a host of options and game modes, your only real choice when you first load up the game is to Play Now. This takes you through a brief training session that features demonstrations and audiovisual instructions for how to use the controls, which is highly effective in teaching you how to play. An analogue system is used where you pull the thumbstick down for the back swing and thrust it upwards to bring the club down and whack the ball. Hitting a button as fast as you can during the swing back builds up extra power to put into the shot, meaning you will hit the ball a little further than the maximum you would normally get. Repeated button pressing in mid air whilst pushing a direction will add spin to the ball and by pulling back and forth on the thumbstick at a diagonal you can pull off draw and fade shots with ease. This system is very satisfying to use as it feels like you're fully in control of your shot. Approach and recovery shots are equally as easy to pull off, as are flop and punch shots, you simply select the appropriate club and the type of shot you are about to perform. Once playing, you quickly begin to intuitively judge shots and I managed a hole in one (which was as much skill and judgement as it was luck) during my first tournament! It's oh so satisfying when you get it right and very annoying when you mess up - you begin to understand why Tiger Woods is so passionate about the sport.

The putting is equally easy to pick up, you simply adjust the point you are aiming at using the directional pad then pull back and take the putt. Using a combination of the caddy's advice and your own judgement, you will quickly get good at putting, which as we learned through Happy Gilmore is even more important than being able to power the ball across the course. This game really is a joy to play and although I'm not a golfing fan, I was surprisingly hooked and got very animated during the matches - especially when I'd bet a few thousand dollars on the outcome!

To save you anguishing over which club to use and how far to hit the ball, the distance to the flag is always stated and the maximum distance of the selected club is also displayed, allowing you to make the right selection every time. If you want more than the maximum you go for the power shots, if you want less then you simply don't swing all the way back before hitting the ball. This takes out all the guess work, which would be almost impossible to do in a game and allows you to just concentrate on perfecting your swing and putting. One of the nicest features is that when you do get a good power shot, a special camera clicks in giving a slow motion 360 swing around or a multiple angle replay of you bringing the club down and smacking that ball with almighty force, sparks flying as it takes off.

In tournament mode you play against more than 20 different opponents across a range of golf courses and each time you win, your prize money can be used to enhance your various statistics - power, accuracy, recovery, approach, putting and even luck. Also, new and better equipment becomes available as you reach thresholds with your abilities. There are a number of unlockables too including players, courses and Tiger's 18 dream holes. You can choose any unlocked hole from any game to put together a set of your own dream holes to play through too. A number of courses from around the world are accurately represented down to the smallest detail. One of the reasons you get so immersed in the game is thanks to the background noise - you hear aeroplanes flying high above, birds singing, ducks quacking and the noises of the swishing club, and golf ball landing are also excellent. The crowd is very responsive too and it serves to recreate the atmosphere perfectly. The only downer is the inappropriate rock and dance music that just doesn't suit the game's style at all.

There are masses of extra features and modes to keep you occupied, with the following being just a small selection of what's on offer. There are 50 scenarios to conquer where you are thrown into the middle of a match in a tight spot and the challenge is to recover from it. Stroke play is an 18 hole game with up to 3 other human or computer players where the lowest score over all 18 holes wins. Random 18 generates an 18 course game choosing randomly from all unlocked courses and Custom allows you to create your own. You can choose from three difficulty levels, go head to head against a friend or computer player for money, practice on any unlocked course, test your accuracy in SkillZone or have a laugh with Speed Golf where it's simply the quickest player that wins!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 simply has it all - great looking, accurately reproduced courses, lovely animation, atmospheric sound and a simple but intuitive control system that involves more skill than luck. Golfers will find this a good alternative to the real thing on rainy days whilst the rest of us should find the change of pace to be surprisingly enjoyable.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).