Outlaw Golf (GameCube) > Reviews (1)

OUTLAW GOLF

Outlaw Golf is one of the first and only golf games to feature strong adult material. Outlaw Golf is a hectic and strange golf game to say the least but its actually one of my favourites. The game was developed by Hypnotix and published by Simon and Schuster Interactive. It is also available on the original Xbox, PS2 and PC as well as the GameCube. All versions of the game are exactly the same and the only difference is the price of each game. I have never been a massive fan of proper golf games but ones like this or Everybody's Golf intrigue me because almost everything is made from scratch and they don't actually feature proper golfers or courses. I also like the fact this game is really funny and contains adult humour definitely not suitable for the younger gamers. These games don't usually feature a story and its no different with this game.

GAMEPLAY

Outlaw Golf has both fun and funny gameplay moments. Its not like any other golf game because its crude, naughty, violent and very intelligent. There are quite a few different game modes available for you to tackle as well as numerous playable games. The main mode is Tour mode and in Tour mode the aim is to win every event possible. There are four different course in Tour Mode each with numerous events that have to be won. You can only play a few to start with until you win them and unlock more. There are a staggering total of 32 different events in Tour mode and winning certain ones can unlock new things such as crazy characters to use as golfers, new clubs and balls. When you've chosen and event and the game starts you will notice there is a commentator who thinks hes a very funny guy and to be fair he actually is. Now to play golf all you need to do is look where the ball is supposed to be going and you can see this because there is a yellow line of arrows indicating roughly where your aiming. To swing its as simple as moving the analog stick back and then moving it forward. there are other ways of doing it by changing it in the options. Your aim is to try finish on the best score possible. Some events might be against other golfers controlled by the computer.

All of the players in the game have their own unique celebrations and traits. One of my favourite characters is called Summer shes a bit of a frisky girl and she loves beating her caddy to death. All characters do something after finishing a hole. If you do well on a hole you will see a good celebration but if you don't you may witness some bad language or some strong violence. The putting side to the game is quite simple I feel. Its not sensitive like the normal shots you take and you get free chances to see where the ball will go. Pressing the right button brings a line up for about 5 seconds and if its going away from the hole you still have 2 more attempts at lining it up right. Bodge up a shoot and you could find yourself hitting a spectator right in the face or body knocking them over like a sack of potatoes. Each course features 18 holes of crazy.

Wind can cause problems and you must always keep an eye on the radar telling you so or your ball might get blown out of bounds or even through someones window. Also when playing you may receive tokens for doing something spectacular like a hole in one and these tokens can be used to beat your caddy up severely. Doing this increases moment and makes your golfer play slightly better.

There are a total of 10 different golfers on the game and they all have their own unique caddy that can be beaten and tortured when you feel like it as long as you have a token. If you don't feel like playing normal golf there are plenty of other golf games available for you to play. Stroke play is basically normal golf but you can play this mode with up to 4 players, great if you have friends that like golf too. There is also Match play in which score is based on number of holes won. All of these game modes can be played with friends using the same GameCube. Skins is where money is awarded for each hole won and at the end of the game the winner is the person with the most cash. Other games worthy of trying on the game are Best Ball, Scramble, My One And Only, Casino and Time Attack. All of these games are competitive games and all are a lot of fun to play. It certainly makes a change other than just playing normal golf.All the characters are really unique and have an occupation. Summer is a strange character because shes a scientist and a stripper. Other characters include a failed rapper, a biker, a mans man, an Inbred redneck and a hippie. The course are quite good too but I feel there should be more than what there is. Overall Outlaw Golf is an interesting game to say the least and its the type of game that some gamers may find way too offensive. I like it, I think its funny and an enjoyable game.

GRAPHICS

Outlaw Golf has actually quite good graphics and the characters all look fantastic plus most of them stand out really well. Even the golfers caddies look great but obviously not as good as the main golfers. The courses are all fake, they look fake but for some reason they are still detailed really well. On some courses you can see houses and other random objects that you wont usually see on a golf course and I think they look pretty cool. The scenery in the game is something special. Trees, lakes, bunkers and everything else looks fairly well. I would definitely say the graphics are fairly good for an old GameCube game.

SOUND EFFECTS

The music to the game is absolutely annoying, it bugs me, sounds awful and lacks greatness. Most of the music is heavy stuff and it just sounds so bad and wrong its almost off putting. The menu sounds are pretty cool and I can proudly say I really like them. The in game sounds however are really atrocious. When taking your shots it sounds weak, hearing the wind sounds weak, the talking from the characters sound weak and best of all beating the hell out of your caddy sounds weak. The sound effects are dismal and definitely let the game down slightly.

Some of the sound effects are really poor quality and seem a little hollow. I have played the Xbox version of this and the sound is magnificent but this version...poor!

DIFFICULTY

The game can be difficult if you haven't got a steady hand because of the way you take your shots moving the analog stick back then forward. One slight bodge doing that and your in serious trouble and it can be hard to recover from. I think the putting is by far the easiest with the way it works. Its that easy almost every time I get on the green I putt the ball within two shots. Getting on the green can be a bugger mainly because of how quick the ball moves on it. Sometimes it will zoom that fast you'll be in the rough. Master backspin in golf and you will be fine. I think its quite easy and after a few rounds you will be thrashing your opponents like there's no tomorrow. Simple and effective controls make this game easy for most gamers.

LONGEVITY

Its no real fact that games nowadays need to last a long time for us gamers to be extremely happy. Sport games are usually different though because they are type of game that seem to last a lifetime. Outlaw Golf isn't massive but you can go on different game modes and have fun with friends which is what its all about. I finished Tour Mode within 8 hours but still play it over and over again because its fun. Plus when my friend comes to my house we often have a few games on this still because its crazy, its golf and its enjoyable. Overall the length of the game is okay.

PROS

• There are 10 unique golfers and each have their own celebrations and traits.
• Not just a golf game because its fun, crazy and contains adult humour.
• Beat the living hell out of your caddy by competing in a little mini game.
• Great for multiplayer with a friend or friends and has a lot of 2 player games.
• The graphics are still quite good considering its a little old now.
• It gets very addictive sometimes.

CONS

• The game has some very sensitive controls so you have to be extra careful or your going to slice the ball out of bounds.
• The sound effects to Outlaw Golf are absolutely atrocious and let the game down considerably.
• Tour Mode is okay but as the main mode for a game I would class it as weak.
• could be extremely offensive to some people because of what it contains.
• I feel there should be a lot more game modes and characters to play as.
• This version is expensive and hard to find in most game shops.

FINAL THOUGHT

So to sum up Outlaw Golf isn't your everyday golf game like Tiger Woods PGA Tour but it does offer something different which is always good for a game because of the new material. I love the game and its probably one of the only golf games I will ever own. It constantly makes me laugh with what the golfers do, what the caddies do and with what the commentators say. Even little bits like hitting the crowd smack bang in the face has me chuckling away to myself. A few years after the release of Outlaw Golf came Outlaw Golf 2. There are also other Outlaw games such as Outlaw Tennis and Outlaw Volleyball.

I would recommend the game definitely but if your not a fan of strong language, violence and sexual references then Outlaw Golf must be avoided at all costs because that's exactly what it contains. If you love all that and you love golf then this game is right up your street and I am pretty confident that you will love this just as much as I do. The manual is a bit poor but its not important and the game has an age rating of just 11+ and because of what it contains I feel it should be more.

I bought the game pretty cheaply but that was a good few years back when I had my GameCube. It cost me about £4 from Game and its definitely worth that. The game is hard to find now and is a little pricey for a new copy. Even a used copy is a little expensive. The game is on Amazon and for a new copy your looking at around £15 and a used copy around £10. A little pricey for me for this game but its a great game. The game also works well on the Wii which I now use it on.

Overall Outlaw Golf is definitely one of the best and funniest golf games out there. I would give it a reasonable 7/10!

Review also posted on dooyoo under the username: simon020187!