Hot Shots Golf PSP: Hands-On

We go hands-on with one of Sony's most enjoyable first generation PSP games. Media included.

The Minna No Golf series (Hot Shots Golf or Everybody's Golf outside Japan) has always been one of our favourites. And despite the shift in gameplay from digital to analog swing in the golf genre in the last few years, the franchise still seems as relevant as ever, with its quirky roster of characters, addictive gameplay and superb courses. The announcement of a handheld version is enough to send certain gamers to the preordering line, but, being the level-headed people we are, we first took a stroll through the links at the Tokyo Game Show.

What initially caught our eye about Minna No Golf Portable is how faithfully it reiterates the experience on the PlayStation 2. Characters, courses, textures, animations - all look just as vivacious and energetic as they do on home hardware. While there are a number of PSP games in limbo between PlayStation and PlayStation 2 in terms of quality, Minna No Golf Portable sits firmly at the latter end of the spectrum. The courses look alive, and the bright colours help show off the PSP's magnificent screen.

Gameplay, too, is very similar. Swinging is still controlled in the traditional three-step button press fashion, and the sensing fidelity is high. The swing bar located at the bottom of the screen is large enough that you'll be able to see it should you whip out your PSP for a quick 9-holes on the subway, and getting that vaunted Nice Shot! perfect strike requires just as much skill as it always has.

Judging shots is made a little harder by the small screen, as it's not always easy to see, for instance, the motion lines indicating how the greens break. The putting interface seems to rely more on reading the gauges on-screen than reading the green itself, which can detract from the experience. And the camera controls are a little fidgety, making it laborious to get a good view of your shot.

With only two holes available for play, it's difficult to give a confident nod in either direction with regards to course design. This build is really only a primer for series fans to get their hands on the PSP hardware. The two holes we played - one par 4 and a par 3 - were over much too quickly, but already we get a sense that the game will faithfully recapitulate the quality found in the PlayStation 2 version. As it stands, there's no word yet on just how similar the two games are with regards to included characters, unlockables, courses and modes.

If there's a problem with the game it's that it hasn't really distinguished itself from the PlayStation 2 iteration. Of course, whether this is an actual problem depends on how you're going to be using the PSP. Either way, the series is popular enough that Minna No Golf Portable is almost certainly assured to be a launch title. Now if only Kutaragi would tell us when that will be we could get back in line.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games