Sony passed us a preview copy of Hot Shots Golf Fore!, so we hit the links with the Hot Shots linksters to see what’s in store for PS2 golfers when the game is released. Although not a complete or final build of the game, it was enough to whet our appetites for what will probably prove to be an enjoyable golfing game.

Let’s start with the courses themselves. There will be 13 total courses in the game, 8 of which are totally new to the series. These courses are set in a variety of locations including Hawaii and Japan. All of the courses are really gorgeous, with vibrant and bright color palettes, terrain features like slopes and streams, and plenty of trees. You’ll want to watch the course and hole fly-bys not only to check out the lay of the course but to enjoy the view as well.

The courses look gorgeous.

When you’re done enjoying the sights you can hit the links by playing as one of the game's 24 colorful characters. In addition to being rated differently in areas such as power and accuracy, each has their own unique personality, actions, and sayings on the course. While they weren’t to be found in the preview, Sony has confirmed that Ratchet and his caddy Clank as well as Jak and his caddy Dexter will make their appearance as playable characters in the game.

On the course your swing is controlled by pressing the swing button three times as the cursor moves along your swing bar: once to start the backswing, once when you’ve hit the desired swing power, and then again when the cursor gets to the ball target zone. Nail the last press and you’ll hit a sweet shot that will fly straight and true. Miss the sweet spot and you will add a slice or hook to your shot. If you can manage to hit the sweet spot and do so with a medium press of the button, you’ll launch a highly accurate super sweet shot. This control scheme has been standard with golf games for quite some time, but if it’s all new to you you’ll probably appreciate the game’s easy mode. In the easy mode you do not have to press the button a third time for accuracy. Simply hit the button when you’ve reached the desired power and then relax as you hit a perfectly straight shot every time.

Hot Shots is almost like two games in one because in addition to the regular golf, you can play on 2 miniature putting courses as well. Each hole is covered with crazy obstructions, bumpers, and slopes that will challenge you to get the ball to the hole. Hot Shots miniature golf is a little different than the traditional game in that your goal is not only to sink the ball, but to make the ball travel as far as possible before it drops into the hole. You’ll only get credit for the distance traveled on the shot that actually sank the ball, so the game is a challenge of making as many ricochets as possible on the way to a long hole in one.

The PS2 controlled players will give you plenty of challenge, but if you have a Network Adaptor you’ll be able to take your game online and compete in tournaments that support up to 32 players. Imagine how great it will feel to beat 31 players from around the country when you win an online tournament!

Although the version we played did not have all of the courses or players available, what we did get to see and play looked really good. The preview provided a good amount of fun on its own, so we’re looking forward to enjoying the full-blown game when it is released.