A look at Hot Shots Golf:Out of Bounds

Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds hit retail store shelves nation wide yesterday, and while some of you may be left dumbfounded as to why you have never even heard of the title, I can promise you that if you enjoy golf games this little gem should not be missed.

Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds is golf done differently. What do I mean by that? Don’t expect to be picking up a true to life golf simulator. This game adds a unique goofy twist to the game, with ridiculous characters, over the top courses and hilarious commentary to follow, there really is a light hearted experience to be had here.

Featuring courses ranging from a mountainous terrain, to a desert setting, and even teeing up along the coast, there really is a wide variety of experiences to be had.

Out of Bounds is also jumping headfirst into the world of online gaming, with an interactive lobby where gamers can use a custom avatar to meet other golfers and hop into games, and the ability to set-up or partake in 50 player online tournaments. The only downfall this game has, in my opinion, is its lack of online voice chat. The only communication options available to the gamer would be a USB keyboard and/or the on screen keypad.

How in this day and age games are still being released without voice chat is beyond me…Chris Hinojosa-Miranda, Associate Producer at SCEA, even went on the record yesterday to comment on what new tasks the development team is tackling now that their game has been released. No; these new tasks aren’t sipping cocktails on a sunny beach in the South Pacific; the team is hard at work on upcoming downloadable content and furthering the support for their quirky new golfing title.

“So what’s next Chris?” you might ask. To that I’ll answer “DLC” – as in Downloadable Content… of which we’ll have plenty of, and not just extra characters or new outfits… but actual new game modes, which brings me back to the first paragraph: our work is not finished yet.

With next to no innovation in the golfing genre, it’s nice to see a little gem like this come out of the woods and put us golfing gamers back on the fairway. Terrible analogy, I know..If your tired of playing Tiger Woods every year and are starving for something with some variety, I can guarantee you that Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds will be exactly what your looking for. With the promised continued support, and the plethora of online features (albeit the missing voice chat) this is definitely a game you golfers won’t want to miss.

Visit Playstation.Blog for details, or the Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds homepage.