Let me start out by saying that the graphics are really refreshing. Refreshing? Yes, golf games are always great to review when they have beautifully done courses. Hot Shots Golf 3 falls right into the wonderful layouts and luscious greenery that has made its name a classic. The greens are aptly named, with towering trees rising up over the horizon. Sand traps look beachy enough, while there is a definite distinction between the treacherous rough and the hospitable fairway. The hole flags stick out, making aiming for the hole a snap. The courses also change depending on what season you play them in. Spring has fresh blossoms on all the trees with birds flying daintily through the skies. Summer has a blazing sun, while the dragonflies, with their distinctive buzzing sound, chase mosquitoes passionately. Fall brings a spectacular array of golds, oranges, reds, yellows, etc. Finally Jack Frost's touch of winter brings colder climate, seemingly lifeless vegetation, and yes, even smoke coming out of the players' mouths. The players are superbly done, each being as original and distinguishable as any game I've ever seen. Talk about a 'cast of characters.' There are preppy players, hick-type players, classy players, even an Outback player. Each has his own clothing style (two outfits to choose from!), and their own swing. Some of the swings are absolutely hilarious!!! Everything is perfectly rendered, from the jubilation of each character after a smooth birdie, to a narrow miss which makes your distraught caddie cascade 'comments' on you like Niagra. There is also wonderful news for the rare 5-percent of us out there. You can make your golfer left-handed.

The sound is just as top notch as the graphics. Trademark 'whooshes' whistle through the air as you begin your downswing on a 240-yard drive. Taps and tips sound woody or metal-ly based on what club you're using. The hole gives its sound of approval after you drop in a birdie, or where I'm concerned, a triple bogey. The sounds are as dynamic as the graphics, with each character having a distinct twang or drawl to their voice. The caddies are hilarious too. Some of the phrases are great, but a little on the 'played too much' side, if you ask me. Still, it's nothing to get upset over. As the seasons change, the sounds change as well. Winter winds roar angrily around you, while spring brings breezes so gentle, only a light touch on your chin lets you know it's there. The dragonflies buzz, the birds chirp. You can even hear squirrels chatter. Throw in the fact that the crowd is done perfectly with a well balanced ooohs, aahhhs, cheers and jeers. Probably a few minor complaints are the fact that the music becomes blah after playing the respective course a few times, and the crowd says weird things over and over again, hole after hole. There's only so many times you can hear 'don't rush' in a British accent every time you go to putt. Still though, aesthetically, HSG3 is the total package with some minor picky stuff.

Everything in Hot Shots Golf 3 kind of builds on each other. Thus, there is a lot of unlocking to do. You start out with the Single Player Menu, which has five things you can do. These are Stroke Play, which lets you pick your favorite course (assuming it's unlocked). Tournament Mode has you entering events to win items, money, fame and player ranking. This will let you unlock more courses as well. VS Mode has you playing one on one against another golfer. If you beat them, then you unlock them, and can use that golfer in any other mode. 9 out of 10 times, the golfer you play is a little better than you thus making it challenging and rewarding when you win. Training Mode is for those of us unblessed with golfing skills that need a little extra work. Finally, National Tournaments let you enter in your score over the web. You need a password and an email address to enter the tournament, but after that it's smooth sailing. Multiplayer Menu allows you to duke it out with a friend or loved one. This can be done by Stroke play or Match play. There's a quick fix thing out there in the form of Short Course, which supports up to 4 players playing a quick game of 9 par-3 holes. The Data Menu lets you see your Status that you've achieved for your golf prowess, video clips for great shots, your inventory and profile, and finally the golf shop where you can buy a bouquet of golf related items like clubs or balls. The Options Menu has you controlling things like Background music (fun for a while, but turn it off after playing the course a few times), who your caddy is, etc. You can also repair divots, which I thought was neat, because the divots stay on any course until you repair them.

Probably the most fun I had was in Tournament Mode. I believe that Hot Shots Golf 3 is built around this Mode. You can unlock so many things. You move up through the rankings of Amateur, Beginner, Pro, so on and so forth. I also liked that when you unlocked a character, you could use them immediately in the next tournament. Another small beef I had was that you couldn't create your own golfer. Swing Away Golf had you create a character off of existing models, but it still made it that much more personal. Alas, it is a great effort, and the direction that Clap Hanz took is brilliant in its own right. It seems that they bypassed the whole 'create a character' by giving you potential access to over 15 golfers. You've got to be able to identify with one of them!

This all depends on two things. What particular course you're playing, and how fast you learn to read the putting greens. If you are playing the amateur tournaments, be prepared to slaughter every poor soul that rises up against you. Later tournaments will test any skills you may have picked up like judging trajectory, wind and ball backspin. Couple that with the computer Pros making some ridiculous shots, and you've got a real challenge on hand. The greens get faster and more wicked as you move up to higher end courses. All of this is put into great order, and it feels as if you are only playing up to a challenge instead of some hopeless task. As you learn the nuances of the game and put time into it, you will be greatly rewarded with fame. 'Fame, I want to live forever' is how the song went. Sometimes trying to unlock the higher characters would get difficult. They could always out hit me, while being seemingly much better at getting the ball near the hole. Still, I appreciated that Hot Shots Golf 3 was somewhat realistic in that the computer would make ordinary mistakes. The AI would hit out of the rough with the wrong club sometimes, misjudge the wind, or even hit into the water. It's refreshing to have something so fun because it's so realistic. Hi-diving into a pool of blue Jello ain't got nothing on Hot Shots Golf 3 when it comes to fun. Not that I'd know.

Though not too important to the game, the load times are great. It's so nice to come home after a hard day of work, and have the game zip right up. The manual is a blast to read too. The controls are great, with different clubs and balls giving you different timings and impact areas. The camera angles are great, especially with a hole overview you can view from anywhere you're at on the course. This comes in handy if you want to make the decision between driving the fairway in two, or hitting a slice around the trees in hopes to clear the lake and get on the green. Everything seems to flow so well in Hot Shots Golf 3 . Cameras, controls, the works.

Riot Rundown : Fun should be the name of this disk. It is absolutely addictive. I've never been able to put down in words why I like golf games so much, but it's games like Hot Shots Golf 3 that keep me trying. Whether with your friends on a rental, or playing Tournament Mode by yourself, be prepared to have a good ol' time with this game. (Insert joke about HSG3 being a 'hole-in-one' here).