Shortcuts to make the game more suited for a handheld are here, including the ability to skip the balls flight. After swinging, you can immediately set up for your next shot. You can do the same for AI opponents, but there should be an option to just skip them entirely. Two player ad hoc is available. No online play has been included, even though the game seems made for it.
On the screen, everything is bright and cheery. Textures are smooth and there are no seams in any of the polygons. A few weather effects add to the atmosphere, particle effects involving the sand and water, and special effects during those particularly strong swings. There are no frame rate issues at any time.
It provides all of this without a single load time problem, instantly making this a better handheld golf game than Tiger. Once the brief, initial load time has passed, each hole pops up in a matter of a few seconds. Tiger takes longer to load your next shot.
All the strange, high-pitched cheers from the players are present. They're annoying, especially during an extended session. The music is turned off as a default for a good reason. It's suited to the game, just not to a gamer's ear. To make up for it, there are a few ambient effects on the course for some distraction, even if they never seem to pull it off.
Whether or not the Tiger Woods or Hot Shots series is better is debatable… just not on the PSP. This is a far easier, more enjoyable golfing-on-the-go experience. Where the developers at EA were more concerned about making their game mimic the home version at whatever cost, SCEA made sure the game worked on the system is was being developed for. That extra effort makes this a must buy for fans of the series, console, and golf.
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