In his recent diatribe, the Joystick Jockey accused yours truly of having, shall we say, pedestrian taste in games. I prefer to see myself as an equal opportunity gamer. I take all comers equally, regardless of whether said comer is a deep, hours-intensive RPG, an addictive puzzle game, or, yes, a baseball game. I play ‘em all.

Which means that every so often – possibly as a soul-cleansing mandated by God – I come before you, like someone at “Sports Gamers Anonymous,” and say stuff like “My name is Josh, and I like to play golf games.” Not that it’s anything to be ashamed of, mind you, but I can see where Jon might get the wrong idea.

I’m not really sure what attracts me to golf video games. It isn’t as though I have a passion for actually playing or watching the sport, as I do with baseball games, and yet there’s something about a good golf title that just sucks me in. Maybe it’s the relatively simple approach to the game, maybe it’s the idea of me against myself, or maybe it’s something else entirely.

Whatever the reason, I enjoyed Hot Shots Golf: Fore!, and I was pleased to see that a Hot Shots title would be available soon after launch for the PlayStation Portable. “Something with which to pass the hot summer days until the mad holiday rush,” thought I, and for the most part, I was right.

Unlike ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin’ Trails, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee made a fluid transition to the PSP. That probably has more to do with the fact that HSG has never been a paragon of complexity in the first place, but I digress. The fact is, Even if you’ve never played a game in the series before, you can pick up Open Tee and play the game easily enough right away. Playing the game well, that’s another matter entirely. Putting has ever been a challenge, and not much is different here.

Thankfully, an “Auto” mode has been added, so if you’re timing-challenged with your drives and approach shots, you can let the computer handle the impact for you. Note that “Auto” doesn’t mean “perfect every time” – the computer will screw up on occasion, just as a human would, and you’ll find yourself having to play out of bad lies, but it’s still a feature novices should appreciate.

Graphically, Open Tee is pretty similar to Fore!; the textures and character models look good, and there are no framerate issues – although you wouldn’t really expect there to be any, given that it’s a golf game, would you? Still, there are some differences.

For example, there are fewer courses and characters to play with – and even with the reduced stable, several are locked away to begin with, ensuring that you’re going to have to spend lots of time with the opening characters and the initial course before you can move on to “green”er pastures.

The problem, though, is that only one course is playable out of the box, and unlocking the other five requires engaging in multiplayer – something easier said than done, considering that the only multiplayer available is wireless Ad Hoc – which is to say, direct head-to-head. Admittedly, you can have up to eight players in a group, but the cutesy visuals could easily have the effect of driving more serious golfers to the Tiger Woods offering. Without Infrastructure play, then, how is a closet Hot Shots player supposed to gain access to the other five courses? It just seems like an ill-considered design decision, to me.

Aurally, Open Tee isn’t spectacular, but it isn’t by any means bad, either. It is, you might say, one of the few occasions when “good enough” truly is. It mostly consists of the golfers and caddies saying things in response to your performance, but it’s worth noting that in Ad Hoc play, you can attempt to distract your opponent as he or she sets up for a shot by pressing the various face buttons. While you’ll ordinarily be too wrapped up in the game to worry much about the sound, this is one of the times when you’ll appreciate its presence…unless you’re the one on the receiving end of the heckling.

All told, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is sort of an enigma: despite the “kiddie” feel, it’s enormously fun to play, but in order to unlock its full potential, you’ll need a couple of PSP-toting buddies who’re also up for a round on the links. If you can “swing” that, then this is absolutely a “buy” recommendation. If not, you might consider renting first.