“Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds” is a Great Way to Waste a Sunday

The Hot Shots Golf franchise keeps it real – real casual and goofy, that is. Often imitated and never duplicated (unless you consider Mario Golf an offshoot), the series’ thrives on its easy to learn, hard to master learning curve…and its endearingly annoying cast of characters.

I can stomach almost any twee, campy character in a videogame, but I don’t quite understand game developer Clap Handz’s fascination with these weirdo stereotypes. Maybe that’s part of the fun – dozens of non-golfing types acting extremely ungolfish (?) – but it can get grating at times.

With that minor gripe out of the way, the game itself is gold, as expected from the charming series.

This installment of Hot Shots Golf hasn’t underwent any major changes, which is a relief for longtime fans of the series. The most notable change in gameplay is the revamped shooting mechanics, which have more to do with the physics of your character than just lining up your shot with an on-screen grid. Both shooting options are used in the game, but the Advanced Shot system makes for a more strategic game without getting caught up in sim-like depth. It’s still an arcade-sports game at heart, sharing more in common with Golden Tee than Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

The game’s six courses have enough variety to warrant healthy replay value, with subtle and wonky design throughout. But while each one has its fair-share of depth, I wish more courses were available. Unlocking future courses requires you to play through the first two to the point of no return – and you won’t revisit them once they’re beaten. At least I haven’t.

As always, Hot Shots Golf’s strength is multiplayer, and Out of Bounds offers up a 50-player tournament that’s far beyond any online golf tourney to date. Not only can players face a veritable army of club-swingers, but trash talking can be done in the ‘lobby’ while others line up to put.

If joining up with some friends on a lazy weekend (or weekday, depending how much of a slacker you are) for a few rounds of golf is your idea of fun, swing away. Even sim and stat-heavy gamers will find much to love, here – it’s silly golf, people! Relax and take a shot or 18.