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I’m not sure if any of you faithful readers have noticed my unhealthy obsession with the Hot Shots Golf franchise. The latest incarnation is by no means my favorite in the series, but it’s certainly a much more fun game for me than Tiger Woods. Of course, the obsession began many eons ago with the first game in the series. Hot Shots hit the scene in 1997, and was one of the most replayed games of my high school career. I thought I knew how much fun a group of friends could have playing a few rounds of simulated golf. Then I got to college and the real fun began.

Hot Shots 2 was the game of the entire second semester of my freshman year. Sure, we spent some quality time with the first Tony Hawk, but nothing occupied our time more than Hot Shots 2 did. Except maybe drinking. But once we figured out how to harness the power of video game golf and the finest hops and barley, a whole new world opened up to us. Of course, I’m very competitive, so once the game became anything other than a way to kill time between classes (or a reason not to go), I was focused on hitting the fairways. Eventually, the others in the dorm found excuses not to play with me. It just wasn’t any fun when I hardly ever lost. I don’t blame them. The fact they never played Hot Shots with me sure didn’t stop me from playing alone.

That summer break, I forgot all about Hot Shots. Perfect Dark had come out, and none of my friends were playing anything else. Time passed. Hot Shots 3 came out, but it just wasn’t the game I wanted it to be. When Hot Shots Fore arrived, I was living at home while going to community college. All my friends were away, and weekends soon became three-day long tournaments against myself. On the way home from class on Friday, I’d stop at the beer store for a case, then head home to hit the links. I blew through the challenge mode in about four days. Once all the characters were unlocked, I could finally set about to master all 15 courses. My parents pretty much never saw me on weekends. Wherever Friday night left off, Saturday morning would begin. Soon enough I knew all 15 courses and 25 players inside and out. Those skills would come in handy once I moved to Philadelphia to continue pursuit of my degree.

When I moved to Philadelphia the next year to start at a new college, I lived off campus with some friends from high school, and the Hot Shots experiences we shared all those years ago came back with a vengeance once we were all in the same place all the time. By this time there were plenty of other multi-player games available, but there’s honestly no gameplay experience like playing 4-player Hot Shots for hours on end. Hell, we even erased the game save so we could start the game all over again trying to beat it together. I’ll never forget the battles we had with T-Bone and Jak (of Jak and Daxter). Legendary doesn’t even begin to describe them. Like all things, the Hot Shots phase of our multi-player experience soon gave way to newer systems  (Xbox) and newer games (NHL 2K6). Once again, I had forgotten all about the little golf game that got me into the sport.

It wasn’t until this year’s release of Hot Shots 5: Out of Bounds that the memories came creeping back in. While there aren’t anywhere near as many courses or characters, the game certainly holds its own. The day it arrived I played into the wee hours of the night, getting a feel for what the Cell processor could do for my golf game. Since the PS3 and 360 are both hooked up to the TV, my now live-in girlfriend was forced to watch me play course after course. There was a time she couldn’t even stand the thought of golf. After a few rounds with HSG5, she was so hooked she had to have the PSP version. Sadly, her attitude when she’s losing isn’t exactly what one would call good. Horrible is the only word that comes to mind. But she’s not bad. I like that she wants to win. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about playing alone again anytime soon thanks to the online capabilities the PS3 affords me.

I guess Hot Shots is the one franchise that’s followed me wherever I went. Seven games later, I can still say no game brings me more joy to play than this series. I shudder to think what the original must be like to play today, but I’m sure I’d still have fun taking on all those classic characters like Iceman and Raul. Never did finish any of those colleges. But I sure as hell finished those games. And those beers. Here’s to you Hot Shots, thanks for the memories.

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