Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds

Gameplay

Out of Bounds introduces a modified version of the "3 click" shot system. Instead of relying completely on the gauge at the bottom to estimate the strength and slice of the shot, the new system encourages you to use the actual character's golf swing to select the power. Once the strength of the shot is determined, the gauge disappears, and the accuracy of the shot relies on the player's timing when the club hits the ball.

Initially, there are six courses in the game, five beginner characters, five intermediate characters, five advanced players, and seven caddies. Shigeki Maruyama will become the second real-life golfer to become a playable character and caddy.

There consists of a story mode otherwise known as challenge mode where you compete in various tournaments and against other computer controlled players to increase your ranking and unlock various items.

The game has had a large graphical overhaul, with nearly every visual aspect becoming more detailed and realistic.

PlayStation Move support was added to the Japanese version of the game in September 2011, support for English language versions was added on 23 February 2012.

Downloadable content

On 15 May 2008 two additional characters, Alex and Gloria, were made available for purchase from the PlayStation Store in Europe and North America. On 19 June an additional course, Oceania Resort Course, was made available for purchase from the PlayStation Store in Europe and North America. On 21 August 2008, the character Kratos from the God of War series was made available as a playable character.

On 12 March 2009 Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet was made available as a playable character.

Game Launching

Out of Bounds is one of the few games that fully support game launching in PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community-based service. With full support game launching, users can set up a multiplayer match in Home with advanced options. After they've set up their match, other users can join them or vice versa and then they can launch into the game directly from Home. The game launching feature can be accessed in the dedicated game space for the Everybody's Golf series in Home.

Reception

Critical reaction to the game has been mostly positive, with the game holding a rating of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic. Chris Roper of IGN gave the game a score of 8.9 out of ten, writing: "Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds is a tremendously fun golf game, one that should appease either casual or hardcore golf fans. It's an arcadey approach to the sport, for sure, but there's still a good deal of depth in the game that'll give veteran players plenty to work with. There could have been more courses, and the lack of voice support online is somewhat disappointing, but the overall package is a ton of fun and definitely worth picking up."

Aaron Thomas of GameSpot gave a score of 7.5 out of ten, writing: "The Hot Shots Golf series has changed very little during the past 10 years, but there's no question that while still good, this is a franchise in need of a shot in the arm -- or at the very least, more courses. But that said, the new swing and robust online play freshen things up just enough to make it worth getting a tee time with Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds." Reviewing the Japanese version, Dave McCarthy of Eurogamer gave the game a score of 8.0 out of 10, writing: "In spite of the fact that all you're doing is pressing a button three times, over and over again, it never gets boring. It would probably be too controversial to call it the best golf game, or the best PS3 game. But on both counts it's a remarkably close call."