Green Grass and High Tides
We check out a near-final version of Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2.
Published: April 27, 2008
It's already been a great year for golf games on PlayStation platforms. The delay in getting Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds for the PS3 resulted in a killer game of console golf, complete with an entirely new swing mechanic, a new progression system and online play. The PSP sequel to 2005's Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee borrows many of those elements -- including Infrastructure online play (though sadly not the new swing system we so fell in love with) -- but impressions of competing wirelessly online with golfers all over the world will have wait for the full review.
Luckily, we still have plenty to talk about with the offline game. As we mentioned, much of Out of Bounds has been brought over to the portable version, though there are still a few little tweaks that keep it its own game, which is definitely a good thing. The loyalty system that rewards you for sticking with the same character through the requisite Challenge Mode is here, meaning that the points you earn on the courses translate to leveling up your bond with a particular character, which in turn unlocks the ability to do things like homing, spiraling and rising shots should you get fancy enough to chip in and tap the pin with a perfect back, side or front spin impact.
Blowing out the competition in the various courses of the Challenge (read: outpace the number two guy by three strokes or more) nets you the opportunity to pick from two unlock cards. These are the primary means for unlocking accessories to trick out your virtual golfer. Unlike Out of Bounds' strictly online lobby avatars and pre-set offline outfits, unlocking everything from custom shades to a classic car that idles next to you on every shot is done through cards in Open Tee 2.
It's more than just new hair, cowboy hats and schoolgirl uniforms (which, oddly enough can be worn by either sex), though; running through all the courses in a particular challenge category enough times to fetch all the cards will also unlock RPG-like level increases to things like overall power, impact and spin control. Given that no two courses are the same -- even ones that technically take place on the same holes -- thanks to random variables like sand traps dinging you with a +2 penalty, it doesn't quite feel like you're just grinding on the same back nine over and over again.
The cards also serve a third purpose: unlock enough from any of the different categories and you'll open up the standard battles against the other playable characters in the game. Beat them, and you can play as them going into the next challenges (you'll also move up to more advanced courses in the process). You obviously won't keep notching loyalty bonuses if you constantly switch to new players, and your abilities offline translate to online play too, just as they did in on the PS3, but at least this way you're pretty regularly opening up golfers with different abilities.
As is par for the series (har har, we am punny), these base abilities can be trimmed or boosted with different clubs and balls beyond the standard ones. Though we never did find them in our preview time with the game, apparently there are hidden items tucked away all over the myriad courses in the game, so it certainly seems like there's plenty of room for tweaking not just the look, but the actual performance of golfers. And really, what's a Hot Shots game without a bunch of different ways to overcome handicaps and capitalize on a bunch of anime-inspired virtual golfers?
Though the single player modes like Challenge, Stroke and Training aren't entirely new, there is one other little treat that we ended up getting hooked by: Minigames. Though it's not quite mini-golf, there is an element of casual play and relaxed rules to the custom courses, which task you with hitting a single shot into a handful of cups with varying point values (and some are "Lucky Holes" that double your score, though it's not immediately obvious which are which until you sink a shot). Finding these and racking up high scores unlock more targets on each hole, and from our early play with the game, it seemed like there were some far-off targets that would only be accessible with either better equipment, leveled-up characters or some of the more advanced unlockable ones. The promise of additional hidden holes, the fact that all the target cups on a given course were usually surrounded by deep wells that "caught" the balls and would let them roll back and forth before dropping in means there's a nice bit of longevity and unpredictability to such a simple Minigame Mode.
Visually, the game looks rather solid indeed. It's obviously not quite as pretty as the PS3 game, but the PSP-specific courses, players and camera angles do certainly lend an air of technical sophistication to the game. Likewise, the trademark video clips at the end of matches, chipper music and spritely little comments from both caddy and player alike are textbook Hot Shots.
It's taken quite a bit to pull us away from the PS3 version of our favorite golf game, but it's probably not surprising that the one that did it was another Hot Shots game. Everything that we've played so far indicates that the same high bar that was set with the most recent entry of the franchise is only going to continue with the latest portable version. We'll have a full review as we approach the game's release in June. For now, though, feel free to check out the opening movie and some swanky new screens to hold you over 'til then.
Luckily, we still have plenty to talk about with the offline game. As we mentioned, much of Out of Bounds has been brought over to the portable version, though there are still a few little tweaks that keep it its own game, which is definitely a good thing. The loyalty system that rewards you for sticking with the same character through the requisite Challenge Mode is here, meaning that the points you earn on the courses translate to leveling up your bond with a particular character, which in turn unlocks the ability to do things like homing, spiraling and rising shots should you get fancy enough to chip in and tap the pin with a perfect back, side or front spin impact.
Blowing out the competition in the various courses of the Challenge (read: outpace the number two guy by three strokes or more) nets you the opportunity to pick from two unlock cards. These are the primary means for unlocking accessories to trick out your virtual golfer. Unlike Out of Bounds' strictly online lobby avatars and pre-set offline outfits, unlocking everything from custom shades to a classic car that idles next to you on every shot is done through cards in Open Tee 2.
It's more than just new hair, cowboy hats and schoolgirl uniforms (which, oddly enough can be worn by either sex), though; running through all the courses in a particular challenge category enough times to fetch all the cards will also unlock RPG-like level increases to things like overall power, impact and spin control. Given that no two courses are the same -- even ones that technically take place on the same holes -- thanks to random variables like sand traps dinging you with a +2 penalty, it doesn't quite feel like you're just grinding on the same back nine over and over again.
The cards also serve a third purpose: unlock enough from any of the different categories and you'll open up the standard battles against the other playable characters in the game. Beat them, and you can play as them going into the next challenges (you'll also move up to more advanced courses in the process). You obviously won't keep notching loyalty bonuses if you constantly switch to new players, and your abilities offline translate to online play too, just as they did in on the PS3, but at least this way you're pretty regularly opening up golfers with different abilities.
As is par for the series (har har, we am punny), these base abilities can be trimmed or boosted with different clubs and balls beyond the standard ones. Though we never did find them in our preview time with the game, apparently there are hidden items tucked away all over the myriad courses in the game, so it certainly seems like there's plenty of room for tweaking not just the look, but the actual performance of golfers. And really, what's a Hot Shots game without a bunch of different ways to overcome handicaps and capitalize on a bunch of anime-inspired virtual golfers?
Though the single player modes like Challenge, Stroke and Training aren't entirely new, there is one other little treat that we ended up getting hooked by: Minigames. Though it's not quite mini-golf, there is an element of casual play and relaxed rules to the custom courses, which task you with hitting a single shot into a handful of cups with varying point values (and some are "Lucky Holes" that double your score, though it's not immediately obvious which are which until you sink a shot). Finding these and racking up high scores unlock more targets on each hole, and from our early play with the game, it seemed like there were some far-off targets that would only be accessible with either better equipment, leveled-up characters or some of the more advanced unlockable ones. The promise of additional hidden holes, the fact that all the target cups on a given course were usually surrounded by deep wells that "caught" the balls and would let them roll back and forth before dropping in means there's a nice bit of longevity and unpredictability to such a simple Minigame Mode.
Visually, the game looks rather solid indeed. It's obviously not quite as pretty as the PS3 game, but the PSP-specific courses, players and camera angles do certainly lend an air of technical sophistication to the game. Likewise, the trademark video clips at the end of matches, chipper music and spritely little comments from both caddy and player alike are textbook Hot Shots.
It's taken quite a bit to pull us away from the PS3 version of our favorite golf game, but it's probably not surprising that the one that did it was another Hot Shots game. Everything that we've played so far indicates that the same high bar that was set with the most recent entry of the franchise is only going to continue with the latest portable version. We'll have a full review as we approach the game's release in June. For now, though, feel free to check out the opening movie and some swanky new screens to hold you over 'til then.