PS Vita Review: Everybody's Golf

Aka Hot Shots Golf for our American friends or Minna No Golf in its homeland, Everybody's Golf was one of the first games I got for my PSP (in its original Japanese). The Vita version doesn't seem to have changed all that much, bar the addition of trophies and the online challenges being the highlights.

Jazzing up the real sport with some avant garde costumes, and the race to collect the best in clubs, balls and evolve your own character, the golf kind of takes a back seat as you aim to beat your own records by mastering the course and your equipment. With a gentle learning curve, you can achieve your golfing destiny at your own pace and never feel flustered by the game (except in the quickfire rounds where there's a time limit on each shot).

Learning where to go big with a driver and when to play it a touch safe are all part of the learning curve, but when you get to the later levels, it really feels like a major challenge just to get on the green, and then find the right line and power to the cup without multiple bogies.

With its familiar swooping camera angles, cute voices and constant encouragement, the only worry about the Vita version is the apparent lack of innovation, the desire to notch up the zaniness or any other attempt to move things on. Perhaps this is one game where everything is as comfortable as it'll get, which is fine with me, but in that case it should be a lot less expensive.

Developer Clap Hanz
Price £34.99
Score 7/10
Progress: Maxed out most characters, many crowns