GDC 08: Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds hands-on

Let's get this out of the way first: Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds essentially an English language version of Japan's Minna no Golf 5 for the PS3. The game, being a sports title, is an easy import, and many fellow golf fans have since imported Minna no Golf 5 after its release last summer. If you're one of these importers, the only thing Out of Bounds can offer you over Minna 5 is US support for multiplayer. Oh, and less panty shots. It's a mixed golf bag!

I played through several single player matches as well as challenging various other game journos over the course of a couple of days. I could spend this time talking about how awesome I was, but I think I'll cover some of the differences I noticed.

These covers keep getting worse! 

English-speaking characters were the most obvious change. All the characters I played spoke English, though most were not American English. My favorite was a frilly-skirted Germanic sounding girl. I was a bit concerned about the spatterings of Japanese text, but this probably wasn't a final build, and most of what I saw was in leaderboards and the like. No big deal.

Aside from graphical upgrades, the biggest change in this current-gen title is the new Advanced swing mode. Of course, you can still select the classic HSG swing method, but I really like this new mode better. Instead of watching HSG's old Knight Rider-ish left-to-right swing meter, you actually have to watch the height of your characters club. A button press starts the swing, and when you see that your character has set his club at the proper height, you hit the button again to set swing strength.

A third button press determines accuracy. Accuracy is gauged by a small circle that becomes increasingly smaller. Your goal is to hit X exactly when the circle lines up with the ball. Hit it too early and you'll see a cute little rabbit icon.  Too late and you'll get a turtle. If you totally fudge up, you'll see a skeleton head, and the screen will go negative colored with a horrid sounding low piano thud -- it's quite embarrassing in a full room! Altogether, this new method feels more intuitive than the old version, and after a bit of practice, I was getting better results than with the classic mode.

If you haven't seen Minna no Golf 5 / Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds yet, you'll notice that the visuals have received a major upgrade from the last version. I wouldn't say that this slightly dated game takes advantage of the PS3's graphics hardware much, but it's still a hell of a lot better looking game than any of the previous titles. I was able to select a character and pick one of several clothing colors. I know that the full game presents more options in multiplayer.

The only graphical downfall is that I wasn't able to replicate the famed upskirt shots that made some internet waves after the Japanese release. The analog stick camera still pans around to see just about anywhere you'd like, but just not there. I tried each of my characters and even my nerdy-hot caddy, but no dice. Sorry, pervs.

Sadly, the various systems I played Out of Bounds on were not networked, so I didn't get a chance to try out one of the most appealing aspects of the game. I did talk to a few others that have given online multiplayer a run, and they all said multiplayer tournaments worked great.

I had a good deal of fun challenging various slightly inebriated challengers, some of which were fairly new to the series. They had fun too, and I think that really speaks to this game's strength. HSG manages to be highly accessible to newcomers, but then it can also be amazingly intricate for advanced ones. I think the social aspect is going to be one of the major draws to this title when it is released next month.