Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds

Golf is, at once, the simplest of video games and a complex physics affair. It is one of the oldest sports to be realized in the video-game industry, but with the way spin and undulating courses can affect a ball, it can be entertaining and frustrating.

Mark Twain once offered that “golf is a good walk spoiled.” To turn that phrase, sometimes video golf can be an entertaining outing spoiled.

He obviously didn’t play video golf, nor was he acquainted with the Hot Shots franchise, a license that combines anime-style characters with a light and bubbling theme, and makes a serious effort to render a game that is enjoyable and accessible.

GameZone recently received a preview version of the game, albeit with a different working title, but this is essentially the Hot Shots golf franchise with a few new twists. It is still a player friendly, cute golf game that has some nice challenges and is chock full of grin-inducing animations. You can also add that the game is appropriate for sports gamers of any age.

Not all aspects of the game were able to be tested, but what was there provided a nice sense of the game mechanics, as well as the look and feel of the title.

There are three modes of play – single player (with stroke, challenge and practice modes), multiplayer and Online. The game has unlockables, and points to be earned as you play. In some challenges, like match play, ties are broken by the points earned on the hole. Points can be earned by hitting the fairway, landing on the green close to the pin, birdies, pars and so on.

The advance golf shot mechanics are very easy to learn and use. You click to start the swing (the backstroke) and then at the top of the swing, you click again to stop the swing. An instant readout will tell you if you hit 100% on the backswing or not. After a brief moment, a diminishing circle appears with the teed golf ball at the center. The idea is to click again with the circle has collapsed on the ball. Get it right and you nail the shot.

However, just like the real game, not every shot needs to be hit at 100% power. Sometimes you have to feather the power off a bit to make the approach run up to the flag, not fly the flag and head for the fringe on the back of the green.

While not many courses were unlocked for the preview disk, the ones that were there were vibrant and lushly rendered.

Like any golf game, there are some load times between holes, but the game does move along smoothly and looks terrific on an HDTV.

The important elements of a golf game consist of both the entertainment value of the game coupled with the way the controls allow access to the game. In those regards, Hot Shots: Out of Bounds scores well. While not scheduled to release until mid-March, the preview of the game showed a lot of promise.