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As Fun As Fun Can Get

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 37 / 41
Date: March 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Let's get one thing straight: I've never given two shakes about golf, either in real-life or video game form. I'd never played a golf game until Hot Shots Golf 3. This review will show my lack of knowledge about the sport, and will contain no comparisons to Swing Away Golf, Tiger Woods 2002, Tee Off Golf, or even the first two Hot Shots games, because I've never spent one second playing any of them. In fact, being Golf Ignoramus #1, I may seem like the least qualified person in the universe to review this game.

However, HSG3 is not a golf game just for golf-heads. It is fun, pure and simple - in fact, it's the most fun I've had with a game since Samba de Amigo and Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast. HSG3 is one of only two games I've ever pre-ordered; even now I'm really perplexed about what attracted me to it. I was positive the game would be a winner.

Lucky for me, I was right. HSG3 makes golf fun and easy to play, yet contains enough depth to keep it from being silly. It's a fantastic multiplayer game as well - my similarly golf-ignorant friends got involved immediately. We now consider it a multiplayer classic.

First off, the game is gorgeous to look at. The characters have goofy, oversized heads, and behave in bizarre, endearing ways. They'll do backflips when you get a birdy, and will even line-dance with some frogs. The game is full of visual whimsy: a rainbow trail follows the ball on an accurate stroke, your caddy kicks up a puff of dust as he takes off after the ball, and the golf ball will even burst into flames on certain occasions. The true stars of the game are the courses: lush, detail-filled marvels that are just magnificent. I was actually disappointed my character couldn't hop in the golf cart and take a leisurely tour of the course, drinking in the grassy, rolling hills, the swaying trees, butterflies, falling leaves, rippling pools, and the glorious sunset. You might see a windmill turning lazily in the distance, or a train chugging along a winding track. You'll hear buzzing insects, soft gusts of wind...and your caddie's grating comments when you launch one into the rough. The courses vary from a tropical island to a desert canyon, and each has its own treasures and obstacles. You can play each course in any season, at different times of day, or with different weather conditions. Not only does each detail provide an additional feast for the eyes, but each affects the gameplay directly.

Ah, the gameplay. HSG3 uses a three-click and meter system to measure your swing: hit the button once to start the meter, again to measure power, and once more for timing. You can also used the d-pad to target your swing for slice purposes. It's ridiculously easy to do, but can get very complex, as you'll have to pay attention to the slope of the course, the wind condition, which club would be best, and of course you'll have to avoid sand traps and water. Putting is also easy: a grid appears over the green showing slope and speed, and you tap the button once to start the meter and again to measure power. A randomly placed pin practically guarantees you won't play the same hole twice. "Easy to get into, difficult to master" is a gaming cliche, but it fits HSG3 perfectly.

There are several single-player modes to choose from, including Practice, Stroke, Tournament, and Vs. You accumulate Hot Shots Points in these modes, which can then be used in the Shop to buy items ranging from new clubs and balls to caddies. Trust me - you'll revisit the courses many times in order to rack up additional points. You play against the CPU in Vs. mode, and if you win, you unlock additional characters with improved performance stats. There's also an interesting internet mode, which ranks your best games against players nationwide.

Multiplayer is a joy. One of the best features is that you can use one controller for up to four people - no multitap needed! You can play one hole or compare your scores over a series. Fiendishly addictive, and it can get pretty competitive!!

Hot Shots is golf for the anti-golfer. Despite having a total lack of interest in the sport, I got into the game right away. It takes the somewhat slow-paced and dry game of golf and makes it appealing and fun. HSG3 is a game you and your friends will replay many times, whether to improve your scores, purchase all the items, bask in the beauty of the courses, or to have a simple good time. Ignore the golf-ish exterior and give it a chance. I think you'll get hooked, unless you're dead-set against having fun.

More of the same from 1 and (I guess)2... more, so MUCH more

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: May 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I don't understand myself. I've never played golf on a course, and I don't really care to start, but I'm a sucker for video game golf. So, many moons ago, I happily tucked Hot Shots Golf (the PSX original) into my collection of epileptic-seizure-inducing-titanic-explosion-giant-robot-espionage-assault-blast-fests and played the heck out of it. I never got #2 but I really dug #1. I truly loved gathering points to unlock all the courses, and prided myself on my eventual learned ability to beat each computer player. It was a unique video game experience in that I wasn't just figuring out how to use the program's quirks against it, how to cheat some line of AI code into trapping itself into a no-win situation and then blasting away at it, no-- I was learning the ins, outs, ups and downs of How to Play Golf. I learned how to read the lie of the green, how to play with or against the wind for a few more yards or a little less roll. I felt like I was actually accomplishing something while I sat ...in my living room. As if I was somehow preparing myself for the original white-man retirement inevitability-- a bag full of clubs on a 12-pack Sunday.

Happily, I report I have collected no such affectation yet. No, in these darkening days of the twilight of my youth I can only claim to have a similar, but far less tiring and expensive new hobby-- I sit ...in my barracks room and play the crap out of Hot Shots Golf 3.

No, seriously-- I can't put this thing down. I even popped out Deus Ex, a totally engaging CRPG like nothing else out there, and left it gathering dust for a WEEK because I can't stop laughing at that idiot Mel every time I birdie and he croons out "Bird's a-chirpin'!" like he's blissfully gassy from a 3-piece chicken combo. I love the Shop, I almost choked on a cookie when I pummeled the little glasses girl like Ken Clean-Air System and heard her blubber "You're Mean" on the score card screen, I spend all kinds of time on the desert course looking for that stupid yet oh-so-cute butterfly I unlocked with Capsule number one for a whopping 2900 points just because I can say "That butterfly is MINE!" with a tear in my eye, people, with a tear in my eye... Bird's a-chirpin'.

And oh yeah, the game... It's the first Hot Shots! All over again! With more everything and then some, Praise Bog! There's more finesse over the ball with the Big Air and Pinhole clubs that YOU GOTTA BUY, giving you an even GREATER sense of accomplishment because THOSE CLUBS are YOUR CHILDREN, you SWEATED and TOILED and TRIED LIKE MAD to birdie or par on that rotten Hawaiian Par 3 that goes over the beach just to have them-- because you knew HOW MUCH MORE FUN you were going to have and HOW MANY MORE RECORDS you were going to set and HOW MANY MORE GREAT chip-in videos you would be able to show your friends, who were gonna be so jealous because they were CLEARLY the more inferior Hot Shots Golfers! AHH HA HA HA!!!

The physics are 99% brilliant. I question some of the wierd ball dynamics when they screw me into a sand trap or (GULP!) water hazard, but what do I know-- I don't play the real thing. Stuff happens in the real world, ya know? I still feel like I learned a ton from the first game because I still understand both the basics of golf and the PS2 controller scheme, which hasn't changed much (but where's the wind velocity and vector grass-toss? Oh well). It's intuitive and simple yet tricky. And full of options, the way I like it. I'm Tiger Woods!

The save system is VASTLY improved if only for the fact that I don't have to wait for my Scotch and soda at the 9th hole bar in order to make a pit stop from which to keep creaming my wily opponent in Vs. mode-- I can save EVERY hole when I'm up, and go back to 5 or 10 or whatever I have to do when that miserable par 5 drops me out of bounds again... and again... and again when I'm going for a green-in-2 Eagle attempt. The only thing that burns me up at all about this game is a problem I had in HSG1, namely that it seems like when I save my interrupt data in the same slot over and over, the game will eventually lock up on a certain hole every time I get there. But, annoying as we all know THAT is, I can't get mad at it. I'm too relaxed 10 minutes later when I've whipped the pants off of the Sasquatch and am kicking back with some new wallpapers to show for it all. And a tournament trophy with a little golf-guy on it.

I love it.

This game is a quiet, relaxing, enjoyable, challenging contest of wits between you and Newton up to 4 friends which will make you smile all day long. Hey, wait a sec-- Is that the secret of real golf as well? I gotta go outside more...

Bird's a-chirpin'...

Excellent game all around!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing golf games since the original Atari and have found there are usually two types; the serious ones like Tiger Woods and the whacky amusing ones like Hot Shots 3.
Personally, I like Hot Shots better. The graphics are wonderful. The characters are solid and entertaining and the caddies are passable enough. However, it's the gameplay that keeps you coming back for more. From playing all the way thru the tourney mode, to challenging a friend in the skins competition or just playing the short course. This game has a little of everything.
If you want to hurry the game along, a simple press of the button right after the swing and you go straight to the end of the shot. You can play a short round in about 6 minutes and 18 holes in about 12 minutes this way.
And the game keeps all of your stats and grades you. So, the more you play, the more your stats tell how you are playing each course.
And believe me, there is nothing more satisfying then droppping in a hole in one (or two!) on the short course. It's not extrememly difficult to do, but it ain't easy either!
All in all, Hot Shots 3 gives you plenty of control over your shots, plenty of game options, the ability to speed up the game and the graphics and characters are a joy. Plus, once you get used to putting, it becomes pretty intuitive.
Pure and simple, I love this game!

Very fun and easy for anyone to play

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Hot Shots Golf 3, the sequel to the fun and accessible Hot Shots 1 and 2, is a very fun golf game, and easy for anyone to learn. Part of the reason this game is so appealing is that you don't have to be a master before you start having fun; Gran Turismo 3 was like that, and the first 10 hours with that game was a real struggle. With Hot Shots Golf 3, anyone can pick up a controller and quickly learn to play within 15 minutes. I even tried a round with my dad, and after playing a few courses, he was scoring par and birdie without much trouble.

However, it is not an easy game once you get going. The initial courses are fun and mildly challenging, but as the game goes along, the courses become (thankfully) harder. As goes usual golf gaming fair, there are a countless number of secrets and items to unlock. You can unlock secret clubs, characters, wallpapers and more by earning "Hot Shot" points while you play.

The only things that I didn't like about this game were the unorignal characters and the annoying sound effects. The characters are very stereotyped, as usual, and I would have preferred Sony to use the original Japanese characters.

Other than those two bad points, Hot Shots Golf 3 is a very fun golf game with a lot of longevity. There are plenty of secrets to unlock, six huge 18 hole courses to play on, and even internet scoring competition. While it's not wholly original (considering it's another sequel), it's a great accessible game, whether you're playing alone or with some friends.

Tiger who?? EA what??

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have played all of the golf games for systems except for the Hot Shot series. I was a little put off by the cartoonish graphics and didn't think it could compare to the gameplay of the EA sports Tiger Woods experience. BIG MISTAKE. I borrowed not bought the first TW game for the PS2. BIG Disappointment. A friend later told me of the HSG series and I read some reviews and deceided to buy it. This game is off the charts. The physics are amazing and I haved not played another of my other titles for weeks. The different modes are great and all challenging. The only complaint I have is no Skins Challenge. But the Short Course makes up for that you can play a round in under 5 minutes for those of you with limited time. A whole round takes about 10 min so it seldom gets boring. I do get tired of watching the computer making 150 yd eagles though. If you do get the chance to establish some greatness the game will record that for you so you can relive the moment over and over again. The character selection is very interesting as well. The comments they make at you are hilarious. Your first 4 or 5 times playing them and I guarantee some good laughs. The caddys are also amusing. Don't think twice about picking this one up it's a no brainer.

wow! Great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've tried several golf games over the years, on each of the systems I've owned (NES, SNES, PSX, PS2). I've also played a couple of different golf games on the PC. While the golf physics have been fairly consistent throughout the years, one thing most of the games have lacked is a "fun factor". After one or two rounds of 18, most golf games have lost the replay value. One factor for this happening was that it took so long to complete a round of golf.

Hot Shots Golf has changed this. The game is simply fun. One advantage is how fast paced the game is. A round of 18 in tournament mode takes only about a half hour to play (think about that....2 minutes or less per hole), but you still have to exercise skill in hitting the shots well. You will also have to do some thinking in re-aiming some shots, reading the green, and attempting to chip the ball in. As you win tournaments, you earn special prizes. Prizes include a new set of clubs (with different abilities, one grants you extra distance while sacrificing impact ability), new golf balls, new caddies. If you play in VS mode, if you beat the opponent, that character is unlocked and is now playable. Each character has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and some are clearly better than others.

There are two drawbacks that I can think of. One: The character design is horrible. The character look so hokey. Two: after the 10th hole in tournament mode (at least on the first course) the game may lock up. My advise would be to save your game after hole 9 (if you're having a good round and don't want to lose it) and if resume play if it locks up. It is annoying, but other than the first day I played the game, I haven't had the problem. It's something to watch out for.

I haven't had this much fun playing a golf game ever. It is very easy to pick up and start playing fairly well, but difficult to master completely. Well worth the money.

One Of The Best Games You Can Get For PS2.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is by far the funnest golf game ever made.The characters are funny,the graphics are good,and is fun whether you are playing a 1 player game or 2 player game.Before this game,I was never really into golf games,but Hot Shots Golf 3 has changed my mind about golf games.When you first play the game,you have to start off with just 3 characters.You can unlock more in the VS mode.They will show you 2 opponents for you to choose from.You then pick the one that you want to face.Once you have beaten that character,he is unlocked and you can now play as him.You can also play short courses or the regular courses without having to face anybody.No matter how you play this game,it is always fun.If you own a Playstation 2,then this game is a must-own.I hope this review helped.

Peace Out.

Hot Shots- Part 3- IT'S A SMASH!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

this was one of the first games i picked up when i got my PS2 (long overdue, i know- been playin' on the Cube). anyway, HSG3 is simply amazing. the graphics are beautiful, the gameplay is superb, and the golf physics are outstanding.
all of the characters are alot of fun to play with, and the fact that you can take one through a tournament is a blast....
the better you do in tournaments, the higher your ranking goes: beginner, amateur, pro, etc etc....the courses get tougher (wind conditions get trickier, greens tougher to read, etc), the opponents get harder, and so on. i love this game, but be warned: IT IS VERY ADDICTING! i was sucked in by this game, and i can't put it down!!
if you dig golf video gaming, toss out Tiger, and snag Hot Shots Golf 3! you'll thank yourself!!! and me too i hope

peace,

cic

5 Star Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Hot Shots Golf 3 is a great game. It throws Tiger Woods out the window and tosses him out of the world ranking again too. When I first fot this game as a greatest hit, I couldn't figure out the controls, but I found a guide online and found out the controls are easy as can be. Tournament mode was fun, but I like unlocking new characters the most. Mitch, the Sasquatch is the best one. I like that you can tell which one of your friends is the best. I'm semi- pro. Since there aren't any good golf titles and you like golf like me, I highly reccomend it.

Hole in One - Sony does it again!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: March 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Hot Shots Golf 3 picks up where the previous left off. In that respect it's a hit. After a long and horrible day at the driving range you can count on HSG3 to put a smile on your face and up your total yardage to more than you can possibly imagine.
There are 3 basic modes of play: single player, multiplayer and short course. The single player provides the most variety. You can practice your strokes and putting; tee off against a variety of anime-like golfers; or pit your skills against human opponents. Clap Handz did a fantastic job of maintaining the same charm and feel of the game and the characters. The graphics are not the best you will see on PS2 nor the most dazzling (although the water in the game is perhaps the best to grace the PS2). However Hot Shots was never about the false front and more about humor and good old fashion FUN.
The only negative to this otherwise fantastic game is the regionalization of the game. This is unfortunately too typical of games translated to the American version. Would it have killed the developers to leave the original Japanese voices? Would it have been too much to ask for the language features? Perhaps. Afterall I'm only the consumer...and in the end I am, nonetheless, a happy consumer.

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