Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2

Golf + PSP + online play = Loads of fun

Posted 4 years ago By - Camilo Aguiar

Golfing in the winter or when it is hot outside can be a bit more extreme than you are used to. Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 may not give you the physical thrill of the game but, it will satisfy your golf fix while you are in the clubhouse waiting for the weather to change.

Never having played a Hot Shots Golf game before, I had no idea what to expect. So I grouped it in with some previous video game golf experiences, which overall were not very good. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Adding to your everyday golf game, you can collect cards which add clothing to your wardrobe, find hidden characters and items on courses and, play online. Of course you will still have the regular hazards such as sandtraps, trees, water and hills to deal with. So get out your scorecard.

Gameplay

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 is a very simple game to play. After selecting your character and wardrobe, you step up to the tee box and based on the club you currently have selected, the game gives you an area to hit the ball to, which you can then adjust as you see fit using the d-pad. While the game does default to the best club choice, you are free to select a club by using the L and R buttons. Then, press the X button and the power gauge charges up. Press X again when you feel you have enough power and press X yet again to try and make contact with the ball in the impact zone of the gauge. This button combination does get a little repetitive but, as the matches go by relatively quickly, it did not bother me much at all.

If you fail to hit the ball in the impact zone of the power gauge, you will see either a rabbit or turtle symbol after hitting X. This means you have hooked or sliced your ball. If you are having trouble hitting the impact zone of the power gauge, you can always switch to easy mode. In easy mode you still have to decide on the amount of power but, it automatically makes contact with the ball in the impact zone.


Putting is very well done in this game. To help you decide on the lay of the land, there is a grid display showing you which way your ball will roll on the green. This speeds up game play as it reduces the time it takes to figure out which way the ball is going to roll after you putt it and eliminates aggravation from having to continuously putt the ball.

For the single player portion of the game, your choices of play are stroke, challenge, training and, minigame. Stroke play allows you to play a course by yourself. Training mode allows you to practice your game. Minigame is a hole in one contest. Last is challenge mode, which is where you will be spending most of your time playing this game.

Challenge play is where you will play tournaments or matches to open up more courses, earn wardrobe parts and, add characters. The tournaments and matches are made up of three groups (head, body and accessory) with five cards in each group. Win the tournament or match and you get the card along with an item for your wardrobe. These items, when equipped, add to your abilities. After collecting enough cards you will have a vs. mode option. By taking on the character in the vs. mode and winning, you gain that character and level up or gain a new course.

If you find you are not able to win the challenges, you can change to easy mode in the games options. By turning this on your opponents become weaker and are easier to beat. This will not stop you from gaining any items or affect your progress through the game. It does take quite a bit away from the challenge of the game. While the game did get harder as I progressed, it was done at a pace that made still kept the game fun.

Online play in this game just works. Rather than having one player at a time hit their ball, everyone hits at the same time. Not only are you able to see your ball, you can also see where other players are hitting there balls. The ability to see opponents balls flying through the air while deciding what to do next may be a bit disturbing to seasoned golf players but to newcomers, it adds to what otherwise would be a bland experience. After finishing a hole, you will have to wait for everyone to finish before continuing to the next hole. There is a timer during matches so they don’t drag on while you wait for someone to finish the hole.

To get around the lack of a chat feature you are able to select a comment from a list of predetermined comments for your opponents to read. These comment scan be added prior to beginning a tournament, during match play, and during the break between holes. While the comments feature does seem a bit impersonal at first, it does get rid of most of the negative chat you normally have from online games.

Although I couldn’t find an online match with a large number of people, you can play with up to 16 players in tournament play or 1 on 1 in match play. I also found changing from domestic to world increased the number of players available. Even after joining a match with zero players, I found that 3 or 4 people would join in before the match started. No need to worry about language here, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 translates what comments you pick into your opponents’ language.

Graphics

The graphics in Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 are quite good. The background images are sharp and have the right amount of blurring when the ball is going through the air to look as if you are watching golf highlights on TV. Testing the wind with grass shows the individual blades moving as a group with the wind very well and adds a nice touch. The characters and caddies do look a little rough around the edges when you are on the course but not to the point of being a distraction.

Sound

The sound variation in the game is quite wide. Hitting the ball and listening to the sound it makes when it first takes off is quite good. So does the variation in sound as your ball travels from one type of terrain to another. You can even hear birds in the background which adds to the realism. While you can turn off the music and your visual caddy prior to starting the course, you can’t turn off your caddies voice. Some caddies voices were annoying, almost to the point of distraction.

Value

For $29.99, this game is packed with features and gameplay to keep you busy for a long time. While the X button pressing does get repetitive, the other features of this game more than make up for it. You will have to play every tournament and match in challenge play if you are intent on collecting all of the items for the wardrobe as well as any extras you see on the courses. I have mentioned it before, the online play just works and adds quite a bit to what is already an impressive golf game.

Bottom Line

What more could you ask for from a $29.99 game? Not much. It is definitely worth a rental and it may grab your attention enough to purchase it. Golf fans will appreciate the online play which was enough to hook me.

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