This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Brian Mohr.

Hot Shots Golf for the PlayStation was a big hit and the success has continued over four versions up to and including the PlayStation 2. Now we see the title being featured on the PlayStation Portable. The game isn’t as realistic as Tiger Woods PGA Tour, but it does feature impressive physics and attractive graphics.



Open Tee is a wonderful translation of the golfing title and is very similar to Hot Shots Golf: Fore! for the PlayStation 2. Beyond the slight drawback of graphics only because it’s on the PSP, the game looks and feels great. It even includes all the meters previously seen in Hot Shots Golf: Fore! like the distance meter from the hole at the bottom of the screen, wind meter and more.

The most important thing that is still the same for Hot Shots Golf is the controls. They are easy to pick up, but difficult to master. It’s still the simple three tap system to hit the ball and determine your accuracy, so the game has yet to update itself with the analog stick and thus we see that this title makes very little use of the stick. The controls are direct and accurate just as if you were playing the PlayStation 2 version. The controls remain the same as well as you can put spin on the ball by making use of the D-pad.

The graphics are very impressive especially for a PSP title. The characters still have the anime look from the Japanese release late last year, but the courses are landscaped beautifully and have a lot of depth. The courses are a little limited as to where you can shoot, but they still look great. The menus in the game are good and the screen certainly shows off the bright colors of the courses, players and more.

The biggest thing going for Hot Shots though is the tremendous replay value. Despite only six courses, you’ll find yourself playing this game a long time. You start out with one course and two players, but you can unlock up to 10 players, six courses, five caddies and a whole bunch of customizable items that you can put on your character.

Finally, the sound is very solid. Each character has his own cartoony voice and they all react appropriately to shots and fit the action on-screen, but what is good about this is that the voicework is not overly done. The music in the menus and game are calm and relaxing and fit the nature of the game. The in-game effects like slices, putts and more are also very impressive.



The first thing that you’ll notice is that there aren’t that many courses in the PSP version. It’s half the amount that was found in the most recent Hot Shots for PlayStation 2, but at least there is some selection.

The bigger problem though is that it will take you a lot of time to unlock new characters and courses. This is both good and bad, but players should be prepared to spend a good amount of time playing the Alps course because you’ll be there for a while. You’ll find yourself unlocking watches, sunglasses, outfits and more which is nice, but I’d like to get a chance to play with some of the other characters on different courses to see my variety much quicker.

More importantly though is the fact that every one of Sony’s titles to date has been online except Hot Shots Golf. This was particularly disappointing as you certainly would see a lot more replay value from the game, but at least there is the ad-hoc wireless play so you can play locally. The wireless play features no delays or problems and it even allows you to heckle your competition by pressing various buttons. It’s a nice addition, but certainly online play would have been better.

Finally, the game does have a few modes of play including multiplayer, stroke and challenge as well as a new mode called putting which allows you to attempt various putts on the greens. It’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but certainly does add something to the game. It’s just too bad that Clap Hanz couldn’t have added miniature golf or even better, the option to create your own courses. Those features would have been a nice addition and something a lot of people would have enjoyed.



Overall, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is a solid PSP title with impressive depth and plenty of hours of gameplay. The graphics, sound and controls are all very solid. The controls specifically are easy to pickup, but hard to master making Hot Shots a game you’ll go back to years after its release. The golf title’s only drawbacks are that there is no online play, not too many modes of play and it is very difficult to unlock items, but beyond this the game is good and fun to play. Open Tee is a wonderful translation of the Hot Shots series for Sony’s handheld and the game is certainly one of the best PSP games to date.

Hot Shots has easy-to-pick-up controls. They do get more challenging over time, though.

The courses and players are bright and colorful and standout on the PSP’s screen.

The voicework fits the reactions on-screen. The music is upbeat.

The game is fun to pick up and play; despite only six courses it features a solid challenge.

There’s a lot to unlock including items, courses and players. You’ll find plenty to do.

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