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Platform: Playstation 2

Developer: SCEI

Publisher: SCEA

Genre: Golf

ESRB: March 2002

Hot Shots Golf 3

For fans of the series, the long wait will hopefully be worth it. As is the trend for many popular PSX/PSOne games, the successful Hot Shots Golf series is making its way to the PS2. I didn’t see many new or innovative features being touted in the game’s features list, but I guess the phrase goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Golf entered the extreme world in 1998 when Hot Shots Golf was released. Looking at the initial screenshots of the game, most people simply saw the oversized heads and cartoony body figures and wrote it off. The game ended up shocking the sports gaming world with a remarkably fun and addicting gameplay. The core of which was drawn from its surprising realism.

Hot Shots Golf 3 promises to be the best looking game of the series. All the great things about the previous two games, including the easy-to-learn gameplay and the great personalities of the golfers, will be back.

There will be 15 characters that will boast their own personalities and playing styles. The simulated weather conditions will have more of a role in the ball’s flight path and greens speed in HSG3.

One of the new features will be the altered swing meter. The meter will change in interface pending on your ball’s lie (on the green, rough, bunker, or green). I think this feature will make things easier for gamers. I envision the ability to earmark a 15 yard chip with your 75 yard sand wedge with ease due to the smaller swing meter for the situation. I think the improved shot meter will make it easier to precisely hit that shot.

As in the previous two games, HSG3 will have “Hot Shots Points” that you have to earn to unlock other golfers, golf clubs, and golf accessories. The replay value will surely be enhanced as you try and unlock every item in the game. I remember playing the first two installments for weeks trying to do the same.

The game promises to be quick paced and will play at a steady 60 FPS. I can’t help but make the comparisons to SSX, another wacky sports game that includes bold character personalities and addicting gameplay. If Hot Shots Golf 3 can be anything like SSX, look out because we could have a hole-in-one.

- Tim Martin