What, no ball washing station? :) That's about the only thing this game is missing!!
From the main menu of this game you have two options. The first is "New Game", which you choose the very first time you play this game in order to set up a save profile. The second option is "Continue", where you go to continue your golfing experience after you have a save file in place.
Once in to the game you come to the game menu, where you have five options. The first is called "Single Player" and is where 99% of the golfing in this game is accessed from. Under Single Player there are four options, the first of which is "Stroke Play". When you enter Stroke Play the first thing you do is select which course you want to golf at, from any of the unlocked and available courses. Before you confirm your choice you can change whether you want to golf from the short or the long tee, and whether you want to golf the front 9 holes, back 9 holes, or all 18 holes. Once these choices are made you are then prompted to select your character from among any of the unlocked characters available. Then you head out for your round and are given your score at the end.
The second option under Single Player is "Challenge Mode" and is where you'll spend the bulk of your time on Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee. When you enter this mode you start off at the very lowest level of events available, called Junior. There are always three different events listed that you can choose to participate in, and within the events listed there are two different types of events that will randomly come up. The first type of event is called a Tournament and is very similar to Stroke Play. You head out for a normal round of golf only this time you are competing against a whole field of other golfers, whoever has the lowest score in the end wins. The other type of event is called Match Play and is a little different. You compete head to head against one other opponent on a hole by hole basis. Whoever wins more holes over the course of the round is the winner, and if you go up by 3 holes at any given time throughout the round, you win automatically via the mercy rule. When you head out for these events all of the course information is pre-set. The tee you golf from, number of holes, etc. are all predetermined for each event so you don't have to worry about altering those options. In Match Play you can only golf 9 holes, there are no 18 hole events of that variety.
When you win these events in Challenge Mode you are rewarded by unlocking an item. There are four different types of items in the game including Head Gear, Body Gear, Accessories and Equipment Upgrades. These are all items that you can equip your chosen character with to give them a different look and different capabilities. Head Gear items include all sorts of hats, helmets, masks, etc. that greatly alter the look of your character's head and face. Body Gear items include all manner of outfits that you can dress your character in, from a tutu to a soccer uniform! Accessories are just random items you can add to finish off a look and includes things like tiaras and crowns to swords or an electric guitar! And lastly Equipment Upgrades include different types of clubs and balls that will alter and enhance the abilities of your character in a number of different ways. Also, as you unlock the items under the Head Gear, Body Gear and Accessories headings, your character will gain small amounts of ability accordingly. For winning Head Gear items your control increases slightly, for Body Gear your power increases slightly, and for Accessories your spin increases slightly. Some events will also have a gold star associated with them. Earning a pre-determined number of these gold stars by winning the associated events is what graduates you to the next level of events in Challenge Mode. As I said earlier you start off at the Junior level, but there are actually 10 levels total including Junior, Beginner, Novice, Mid-rank, Senior, Grand, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. To fully complete Challenge Mode you must win all events at all of these levels and unlock all of the possible items.
There is one other type of event you can play in Challenge Mode, called VS. There is one VS. event in each of the Beginner through Gold levels of events. This type of event is the exact same as Match Play, the only difference being that instead of unlocking one of the types of items I described above, you actually unlock the character you play against by beating him or her in this style of event. There are 10 total playable characters in the game (Mika, Rio, Alia, Shu, Julie, CJ, Patricia, Logan, Holly and Roger) but at first only two of them are available (Mika and Rio). To unlock the rest of them you must win these eight VS. events in Challenge Mode. Similarly there are six courses available for play in this game including South Alps Country Club, Autumn Pogoda Golf Club, Olive Coast Country Club, Golden Desert Golf Club, Royal & Links Country Club and Dino Park Golf Club. But as with the characters only two of these courses are available at first (South Alps Country Club and Autumn Pogoda Golf Club), the rest you unlock as you win events and graduate to the different levels of play in Challenge Mode.
Lastly, on Challenge Mode there are a couple of other things to look out for. If you choose a golfer at the start and continue to golf with him or her you earn loyalty points (up to five hearts worth), which slightly increases your character's abilities. Also, as you win events and graduate to the different levels of play in Challenge Mode you will receive different rank certificates as you become a better golfer. These don't alter your gameplay at all, they are more for bragging rights than anything. There are fourteen ranks in total. You start off at the Hot Shots Golf 1 rank but you can increase to Hot Shots Golf 2, Hot Shots Golf 3, Hot Shots Golf 4, Hot Shots Golf 5, Hot Shots Golf Apprentice, Hot Shots Golf Master, Hot Shots Golf Expert, Hot Shots Golf Shogun, Hot Shots Golf King, Hot Shots Golf Wizard, Hot Shots Golf Mighty, Hot Shots Golf Almighty and Hot Shots Golf Man.
The third game option under Single Player is "Training" and is basically a practice mode. It is very similar to Stroke Play, you start off by choosing your course and setting the tee and holes parameters. However, after each shot you make you are given five choices including Next Shot, Try Again, Change Wind & Try Again, Restart or Hole Out. So basically this is just a mode that you can practice courses or parts of courses that may be giving you trouble.
The fourth and final option is called "Putting Challenge" and is a lot of fun. After you select this mode you then choose the course you want to golf at and head out for a 9 hole putting challenge. On the first round at any given course there are two cups you can putt at, the cups are worth different amounts of points depending on how far away they are. There is a target score you must achieve in order to successfully complete that round's challenge, if you do so then you unlock the next Putting Challenge level at that course where there will be 3 holes to putt at and a higher target score to shoot for. You can do this until there are 5 cups to putt at on each course. Similar to Challenge Mode when you beat each Putting Challenge level you unlock an item for your character.
Heading back to the game menu the second option you can select there is "Multiplayer" and is where you can golf with other real live people over a wireless internet connection. Your options when you select Multiplayer are to Create VS. room or Select VS. room. Unfortunately there have been no active games going on whenever I've checked so I haven't been able to experience this mode yet.
The third option from the game menu is "Data" and is where all your game information/stats is compiled. There are three options under Data, the first is called "Status". Here there are a number of lists showing your progress through the game. The first list is a summary of your rank status, level, number of rounds completed, as well as golfer upgrade and loyalty status. The second list shows your very best scores at each of the 6 courses in the game, broken down by tee and number of holes. The third list is a letter grade given to you based on your performance throughout the game. The grade takes many factors into account including your best scores, longest drive, longest chip-in, longest putt, par pace %, etc. The next six lists are broken down by each course in the game and give your key stats on each one including your best scores, fairway hits %, par pace % and near pin average. The last list under this option gives a breakdown of your putting average for each course, the distance you are away from the hole on successful putts.
The second option under Data is called "History" and is broken down in to two components. The first is the "History" list. When you select this option a list pulls up and breaks down all of the important events and achievements you've accomplished in the game in chronological order. These achievements include things such as rank increases, level unlocks in Challenge Mode, great shots like hole-in-ones and long chip-ins or putts, low scores, etc. What I also like is that a snap shot of your character in the outfit they were wearing at the time of the achievement is displayed beside each entry. Kind of funny to see the evolution of a character! The other component to this option is called "Medals". There are 12 total medals you can achieve in this game, so far I've only been able to gain 5 of them. Said medals are awarded to you when you make a big achievement in this game like shoot a hole-in-one, unlock all characters, unlock all items, etc.
The final option under Data is called "Video". Every once in a while when you make a great shot such as a hole-in-one or a chip-in, the game will automatically save a video of said shot. There are four categories of videos you can view including Manual, Chip-in Birdie, Ace & Chip-in Eagle and Double Eagle. The Manual category includes videos you choose to save yourself that the game didn't deem worthy enough to save itself. This option is where you can view all of your outstanding shots.
The fourth option from the game menu is the ever present . . . "Options"! Here is where you can adjust some of the game's functionality including toggling the music on/off, adjusting camera options, camera speed, loading messages, lobby background, as well as viewing game movies.
The fifth and final option from the game menu is "Save/Load/Delete". This is where you can manage your Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee save file be either saving, loading or deleting it.
Just an aside here before we move on. Before you set out for any round of golf (with the exception of the Putting Challenge) while you are choosing your character you can also set the handedness of said character as well as adjust which items you want them to be equipped with, out of your various available unlocked items. You can also select what caddy you would like to accompany you on your golfing trek. At first there are only two caddies available but as with the courses and characters you will unlock more caddies as you progress through Challenge Mode. There are a few other random unlocks you will achieve as you advance through Challenge Mode including the Manual video slot as well as round stipulations. Round stipulations apply to Match Play events only and are certain rules that make things a little tougher. For example, if you land in a sand trap or if you land in the round, you add 2 shots to your score. These stipulations aren't adjustable, they are pre-set for various Match Play events in Challenge Mode.
As for the controls in this game, they are easy to use and pretty much the same as they always have been in the Hot Shots Golf series. The L button is used to select a club that will hit a longer distance. It is also used for the manual video record when you want to record a shot the game doesn't deem worthy. The R button is used to select a club that will hit a shorter distance. Also, when putting it can be used to make your character momentarily disappear so you can see an unobstructed view of the green. The up/down buttons on the D-pad are used to look at your shot from an aerial point of view and the right/left buttons are used to adjust the aim of your shot. The analog button is used to adjust the camera and look around. The triangle button is used to zoom forward along the length of the golf course, and the circle button is used to do the opposite, go back the other way. The square button engages the power shot. Each character has a certain amount of power shots available per round that will end up hitting the ball a little bit further than they can with their normal capabilities. The danger is that if you mis-hit while using a power shot the results are way more disastrous than normal. The X button is what you use to make your shot. Hit the button first to engage your swing meter. As the meter advances press the X button again to set the amount of power you desire. Then when the meter gets back to where it started press the X button one last time to set the impact. During your shot, in between the very first and last presses of the X button, you can use the D-pad buttons to put any type of spin on your shot. Use the left and right buttons to put sidespin on it, use the down button to put backspin on it, and use the up button to put topspin on it. Also, before your shot you can use the Start button to gain different views of your shot including a reverse view.
When you decide on how to go about making your shots in this game there are a number of on screen variables to take in to account. First there is an arrow displaying the current speed and direction of the wind conditions. You will also see how far it is to the hole, whether the hole lies above or below your current position, and by how much. The conditions of your ball's lie will also be displayed. And finally when you're putting the green is broken down in to lined grids, with the slopes being indicated and easily recognisable.
This game's presentation was very well done. As I said at the beginning the Hot Shots golf games really have a cartoony type of feel to them and this game is no exception, it is very consistent with the rest of the games I've played in this series. I also really enjoyed how colourful this game is, it's very bright and vibrant, almost like there's always just been a big rain before your next round! The music is of that generic gaming sort, but it suits the game perfectly. And as for the controls and camera angles, they are both perfect, there are no glitches whatsoever with this title.
For pros and cons the pros are many and the cons are virtually none! In terms of pros, again I like the look and feel of this game. The unofficial, cartoony type of vibe of this game gives off is more my pace than a simulation and they did a great job with it, keeping it very consistent with the rest of their titles. Second I like the fact that there are a variety of game modes, a couple of which are very substantial. It takes a long time and a lot of golfing to fully complete this game. I don't know for sure but in my estimation I bet there's around at least 400 events you need to win in order to beat this game 100%. The amount of unlockable material in this game was also a big draw for me. I always find that offering a lot of this is a good way to keep up interest in a game. The only con I can think of is that sometimes it can get a bit tedious golfing the same events over and over again, but I only noticed I felt this way a couple of times. The minor variations on each event such as weather conditions, level of difficulty, round stipulations, etc. make every round unique in it's own way and thus helps cut down on the feeling of repetition. There isn't really much bad I can say about this game!
In terms of tips and tricks, there aren't many I can offer but I do have a couple. First, if you are having troubles in Challenge Mode choose events that have the same type of item unlock for a while. For example, concentrate on collecting items from the Body Gear category. That way you'll upgrade your power level faster and maybe that slight edge will be enough to give you a bit more immediate success. Also, during the course of your progress make sure to pay attention and study everything that transpires. The more you learn how certain conditions will affect your shots, the better golfer you will become and the more success you'll have. Learning and evolving as a golfer is a big key to beating this game.
So once again I find that I'm going to be giving the ultimate score to another edition of Hot Shots Golf! What can I say, it's a long, detailed, colourful game that is a ton of fun to play. Some people demand drastic change within their favourite video game series but this is one instance where change is not a good thing. The folks who make these games have stuck to their bread and butter, what has been proven to work, and we get to reap the benefits by playing this game. Outstanding!