Crazy, tattooed characters running about the golf course? This definitely isn't Augusta National! Andy gives the lowdown on this mix of comedic shenanigans and golf sim.
One of the interesting things about the world of video games is how some titles happen to come together.
Say, for example, you've made a golfing game and there are already a glut of them in the marketplace. You've got your standard Tiger Woods PGA title from the ever-dependable EA Sports, wackier brands like Hot Shots Golf, and franchises up the wazoo on every console and computer you can think of.
What developer Hypnotix and publisher Simon & Schuster Interactive decided to do with their title -- Outlaw Golf -- was to distinguish its game of golf by mixing in some colorful characters and PG-13 rated profanity. Sounds like off-the-wall fun, but that kind of "out there" humor is contrasted with a golf engine that's more realistic than one would anticipate, and complimented with an array of solid, if not overwhelming, play options.
True to its name, Outlaw Golf enables you to play as 10 different colorful characters, from heavily tattooed females to shirtless guys and macho men from south of the border. It also allows you to beat up on your caddie in order to beef up your composure meter, which can fall apart if you continually miss shots. Former Daily Show correspondent (and currently annoying TV commercial personality) Steve Carell provides ample doses of redundant commentary, highlighting the shenanigans and low-brow humor. Finally, you can also taunt your opponents in a futile attempt to make them swing away at an inevitable mulligan -- all inappropriate for the actual sport, of course, but completely appropriate for the fantasy world of video games.
When you start Outlaw Golf, you have only three options awaiting you: Exhibition, Tour Mode, and Tutorials. While that might seem bare-bones, there are a good amount of options incorporated within the different modes to spice things up.
Exhibition offers some eight different games you can play with multiple players (a few are open for single players). Stroke is a traditional 18-hole game of golf (1-4 players), while Match is a two-player variation that's scored by each individual hole. Skins is Outlaw's version of the Skins Game, where you and a friend(s) compete for dollars based on your performance on the green. Best Ball is a 4-player team mode also scored stroke style, while Casino is a particularly choice option for 2-4 players. Each player drops down an imaginary $1 on each shot, and you have the option to bow out of the shot or put your cash in the pot. Whoever has the most cash at the end of 18 holes wins. Finally, there's a self-explanatory Time Attack mode that's also a good deal of fun.
For single players, Tour Mode is the way to go. You compete in some 30 different events spread out on the game's three courses: Turnpike Valley Country Club (off the Jersey Turnpike, of course), Crusty Leaf Country Club (think rural Virginia and moonshine), and El Diablo Country Club (the regulation desert locale). The modes vary from skins games to traditional shoot-outs and other specialty challenges, and progressing through the mode enables you to unlock other tour events (about three are unlocked right off the bat for each course). You can also upgrade your character's various attributes (including the addition of more powerful clubs) by completing 12 additional mini-games in the Outlaw Range.
Beyond the wacky veneer and all the options, though, lurks a serious golfing engine that requires patience and practice (and too much of both) to execute. In fact, if you took the characters, commentary, and more outrageous elements out of Outlaw Golf, and replaced them with traditional PGA golfers and more realistic challenges, you'd have a solid if unspectacular golfing title.
Selecting your club is as easy as pressing up/down on the D-pad. A dotted line follows on-screen, showing the trajectory of the shot (yellow indicates it's good, red that it's gonna be bad). Pressing B allows you to see the anticipated landing of the shot, while fiddling with the D-pad again in this mode displays the contour of the course. The C-stick places whatever spin you'd like the shot to have (i.e. where the ball will be struck), while pressing X enables you to hit a shorter approach shot as you near the green.
All of this is pretty standard, but the art of actually hitting the ball ends up being a lot more frustrating than it needs to be. Sure, it sounds easy: press A to get ready to swing, then either tilt the C stick or control stick to fire away. First tilt back to get the swing going, then straight back once your power meter fills up. The trouble is that the analog control ends up being infuriating at times for its sensitivity -- just one minor move to the left or right will make the shot veer off-course. While there may be times you'll want that to happen, more often than not it's an exercise in frustration, requiring a little too much practice to get accustomed to. Putting, at least, is a little more forgiving, since the developers have allowed you to preview your putt three times before actually taking the shot.
Outlaw Golf's graphics are decent but the framerate isn't as consistent as you'd like it to be, particularly during the "fly-overs" of the three courses and various shot replays. The character models are decent and the courses adequately rendered, yet because there are only three of them, there's not a whole lot of variety in the look of the game.
On the audio side, ambient sounds clash with the before-mentioned annoying commentary by Steve Carell. Needless to say, I could have lived with a lot less of Carell's smirk, obnoxious comments. Sure, they help to convey the wackier aspects of the title, but they're recycled so much that I grew tired of them after just a few minutes.
Overall, Outlaw Golf is a game that suffers from a split personality. The variety of games are satisfying, but the whole "extreme" element inherent in its characters and various aspects (like roughing up the caddie) clash with a golfing engine that's too ordinary for its own good. Chances are that players anticipating a wacky brand of golf are going to be frustrated by the precision-based swinging, while die-hard golf addicts will be put off by the silly elements. Outlaw Golf never cohesively meshes these disparate elements enough to really score anything more than a bogey.