Hot Shots Golf has been a staple of the PlayStation family forever, and Xbox has always failed to enrapture golf nerds with games like 3D Ultra Mini-Golf or Tee It Up never did. Powerstar Golf could change that, because it is remarkably similar to Hot Shots -- and as someone who adores that series, Powerstar Golf is right up my alley.
The similarities start with the pleasant, colorful, exaggerated art. Powerstar's golfers have exaggerated traits, like big eyes or elongated proportions. Each of those characters comes equipped with a special power. I played as the Japanese scientist, who uses a magnetized ball to pull her shots closer to the pin. The chiseled-jawed dude in the demo can smash the ball with extra strength -- something Hot Shots fans know very well.
Caddies are the most interesting variable. Their skills enable you to skip across water or see where your putt will land, as a couple of examples.
Powerstar's core golf isn't doing much to reinvent the wheel, but that's okay -- it apes an established formula beautifully, right down to the way you analyze greens and time your perfect drive from the tee. I love Hot Shots, so odds are good that I'll love this, too. Where Powerstar Golf comes into its own is in its social features. Each hole on the fictional courses is peppered with friends' longest drives (as well as the one-and-only world record), and closest landings to the pin. That tiny bit of motivation could have Trials-levels of obsessive replayability. I just missed that perfect stroke to beat your distance, but I'll get it next time.
The cloud functionality of Xbox One helps, too, allowing you to clip out crazy shots, hole in ones, and other stuff you want to share with friends. But it's the way you're recorded that I like most. Your best round is recorded, and exists as something I can challenge on every course. If you nailed that albatross on a brutal par 5, it's there for me to compete against, constantly taunting any of your friends who want to do better.
It all comes down to motivation, and Powerstar Golf does more than the usual leaderboards to keep you engaged. When it releases this year, we'll likely learn more about its release structure. Microsoft wouldn't tell me if it the digital-only golf game would cost anything, and how it and developer Zoe Mode planned to release golfers and caddies into the marketplace.
If Powerstar Golf is free to play, I won't have any reason to resist its familiar call -- not that I would have anyway.
Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor for IGN's Xbox 360 team. He’s also quite Canadian. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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