Golf: Tee It Up!

Since the legendary Links series seems like it won't be emerging from the clubhouse ever again and Tiger Woods' digital doppelganger won't be ready until the end of the summer, it's refreshing to see a casual golf game arrive on Live Arcade. The cartoony Golf: Tee It Up! will remind anyone who's ever golfed on a PlayStation system of the Hot Shots series. In fact, the similarities are striking, both in the art style and the gameplay... not that there's anything wrong with that.

Featuring two 18-hole courses (the beachside Caribbean and the mountainous Parkland), Tee It Up sports a simple control scheme anchored by an old-school three-button-press swing mechanic. It's remarkably easy to hit the ball straight-- the meter is not only simple enough that you'll get it right 90 percent of the time, but if you do goof, it's forgiving enough that you'll never hook or slice too badly. Even the power-shot feature (press B before a shot to put more oomph into it) brings little added challenge despite a faster-moving swing meter.

Putting is aided by a four-second bullet-time meter. Simply move the left thumbstick in the direction you want the ball to go to help guide it across the green or redirect its momentum in the air. The slow-mo refills with each new hole or adds on to your existing total if you banked it from the last hole, so you're never without it for long.

Though the four-player co-op and competitive modes are appreciated, we were a bit bored by having only two courses, and the overall gameplay depth is, quite frankly, nearly nonexistent. Simply aim the ball, hit it, and use the bullet-time to bring it home. This game is fun in short bursts, but it won't hold your attention for too long.