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Caddyshack's brother returns
Hot Shots Golf secured its position as the best golf series in video games well before this title came along. Clap Hanz, the developer, made its titles popular with the right level of difficulty in their golf courses and made the characters suitably goofy and irreverent. In this title, they go one step further by adding a remarkable level of depth to the game by adding more characters, courses, and returning the mini-golf game. They have also improved the difficulty curve and they have made the A.I. of some of the golfers you face extremely tough. HSGF is the best golf game since Mario Golf came out for the Game Boy Color in 1999.
On paper, this game might look like a simple rehash of the third game because the five courses that you could play from that title are available in this one. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are eight new courses on the board. All of them are very treacherous and will give you a run for the money. Coupled with the intelligent A.I. that you will be facing in the match play can only add to your frustration. However, the game is fair and does give you a chance to win. If you fall short, it is your fault. Not the developer’s. You can buy new powerful clubs and you can upgrade your characters by beating the opponents in match play. One of the things I like in this one is that you only have to play nine holes to beat the players that you can unlock. Playing eighteen in Hot Shots Golf 3 drove me nuts because it took so long. Besides, if you’re down after nine holes you really don’t deserve to win him in that match anyways. It reduces the margin for error on your part and really forces you to play well.
Visually, the game isn’t too much better than its predecessor. The characters have outfits that you can unlock. Phoebe, for example, is a cheerleader. You can get new clothes for her as you rack up the points from your matches and your victories. The clothing is outrageous, of course, and no one would be caught dead wearing them except the most flamboyant people in a country club. The trees sway with more realism than they did in the last one and it gives you a clear indication of when the violent wind is coming. The layout of the golf courses is very well done and it looks like something that would be done by a golf architect. I would have liked some more background details and maybe some better facial movements, though. But, there are solid visuals all the way around. The goofy look for all the characters are fitting in making this a kids’ game. It will make an older person laugh at the outrageous look, but beyond that it is pretty real for a golf course.
How hard is it to press the button twice to make a golf club hit the ball? Not very. The timing is less tricky than it was in the last one and hitting perfect shots is more fair as a result. That doesn’t mean it will go on the fairway, though. There really isn’t much to say. Moving from club to club is easy enough. The hit detection is superb and the menu layout is as simple as it has ever been.
The caddies are as hilarious as ever. Some of them sound pathetic giving you advice. Some, like the nurse, seem to be sensual in their own way. The comments from the peanut gallery are really annoying, though. The sound effects are very real and do great justice. There should have been more variety in the comments from your caddies, but at least the comments they make are funny. Being told that the doctor will see you in his office is very funny and very wrong at the same time. Wasn’t this supposed to be a kids’ game?
This is one addictive game. The brilliant game design that Clap Hanz has put into this game show and you will have a hard time putting this game down. There is so much to unlock. Over thirty characters can be used and unlocked. Among them are other Sony characters since the company had a hand in the development. Along the way, you can unlock Jak and Ratchet as players. Daxter and Clank are the caddies. The fact that you now have thirteen courses to play and so many skill levels to go through send the depth of the game through the ceiling. Then, we have the nine-hole course, which is good but nothing special. It’s just there if you want a change in pace or if you need to work on your short game (like so many of us need to do in real life). The mini-golf courses that you can play (one needs to be unlocked) are laid out on a real golf course but they have plenty of obstacles like small trees and objects like pop cans. It is fun for multiplayer but there isn’t a lot of depth going on.
This game is far from perfect. The visuals, again, could have been more detailed. The characters’ comments do get tiresome after a couple of rounds with them and you don't have the ability to create your own character, which would have helped the game even more from a depth standpoint. That having been said, this is the best golf game that you will find on a console. There is so much depth so much charm to this game. It is impossible to dislike unless you really hate golf. For those of us that don’t, get this game. Clap Hanz and Sony have made a really good game.
-- Chris Vavra, PGNx Media
---- Aug 30, 2004
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