Outside of that single player there is a versus mode that allows two players, each with a copy, to take each other on in real time. The real treats are the extensive online options, and it's here that the title truly delivers on its potential with a mix of real time contests and scheduled tournaments. In the former category you can set up matches with friends — up to four players — that are in real time, while Community Matches allow you to setup these customisable contests with others in a similar manner to Mario Kart 7, perfect in this age of socialising online and an ideal way to avoid trading friend codes.
Tournaments are where this title truly excels, meanwhile, and the Mario Golf and Castle Club areas each take their own approach. Mario Golf has fixed tournaments based primarily around the aforementioned 'Mario World' 9-hole courses, and in the examples we played included a simple round shooting for a low score, right down to challenge-based contest of using items or collecting coins. In Castle Club the sample tournaments we played focused on the three 18-hole courses and even the challenging Sky Island course. Split into regional and worldwide lists, the latter featured one tournament on the Mountain Course shooting for the lowest possible score. The regional area, however, had multiple contests including some that were focused on specific challenges such as approach play and driving.
This online play, ultimately, does not fail to impress, and takes the content and replay value to another level. When competing you can see "ghost" golf balls with other Mii heads flying around the course, which constantly gives a sense of how others are progressing. Being in the winning group can bring a lot of in-game coins, but simply completing a challenge will reward you with equipment, so on top of the fact that it's terrific fun there is real incentive to take part. With the fixed tournaments you can enter as many times as you like, entering one score for each, and you can even setup your own tournaments — open to the public or locked down with a code — setting conditions on course, challenge type, items, and how long they'll run. We enjoyed our own private battles in team Nintendo Life in tournaments named "NL no score" and "deathfightbattle", for example, and there was a good list of others we could join; there are even quirky winner's ceremonies to watch when tournaments close,
In every respect, this suite of online features is one of the most rounded and substantial that Nintendo has delivered, so Camelot deserves huge credit. Should the scheduling maintain its volume of challenges for months to come, it'll make this title a regular treat for those that jump in.
