Everybodys Golf 2 has now arrived on the Playstation Portable, and for that I am so grateful. This is the type of game that the PSP was made for, in fact I was still playing the first game until this one came through the letterbox.

So what’s so different about Everybody’s Golf 2? Well it has a new 16 player online mode for starters, not bad eh? And as well as this it has the usual extras such as unlockable characters, new courses and more clothes, hairstyles, clubs and balls than you will find in a golf complex with a built in hairdresser.

For those who have never played any of the games before, it couldn’t be simpler to pick up. There is a power bar at the bottom of the screen and within this there is also a guide as to the distance you will hit the ball and how far the away the green is. To start off you simply press the X button, and then press it again when you have the power for the distance you desire, finally you must line the power meter up with the impact line to hit your shot, then you will either be met with someone shouting nice shot, or the sound of your club cutting the grass. Now it may not sound too complex just pressing the X button, however there is a lot more to this game than first meets the eye. There is a compass at the top of the screen which shows how strong the wind is and which way it is blowing, using the D-Pad you are able to shoot slightly to the left or right, which allows you to take the wind into account and adjust your shot accordingly. You are also able to change clubs using the L and R buttons, therefore if the wind is too strong you can gain extra power by doing just this and if you need more power still, a tap of the square button will allow you to use a power shot. Of course golf isn’t without its hazards and this game is full of them, from bunkers, water traps and out of bound zones, one false move could see you in trouble, so while the game may seem as simple as tapping X, you will soon find out that it isn’t quite as simple as first thought.

Once of the greatest achievements of the Everybody’s Golf series is the way it hooks you in, this is done by a combination of the excellent gameplay and of course, the sheer number of unlockables, most of which can be found in the challenge mode.

The challenge mode is where the single player will spend mode of their time, here you will play through the games many unlockable courses, finding more and more characters, abilities and accessories the longer you play. The beauty of challenge mode is that is just so addictive, even though you only start the game with two golfers and two courses you will find yourself hooked and before long you will have a lot more choice too. One of the best things about starting the game with a limited amount of characters is the loyalty system, this allows you to unlock new items for that character even if you don’t win. You see every time you play a game with the same character your loyalty bar (represented by a heart) will fill slightly, fill it straight to the top and you will be rewarded.

When you win a match in challenge mode you are now awarded with one of three cards (head, body and accessories), what card you get depends on which challenge you choose. Once you win a match you have to choose one of four facedown cards, when you choose one you will then be awarded with an item and +1 will also be added to the category that the card relates to, once you reach the required amount of cards, your character will then go up a level in that category. To add to this, once you reach a certain amount of cards you will also unlock a Vs. challenge against a new golfer, beat that character and then you will get to keep them.

As well as challenge mode the game also includes, stroke play, training and a minigame. The latter is probably the most fun out of these as you have to try and sink as many holes in one as possible into one of three huge holes, each holes has a certain value (+10, +20 and +30), with the value increasing depending on the difficulty of the hole.

The main addition to Everybody’s Golf 2 though is the multiplayer mode, either creating your own tournaments or joining in on one of the other 16 player online games, this is great fun and it also seems to be pretty much lag free, which I’m sure you will agree is great news. The multiplayer tournaments also support the loyalty system so you can unlock new abilities while playing online, in fact you can even use the abilities you earned offline here.

Graphically the game lives up to the usual high standards set by the series, the characters are well animated and the courses all look fantastic. The sound is also up to its usual high standards, the music has a nice upbeat feel to it and the characters all have their own little personalities which make them stand apart from each other.

If you have a PSP then this is the sort of game your handheld was made for, in fact you don’t even need to like golf to play it. Everybody’s Golf 2 is just one of those games that you can’t put down, its addictive fun and well worth anyone’s cash.

Overall Rating: 8.9/10