Golf is just another turn-based strategy game, at
least when you look at the sport through the lens of the videogame geek. In
virtual sports, where the limitations of physicality are erased, attacking a
par-five hole really isn't all that different from going toe-to-toe with a
party of level-five orcs. A smart tactician assesses the lay of the land,
equips the proper weaponry, and swings.
Hot Shots Golf: Out Of Bounds appeals to the stat nerd
without sucking every last bit of joy out of the affair. The cast of chirpy,
calculatedly international characters do a great job of distracting players
from the boring details of links simulation. A new swing that relies on the
player's body for visual cues (as opposed to a clinical power gauge)
effectively tows the game another step or two out of the abstract. The game's
high-definition courses start off as clubhouse pastorals—the kind of
gauzy green idylls that lifelong golfers daydream about. Rendered in
high-definition splendor, populated with wildlife, and swept with realistic
weather, these locales are vacation-worthy. They slowly morph, though, becoming
progressively more intricate and antagonistic. Water hazards and sheer drops
threaten to swallow balls and swell scores. Like a good role-playing game, Out
Of Bounds
makes sure that the player has grown enough before springing these challenges.
Only here, mastery boils down to a +10 golf club and a wicked backspin that
burns skidmarks onto the green.