Review: Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)

Written by Dan Zuccarelli

Monday, 16 June 2008 06:09

I've never really gotten in golf games much. Sure I've played the occasional round of Golden Tee in random bars and enjoyed some Mario Golf back in the day, but I've never really searched out a golf game -- not even the first Hot Shots Golf on the PSP that came out back when the system first launched. After Lumines and Wipeout I was out of interesting games to play and decided to just get the game to futz around with while waiting for something else worth playing. Truth be told, in the early days of the PSP if I wasn't playing Hot Shots Golf my PSP would never have been used. I played the HELL out of that game and got quite good at it.

So how does someone who's averse to sports games get so sucked in to a golf game? Probably because it's nowhere near realistic, and the fact that there's tons of stuff to unlock -- and it's just fun.

So fast forward a few years and the sequel comes out. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it, but does it live up to expectations?

2008-03-0314-34-50-570 I think it's the old school vibe of the game that gets me hooked. It's the simple 3 button push swing that we've been doing since the NES days (maybe even earlier). The graphics are obviously improved over the first game, but they're still cute and cartoony which is a Hot Shots staple. It all works together with the gameplay and it just fits. An overly complicated interface or uber realistic graphics just wouldn't fit here.

You have the same game modes as previous Hot Shots games, with stroke and challenge games as your main modes and some mini-games and training to round things out. You either play alone for score or against a CPU player to win individual holes. Winning matches unlocks clothing options and builds loyalty with characters giving you access to new more powerful shots.

2008-03-0314-10-23-761 Every so often you can challenge another specific character and beating them allows you to move up the ranks of the Hot Shots Golf world.The amount of stuff to unlock seems almost pokemon-like in sheer number, giving you reasons to keep coming back.

There are 12 courses in all and they vary from pristine rolling hills to coastal courses where your chipping the ball from island to island. It may not be a realistic game but there's no goofiness in course design, they all feel like legitimate, though fictional, places.

2008-03-0314-05-27-866 New to the series this time out is the 16 player online multiplayer matches, which kick ass because it allows you to connect with players from all over the world.... not just the Ad-Hoc local friends you may or may not have. Thank god cause I've never been able to take advantage of the local Ad-Hoc support in PSP games, and the Infrastructure supported games are the only ones I've been able to enjoy multiplayer wise.

As I said, if you're looking for a realistic golf game you're going to want to look elsewhere. But if you're just looking for a good, fun game.... you'd be hard pressed to do better than Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2.