A lot like the others, so.....great!
User Rating: 9.1 | Hot Shots Golf Fore! PS2
Hot shots golf fore! stays pretty true to the original 3 games. Honestly, it hasn't really changed a whole ton. It's kind of like Mario Party where they basically throw in a couple new gameplay elements with mostly new minigames. Here, the minigames are courses and players. But dont' get me wrong, I think hsg is the most fun golf franchise ever. Graphics wise, no real change here, still very cartoony, still easy on the eyes. Sure, graphics have improved since the original ps1 release of hsg, but no real improvements over 3. Although that's not saying they really needed improvement, except maybe for the 8 bit audience members. Hsg fore! is fun to control, as always, with the same tap on the left then tap back in the center on the right swing motions that tend to be o-so-popular in golfing games. The fact is that almost all golf games employ some form of this swing control. There is a slight variation this time around where you can use a super backspin which includes holding up on the d-pad while selecting power then switching to down when selecting aim. With all of the instruments you're given while playing hsg fore! (the wind gauge, distance, altitude change, etc.) you really become in control of the game so much so that if you make a bad shot, it's really just your aiming that's the problem. There are a lot of items in the game, some of which you must buy with points earned from playing, some of which you can win from a card flip after a tourney game. There are many different club and balls, affecting the way your character performs, and some of the clubs are even upgradable. There are also capsules which include random items running or flying around a certain course at certain times. Finally, the game includes pinch-hit coupons. The pinch-hit coupons work this way: you use a certain number of them (up to 10, the more you use, the stronger the pinch-hitter) and a pinch-hitter play your match for you. Now, this only works on vs. matches, where you're playing against a player you're trying to earn the right to play as. And when I say pinch-hitter, that ensues that the computer actually controls the player your select with your choice of clubs and balls. These can come very much in handy, as some of the vs. players are insanely difficult under hard mode. The sound here is a bit of a downfall, but not too much since it's not crucial to the game. The musical score is weak and dry, and has honestly put me to sleep several a night. The new installment still employs seperate voice acting for all of the characters in the game, including all of the caddies. Unfortunately, none of them say more than maybe 5-10 things and when you pick the caddie, you pretty much just have to pick the least annoying one. So, with it all covered, is Hot Shots Golf Fore! a worthy sequel, golf game, and member of your gaming library? You betcha. You'll play this game for many many hours, even if you, like I, have logged many hours on the predecessors. There are many new courses, players, and not to mention the skill ladder that you must climb. This game will keep you hooked for quite a while, and that's great, considering you can get it used for under $30! 
