Golf. It's the domain of the rich and famous, who have enough free time and money to lug a bag of titanium-tipped sticks around a meticulously manicured lawn, occasionally stopping to shred it to pieces by assaulting a tiny white ball, or perhaps to adjust the stylish plaid cardigan draped artfully about their shoulders. For the rest of us, the best we can hope for is a decent round of miniature golf accompanied by a good plate of chips, or an enjoyable videogame equivalent that doesn't have a strict dress code to play. Thankfully with the Outlaw series, dress is optional!

Outlaw Golf 2 is the follow-up title from Hypnotix, and there'll be no prizes for guessing the name of the first game. The sequel is a 300 yard drive ahead of its predecessor however, weighing in at around three times the size in terms of content. There's eight courses now, including an 18 hole miniature golf course, ten characters and a whole lot of events to play. In fact, one might even say it's the par 5 to Outlaw Golf's par 3. If you're sick of golf jokes and analogies already, turn back now!

The core of Outlaw Golf 2 is the Outlaw Tour, which is essentially a collection of dozens of small tournaments encompassing a variety of modes and rules. Each character has 7 such events, making for a whopping total of 70 separate tours! Each round is different; one may be a Time Attack where you have to beat 9 holes in four minutes, or it may be an epic 18-hole stroke-play match that can take up to an hour to complete. Make no mistake of it- golf is an endurance sport! Unfortunately it's also a tad arduous in Outlaw Golf 2, due to the lack of a free-save system. If you're on hole 8 of 9 and have to head off to bed or get ready for work, you either have to switch off and lose your progress or show up late for that crucial meeting. Thankfully the 18-hole marathons can be saved at the midway point, which is a small consolation but it's quite an oversight nevertheless.

At any rate, to stroke your way through all these fairway festivities, the golfers are going to need to spend some time honing their skills, which is where the Outlaw Range comes in. The Range has a variety of mini-games that are designed to not only help you as a player improve your game, but also reward you by making the characters more powerful. In a role-playing twist, every character has a series of statistics that can be improved by the successful completion of Range challenges. You can increase your power for longer distance shots, enhance your accuracy and control, become a Zen master who never loses their cool after a bad shot, or get some pugilistic pointers to improve your fighting skills. Yes, we did say fighting!

On-course violence has been a trademark of the Outlaw games, and this golfing sequel is no exception. If your character starts to lose their composure- which happens if you make a bad shot into the rough or sink your ball in a water hazard- you can take out your frustrations on the hapless caddy. A successful smiting can really turn the tides back in your favour, and the upside of being 'in the zone,' such as increased driving power and control, are well worth the effort. But don't get too excited, mortal combatants, because it's just a rhythm game that requires you to time a little moving fist icon with a face. Perhaps future iterations of the Outlaw Golf series will allow you to get a little more hands on.

One thing Outlaw Golf 2 certainly doesn't shy away from is hands-on golfing goodness. If you're expecting a simplistic, novelty golf game you'll be sorely disappointed, not to mention thoroughly thrashed by the A.I. players! Hitting the ball is a two step plan: first, you have to line up your shot, factoring in wind direction and speed, the lie of the land and surrounding obstacles, as well as picking your club and selecting how hard you want to whack with it, and whether there'll be any spin. Second is the tricky bit: actually pulling it off. This is done by pulling back on the analogue stick and trying to aim your power with a 'sweetspot' bar on the graph. Then you push forward and with a bit of luck and a cry of 'fore!' you'll be well on your way to making par. The harder you push forward, the more spin you'll have, but if you twist the thumbstick to the left or right then your best laid plans will probably end up in the rough, or even worse, in the water.

Those of you who've played Links (XBW: 82%) or the Tiger Woods series will be familiar with the analogue-swing system, but if you cut your teeth on the likes of Mario Golf it could be a bit of a shock at first. The rest of the game controls are pretty straightforward as you'd expect, with putting using the same system as normal swings. Taking a putt is a nerve wracking experience, as you only have a vague target to indicate the direction and power of the stroke. Thankfully each putt comes with three chances to utilise a preview line, which shows you exactly how the ball will travel given your chosen direction and an optimal connection. It feels a little bit like cheating at first, but judging the slopes of the green is quite difficult at the best of times, so it's often the only way of having any idea how the shot will play out.

Outlaw Golf 2 has a few visual quirks, although judging the slopes on any given course are probably the biggest headache. Obviously golf isn't meant to be easy, otherwise all manner of proletariat rabble would be besmirching the fairways trying to play the game, but a little more guidance would've been nice. Also little touches, like a visual representation of the wind's direction and strength would go a long way to making the game more accessible. Other than that, Outlaw Golf 2 is a pretty good looking game; the courses are detailed and fun to explore, the graphics are sharp, and the players are suitably underdressed for the occasion.

While the range of courses in Outlaw Golf 2 is fantastic, the golfers are the real stars of the show. Picture a stripper with a PhD, a dominatrix, an ex-con, a pair of rednecks and a Spaniard of questionable sexuality and you've got a fair idea of what to expect here. Each has a variety of costumes that can be unlocked throughout the course of the game ranging from hilarious to downright revealing. Every pair has their own golf cart too, as well as a range of reaction shots to good or bad plays during the game. These can be pretty funny, and the overall flavour of the game is quite lascivious and playful.

The dialogue goes a long way to helping here, along with the voice acting which really brings the contestants to life. Random contestants also provide a commentary on each hole as you do the introductory flyby, and as you'd expect most have very little to do with the technical aspects of the game! The commentator, alleged comedian Dave Attell, is extremely annoying after a few holes, but this is one of those love-it or hate-it things about the Outlaw series. If you want to streamline the game you can turn off the commentary and the reaction shots, but you'll lose a lot of the Outlaw experience in doing so.

One of the real surprises with the game is the exceptional range of music provided, the majority of which was actually created for the game. The tunes are really catchy and fun to listen to, and there are a few standouts that are so good you'll probably be singing along or humming them long after you tee off. A lot of it is 70's style funk/rock, but there are a few pop tracks, as well as a great rap song from the in-game Eminem wannabe, Ice Trey. Plus, if the 20+ songs included don't set your suede shoes aflame, the game supports custom soundtracks, so you can listen to opera, or a recording of your money rolling in'whatever it is golfers do!

Outlaw Golf 2 is a big game, and it will take a lot of time and dedication to unlock everything that's available. Casual players will be a bit put off by the fact there's only 4 golfers unlocked at the beginning, and truth be told this isn't the kind of game you can buy and expect the full experience immediately. Having said that, there are plenty of reasons to want to spend the time beating challenges and garnering new garments, clubs, balls, and of course characters. The main challenge is the Psycho Sands mini-golf course, all 18 holes of which must be unlocked by beating tournaments in singleplayer. The tours alone will take a skilled player dozens and dozens of hours to beat!

In addition to all this, Outlaw Golf 2 comes with a fully realised Xbox Live component that lets you take the par-ty online with up to 4 other Woods-wannabes. Live play can either be the old-school alternate shot system, or a great simultaneous style where all players take their shots at the same time. You can still see your opponents take their shots, but you can't interfere with them, nor can you take the Beatings mode to the next level by pummeling a fellow player. There's a whole online leader board too, and there's almost always someone willing to go a round- deciding on what type of mode to play can be a little trickier however. There's also the promise of Downloadable Content over Xbox Live, though none has hit the green as yet. Bottom line is that there's a helluva lot of gaming packed into this budget price title, so don your baggy pants and summon the chauffeur and go buy it!