I picked up Hot Shots Golf on Friday (actually, it came in the mail on
Friday -- thanks, Joe from Tronix!) and played it all weekend.  Tekken 3
has taken a backseat to this game for the time being, at least ;-).  I've
unlocked four of the six courses and seven or eight of the ten players.  I
have yet to play the betting mode.  So I haven't seen everything, but I
thought I'd post an early review of the game for those who haven't seen or
played it yet. 

First, a little about me ;-).  I'm a golfer.  I belong to a club and play
at least 18 almost every weekend, and I've played lots of different
courses.  My handicap is nothing to write home about, but I love the game
and I also love golf video games.  I haven't really enjoyed *any* of the
previous PSX golf games.  The two best IMO were VR Golf and Tecmo World
Golf, and they are merely passable.  The EA Sports games are a poor lot,
which is surprising considering that they made the best console golf games
in the 16-bit era, namely PGA Tour II, European Tour and European Tour II
for the Genny.  Most notably, other than Tecmo, all of the PSX golf games
suffer from ridiculously long load times. 

Hot Shots Golf is the best console golf game I have ever played.  That's a
pretty strong statement, but it is no exaggeration.  The other PSX games
don't even come close, and the old Genny EA games appear, well, *old* next
to HSG.  Of course, HSG isn't everything I ever wanted in a golf videogame
-- more on that later -- but it comes closer than any other console game
I've played. 

The game has six courses that are unlocked as you gain "experience points"
(RPG fans' ears perk up ;-) ).  When the game begins, you can only play
the first course.  As you get more "experienced," you can choose to play
the other courses as well.  This is a great idea, and sort of similar to
the way VR Golf requires players to accumulate experience before competing
in major tournaments.  In HSG, each new course you unlock is harder than
the last, and each has a tournament associated with it.  You earn
experience points by winning or placing in tournaments;  scoring birdies,
eagles, and holes-in-one; hitting the pin on the fly;  reaching the green
under regulation; and so on.  The number of points you are awarded depends
on what you've done and which course you've done it on -- a birdie on
Course 3 is worth three times as many points as one on Course 1. 

None of the courses are real, but they are all are wonderfully designed. 
Each has its own "style," from the municipal course-like wide fairways and
flat greens of Course 1 to the palm trees of Course 2 to the undulating,
narrow fairways and challenging water holes of Course 4.  All in all, the
holes are realistic and well designed.  My favorite (so far!) is Course 4,
though it has a few holes that are just way too difficult ;-).  It is
notable that every course AFAIK is a par 72 and none list a course/slope
rating. 

There are only two different characters from which to choose (a male and a
female) when you first start the game, but you can get access to the other
characters by beating them in match play.  Characters are rated in three
different areas IIRC -- (1) "power" (how far they can hit the ball), (2)
"concentration" (how precisely you have to stop the cursor to avoid a
slice/hook), and (3) "spin" (how well they can put spin on the ball). 
Actually, there may be a fourth rated area, but I can't remember it off
the top of my head ;-).  The characters are nicely varied.  There are male
and female characters.  There are some with a natural hook or slice. 
There are righties and lefties.  As you would expect, the two characters
you get at the start are great for learning the game, but you need to
unlock some of the tougher characters in order to compete at the higher
levels.  The toughest characters are *not* easy to beat.  Trust me ;-). 

When you use them, the tougher characters generally hit the ball a lot
further but also have a lot more room for error.  By the time you've
beaten the harder guys, though, you should be used to the cursor system so
that this isn't much of a problem.  You need the tougher characters to
have any chance of doing well on the tough courses.  Some of the holes
require the ability to really smack the ball. 

The controls are simple (woo-hoo!).  I've always hated complex controls
for a golf game, since I don't think it's as hard to mess up a stroke in
*real* golf as it is in some videogames -- miss the cursor "stopping
point" by a micron and watch your ball inexplicably fly off at a 90 degree
angle :/.  In HSG, if you screw up, it's your fault.  HSG adopts the
possibly old-fashioned but definitely effective "horizontal line"  cursor,
like the one used in the old Genny games.  Additionally, HSG allows for
twelve "power shots" per round, for which your player will swing as hard
as he can for extra distance -- kind of like the "greater than 100%"
marker on the old Genny games, but you can only do it twelve times per
round.  Although twelve may not sound like many, it is adequate and the
limit adds another strategic dimension to gameplay, forsaking a power shot
off the tee on a par 4 to save it for later, or using two power shots for
your first and second shots on a par 5.  Finally, you can add spin to the
ball by pressing up/down/left/right on the d-pad during the swing to hit
the ball on the top/bottom/left/right.  Spin is realistically implemented,
meaning if you try to backspin a ball buried in the rough you aren't
really accomplishing anything.  Some characters can spin the ball better
than others. 

One nice and funny thing about the controls is that a true mis-hit really
looks like its real life counterpart.  It's *not* easy IRL to hit a two
iron out of the rough, and HSG requires real precision if you try to do
it.  If you miss, you'll see your character swear (well, not really
swear), and the ball skip along the ground or whatever.  It's hard to
explain, but trust me, when you or the CPU shank the ball, it just looks
realistic ;-).  It *doesn't* in most other golf videogames. 

There is so little load time you'll never notice it.  No kidding.  Tecmo
World Golf is similar in this respect, but the courses in HSG are much
prettier.  You can zoom all around (quickly!) to view the course at any
angle, to see if trees will be in your flight path, to judge elevations,
etc.  Speaking of elevations, the undulating fairways of HSG are
ultra-realistic -- better than any other console golf game I've played. 
You can really see pitch changes on the course and they affect gameplay. 
For instance, there is a par 5 on Course 1 that could be reachable in two
if you could get past a big dip/valley in the fairway, but you can't hit a
low-trajectory ball out of there and are forced to lay up.  Once I get a
*really* long-ball hitter, I hope to reach it in two ;-).  Additionally,
HSG also gets the elevated/depressed (above the feet/below the feet) lie
correct -- for right-handers, a ball that is below the level of the feet
will slice when hit normally, one that is higher than the feet will hook. 
This happens in the game. 

A few nice little things about HSG....  The game automatically saves your
best shots and you get a trophy room for tournament trophies.  There is a
lesson mode describing how and when to use the controls.  There is a
training mode in which you can go to a caged driving range, a putting
course, or play any hole on any (unlocked) course using mulligans -- and
you can vary your lie and the wind direction and speed.  There is a
betting mode in which you can wager on strokes, longest drive, closest to
the pin, etc.  I haven't tried this yet.  Finally, in a stroke of genius,
during two-player games, a player can use his controller to generate crowd
responses after an opposing player's shot (boos or cheers). 

A few people on the ng have mentioned that they don't like HSG's anime
characters, but the appearance of the characters doesn't really affect
gameplay, so I honestly don't really care.  I suppose if you think MTGP is
not a good racer because of its graphics, then you may think HSG is not a
good golf game for the same reason. 

The bottom line is if you enjoy golf videogames, HSG is a true joy to
play.  The level of difficulty is just about right -- you won't be
shooting 59 on your first outing, but you won't shoot 90 either (at least
not on the easy course).  The controls and the shots just "feel right." 
Even putting, which is a problem in a number of other games (..cough.. VR
Golf ..cough..), feels right and is just as difficult as it should be -- a
three-foot putt is a lot easier to sink than a 30-foot putt.  If you are a
fan of the EA Sports golf series on the Genny, I give this my highest
recommendation.  If you are a fan of PC golf sims such as Links LS98, I'd
say rent it first as it may not be "simmy" enough for you.  But it's as
good as console golfing gets. 

Some things I liked and didn't like about HSG, in no particular order: 

+ Graphics
  +/- Characters are anime, SD style
  - Terrible replay method -- no rewind, no choosing the angle, etc.
  - AFAIK you can't skip character animations after shots
    (the game would be about 10min/round quicker without them)
+ Extremely short load times
+ Excellent course design
  - No real courses
+ Good statistics tracking for tournament modes (putt avg, GIR, etc.)
  - No stats tracked for other modes
+ Trophy room, trophies awarded up to 5th place
+ Nifty "experience points" idea to unlock courses
+ Varied play modes
  - Match play, but no skins play
+ Easy, intuitive controls
+ Supports up to four players
  + Supports multitap
  + Can play against CPU opponents
  - No real PGA players to play with or against
+ Excellent front end interface
+ Good ball physics
+ Good CPU player AI
  + CPU seems to go on hot/cold streaks
  + CPU doesn't cheat
  - Sometimes (but rare) CPU seems to go for absolutely stupid shots
+ Course "view cam" is fast and extremely useful
+ Lesson mode
+ Training mode
  + Driving range
    + Can choose your lie and adjust wind
    - Driving range is a bit too small
  + Play any hole w/mulligans
  + Putting course
    - Really only useful to work on putting, not as a course in
      itself (and then not even that useful).
    - Not really a miniature golf course, no windmills, etc., but there
      *are* ramps, despite what has been posted to this ng
- Can't quit during a round unless you "soft reset" or after a save on
  the 9th hole
- You can only save a game after the 9th/18th holes
- Tournaments are single round only
- After hitting into a water hazard, you can't choose to re-hit or drop,
  the ball is just placed for you as if you dropped.  This is a big
  oversight IMO.
- You can't see your scorecard during a tourney, just the standings.
  Another big oversight, b/c you can't see a hole's handicap rating
  or look ahead to see how many par 5's are left, e.g.
- Can't choose to chip or punch, though a topspin shot behaves like
  a hooded club shot.
- For some reason, on Course 3, the "cuckoo" sound plays incessantly.
  This is the sound that plays when you earn experience points.  Is
  this just my copy, or is it supposed to be some bird native to
  Course 3?  It's maddening.
+/- Wind strength is unknown until after each tee shot.  Direction is
  known.  You can estimate wind strength by the movement of the flag
  or by throwing grass in the air.  Kind of neat, kind of odd.
- Scorecards show your total after each 9, but don't show the total
  for the round.  Of course you just add, but I want the PSX to do
  it for me ;-).  It's silly that it doesn't.
-/+ Sound is sparse.  There is no commentary other than an occasional
  "Nice shot!" or "Nice in!".  Background noise, such as birds or
  wind, is fine, as is the sound of the club and the ball.  The sound
  is okay with me since I play my stereo at the same time as I play
  anyway.
- The weather is a bit strange.  It can be summed up like this:
  "Occasionally, it will rain.  It will do so for two holes.  Then it
  will be bright and sunny again."
  + Rain affects gameplay.  Wet greens and fairways are slow.

Final note:  I got a hole-in-one on No. 7, Course 1.  I can't remember
what club I used, but it was with Mary(?), one of the original two
characters.  There was no wind, I hit the ball clean, it bounced twice,
hit the pin and dropped in.  It was worth eleven experience points, and
the club erected a commemorative sign near the tee box reading "Hole In
One" that has been there ever since ;-). 

--------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Kennedy
brk@acpub.duke.edu