Outlaw Golf

• Release Date: June 12, 2002
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Golf
• Similar Games: Amateur League Golf (Hybrid Windows/Mac), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 (Xbox), Swingerz Golf (Nintendo GameCube)

Game Description

As the title implies, Outlaw Golf is a non-traditional approach to the sport, with over-the-top characters and offbeat courses. Each of the ten featured characters comes with his or her own personal caddy who can be beaten with a club if a particular shot doesn't go off as planned. Three featured courses consist of an urban setting in Newark, a desert in Nevada, and an alligator-infested swampland. An analog-controlled swing meter is used to determine a shot's power and accuracy as players adjust for both the wind and ball lie.

The "Composure Response System" used in the developer's earlier Amateur League Golf has been implemented in this title as well. Missing shots makes the game harder to control until composure is regained, which is accomplished by avoiding slices or hooks or by taking a few swipes at the caddy. Game modes include Exhibition, Tour Mode, and Outlaw Range. Exhibition offers the following eight styles of play: Stroke, Match, Skins, Best Ball, Scramble, My One and Only (one club and a putter), Casino, and Time Attack.

Tour Mode consists of 30 different events across the three courses. By completing the scenarios, players can unlock more characters, clubs, and golf balls. Outlaw Range offers players an opportunity to improve their character's abilities in distance, accuracy, composure, and control by competing in 12 games. Winning a game earns players points, which can be allocated to whichever attribute is desired. Up to four players can alternate turns using such characters as Ice Trey, Harley, Doc Diggler, El Suave, and others consisting of former strippers, convicts, and rappers.

Review: Overall

In all honesty, Outlaw Golf seemed like a game destined for the bargain bin the moment it was announced. The lowbrow concept, a publisher not exactly known for sports titles, and the dubious distinction of being the system's first golf game are not the ideal ingredients for a runaway hit. Yet Outlaw Golf somehow beat the odds to become one of the console's biggest surprises, proving you can't always judge a game based on concept alone. While the theme is certainly not for everyone's tastes, the golf engine is solid, the visuals are striking, and the play modes are impressive. A few tweaks to the interface, more courses, and less reliance on scripted cut-scenes would put this title right in the same league as Tiger Woods PGA Tour series, which is great company to be in.

Outlaw Golf features an analog swing system that can be frustrating at times, with sensitive control married to a narrow margin for error. Players shouldn't be surprised if they slice or hook the ball at least once per hole. There's no option to use a triple-click method, so adjustments are necessary to learn the somewhat imprecise touch and feel of swings instead of the carefully planned out distance and accuracy meters found in more traditional titles. In this way the game mirrors real golf, and it is certainly frustrating like real golf, but hitting shots should never be more luck than skill. And in this game, it's hard to tell if you're good or just fortunate. Physics are adequate though not exceptional, with some balls zipping along fairways as if the grass were made of ice. Towering shots don't always die in the sand, and balls rarely roll back or stay still even when backspin is applied, which is odd.

Putting is by far the trickiest part of the game. Players are even encouraged to cheat by using a "preview" to show the estimated path (represented by a yellow line) where the ball is going to end up. After positioning a crosshair target over the green, players will find the act of putting involves tapping the preview button, making adjustments, and repeating. Three previews are allowed for each putt, which is more than enough, but even these aren't 100 percent accurate. Forget about reading greens by sight alone -- the grid isn't detailed enough to determine slope with any degree of consistency. Moreover, players are saddled with the unusual task of positioning the cursor beyond or in front of the cup to account for power instead of just using the analog swing meter. Previews are thus more a requirement than a helpful option, as they are really the only meaningful way to see how greens affect a shot.

One of Outlaw Golf's touted features is the composure system, which is more gimmicky than it should be. While it's relatively easy to harm composure by stringing together poor shots (even if the ball lands on the fairway, a slice still "rattles" a golfer), they are easily corrected by beating up the caddy. This involves pressing a button as a target moves back and forth along a horizontal bar. Anyone with basic timing skills can hit the impact markers with regularity, which rewards players with a considerable amount of composure -- so much so that messing up shots is not as big a problem as it could be. There are limited "beating" tokens, but more can be earned with solid play. On a side note, it is odd golfers take their aggressions out on their caddies rather than their opponents, which could have been an interesting feature -- at least one giving new meaning to the term handicap. Another problem is the system forces you to watch the horizontal bar at all times, so players miss the beatings that occur.

While the above issues are disappointing, Outlaw Golf makes up for its shortcomings by delivering a crisp and engaging presentation. Yes, the game is filled with sexual innuendo and mild profanity, and female characters wear skintight leather pants, revealing miniskirts, and have visible thongs poking out from above their hip huggers. Most of the golfers are caricatures with exaggerated motions, accents, and appearances. Character details are impressive: Harley has tattoos on her arm, calf, and lower back, you can count the hairs on Scrummy O'Doole's shaved head, and teenagers are sure to swoon over the risqué antics of Summer and Autumn, who are not adverse to spanking each other or gyrating in celebration after finishing the hole.

Each of the three courses looks excellent and is filled with activity. A jumbo jet swoops toward the screen and begins its descent near an airport, a blimp slowly hovers across the sky, while autumn trees gently sway in the wind as birds circle above them and chirp. Three-dimensional onlookers line the courses, and will clap and cheer with every shot (hit someone with a golf ball and they'll collapse to the ground). The freshly cut grass on the fairways and greens is also well represented, as are lighting effects with subtle shading and shadows revealing the contours of each course. It is not an exaggeration to say these are among best looking courses featured in a golf game to date, even bettering those found in Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf. Of course, there are only three and none of them are authentic. The courses also don't change with seasons, which could have been a nice feature using the built-in clock.

Despite a touchy swing meter, a rather unintuitive putting interface, and a paltry three courses, Outlaw Golf is still worth a look for those who are tired of traditional golf games. The modes of play feature many interesting twists on the popular sport, and players have incentive to keep competing to unlock the remaining characters as well as more powerful equipment. The computer is also a challenging opponent and will give even experienced players a run for their money. The visual presentation is excellent, and the dialogue is often amusing despite being crude at times. Outlaw Golf is not the failure it could or likely should have been, which bodes well for future installments in the series as the development team attempts new takes on traditional sports.

Review: Enjoyment

The gameplay is fun despite annoyances in the swing and putting system. Both can be adjusted to over time, however. A nice selection of game modes keeps things interesting.

Review: Graphics

While there is some choppiness during some of the course flybys, the courses and characters are crisp and highly detailed.

Review: Sound

Commentary is by The Daily Show's Steve Carell, and characters will say suggestive things like "C'mon you can tell I know how to handle a stick." Repetition is this area's biggest problem.

Review: Replay Value

While the small number of courses is a big problem in this area, the game isn't easily mastered and there are several characters to unlock.

Review: Documentation

The manual covers the basics, and an in-game tutorial shows video clips of how to putt, swing, fight, and so forth.

Production Credits