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Hot Shots Golf FORE!

Let’s get one thing out of the way real quick-like. For fans of the last Hot Shots Golf game, this one should be a no-brainer. More golfers, more caddies, more courses, mini golf, and a new online mode rest atop the same foundation of solid golfing gameplay you’ve already tackled in previous incarnations. Go. Get it. You’ll like it. It’s good.

As for the rest of you…

There’s a conflict going between golf game fans, two camps circled around the method of swinging your club. There’s a good many fans out there that prefer EA’s Tiger Woods analog swing, where the control of the club is very precise, and fully dictated by the player’s thumb on the analog stick. The more recent iterations of these games have been spectacular in their control.

The second camp, in which Hot Shots and Mario Golf reside, are three-clickers, wherein a player hits a button once to start their swing, a second time to set the power, and a third time to set the precision of the stroke. It’s a little timing game players will repeat about 72 times per course. Tiger fans frequently roll their eyes at this way of playing, deeming it too “simple” for their tastes.

Let’s be clear about one thing. Hot Shots: Fore is not a simple game. There is a level of direct ball control: in spin, in precision, and in playing the environment that belies the description of “just three clicks.” In this version of the game, Developer Clap Hanz has improved upon the control using the Dual Shock’s analog face buttons to finely tune your shot and put the ball directly where you intend it to go. What feels simple at first becomes delightfully precise as soon as players figure out a few tricks of rolling the buttons just so, sending the ball spinning across the green, engulfed in blue flame as it bears down on the pin.

In a way, it swings the game to an almost too-complex level. Sony thought of this and added features for the casual gamers as well. An “Everybody” club and game mode allows players who don’t have the timing down to simply set their power and not worry about all that precision. Sure, the club doesn’t hit as far, but at least it lets more people in on the game. Don’t expect to hand the controller off to your mom, though. Though the swing becomes easy in Everybode mode, there’s still the little matter of the camera.

Controlling the camera should be no problem to any experienced gamer. After a little practice, players will be flying up for a bird’s eye view with ease. But put the controls into the hands of a novice, and they may be spending more time shooting forward and back over the course to actually find their shot. Also, there’s a minor inconsistency when moving and hitting the X button wherein trying to reset the camera will actually result in the beginning of your swing. It’s a pestering problem, but one that can be avoided with practice.

Hot Shots Fore brings a total of 13 gorgeous courses, including all five found in the previous game. It’s actually frontloaded with the old courses, which seems strange, especially when looking at the new courses. Mirrored versions are also available after unlocking. One, set in rural China, has players hitting onto an island amidst a wide and muddy river. It took me a while to get playing and stop staring at the scenery. All of the courses are decked out with lush foliage that sways and flutters in the wind, appropriate to the direction and force of the breeze. It’s a beautiful and functional way to judge your shot. Light rain and flecks of snow catch the wind as well, drifting or driving hard. The game engine holds up well to all the added motion, though nearly everybody will probably notice from time to time that the textures on the ground shudder and blur when the ball lands. It’s a real shame when it happens, as it’s a very noticeable problem, however infrequent it is.

Something else that contributes to the “simple” image of the Hot Shots series are the cartoony golfers and caddies that roam the courses. This is a matter of personal preference, of course. If you simply can’t stomach the idea of golfing with exaggeratedly stereotypical caricatures of cheerleaders, samurai, pro wrestlers, nerds, and biker grannies, you might want to look elsewhere. Personally, I find them charming. Animations, what few are needed, are smooth, and the voiceovers range from the mundane into the wildly surreal. Really, the game needed a few more of these little character call-outs for a couple reasons. First, they’re damn funny. Second, the existing ones are played over and over and over again, and could use a kick of variety.

Characters are unlocked by challenging them in a global versus mode amusingly reminiscent of Street Fighter. Golfers come in easy and hard modes with their own set of rules such as added penalties for certain hazards, higher wind, or particular courses or equipment. The new Versus Mode is a step forward for the series, though it comes at the expense of the Tournament Mode. This is the meat and potatoes of the game, where competing for points unlocks new courses and challenges, clubs, balls, and caddies in the game’s store. What the Tournament Mode lacks is the good overview of the last game, where players can easily see how much is needed to do in order to reach the next stage of the professional golfing career. It may be nitpicky, but still a step backwards.

Minigolf returns to the series, last seen in the second installment. This is not your “windmills and clowns’ mouths” minigolf, however. This is a three hole putting course with exaggerated terrain and small rock obstacles. The goal is, of course, to putt it in one. It’s a neat addition to the game, but sadly under-realized. There’s just not enough meat to it to warrant spending much time there.

The most dramatic addition to the series is, of course, that of online play. Hot Shots Fore touts the capabilities of 50 person tournaments and worldwide rankings for broadband users – modem players need not apply. While this sounds all well and good, the online portion of the game is sorely unfinished. The root of the problem is the lobby system used between holes. Players join up in a central game lobby and chat via the controller or a USB keyboard. Voice chat is not supported, which is a crying shame. What’s more, the on-screen keyboard is very difficult to use quickly and effectively. Better keyboards have been developed, and Clap Hanz should have followed those examples. Moreso the trouble, players are forced to sit in these chat lobbies as a timer ticks down, even if everyone has completed their hole and wish to go on to the next. The host of the game has no control to skip past these time limits. You get the general feeling while playing that Sony just didn’t “get” the online portion of Hot Shots, and the lack of attention really comes through.

Hot Shots Golf Fore makes few great leaps away from its predecessors, but what it refines, it does well. The minor tweaks made to the gameplay make for a superior golf game, and you can’t go wrong with extra courses and golfers. Sadly, the extra game modes such as mini-golf and online tournaments don’t live up to their potential, leaving you wanting more.

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Posted by Brad on Sep 1st, 2004 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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