I love sports. Despite the fact that I’m quite the computer/video game geek, I’ve not forgotten to be well rounded. Golf, next to figure skating, will likely never be a sport that I’ll be good at. Not that I’m broken hearted, for I have the virtual world to fall back on and that’s much more fun anyways.

Being used to such cartoony golf games like Hot Shots Golf, I didn’t know how to react to Outlaw Golf’s outrageous, raunchy, vulgar view on the sport. I couldn’t help but be drawn into Outlaw’s loose controls, smooth graphics, hilarious commentary, and slick camera control. In the end, I was pleased with my experience and have to recommend it to all you fans of the lighter side of sports.

Outlaw Golf opted out of the simpler “click” power gauge and went for pushing and pulling on the analog joystick, which, when first approached, is a little more difficult, but also more challenging and realistic. That way when the ball hooks, you’ll know it’s because of your lack of precision on the joystick. This also makes timing more interesting since reading the gauge is a little short of coherent. This challenge isn’t cheap however, but it’s more natural than most of the cartoony sports games out there.

Which brings me to the physics of the game. You shouldn’t always trust the recommended shot and power read out. I learned that right quick. Instead, always judge that the ball will go further than expected because the physics in this game give the ball an abnormal amount of speed and bounce that would give Tiger Woods fits. When it comes down to it, this is Outlaw Golf’s biggest downfall, which might make any real or virtual golfer turn up their nose.

The atmosphere, ripe with a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards golf, is what sucked me into Outlaw Golf. The commentary is well acted and doesn’t get too annoying, and the introduction to some of the holes will have your sides splitting. Golf is a silly sport. Whacking a ball into a gopher hole began in Scotland and I’m sure that is was a lot like Outlaws Golf; full of cussing, beatings and hot women. Well, the later probably wasn’t true, as shown in Braveheart.

The feel of Outlaws Golf may have sucked me in, but it was the gameplay modes, secret characters and courses that made me stay. With all these goodies, one may be persuaded to stay up past their bedtime. The different modes also keep the game fresh. Time Attack, Casino, Match Play and Best Ball are just some of the different ways to play.

On top of all this, the light music in the background fits the mood well. Be it light rap or soft funk, the beat is kept and kept well. I was happy to find that the crowd reactions weren’t overpowering either. Often times, my ears itch after a mere five minutes, but Outlaw Golf finds a nice balance between music and sound effects.

Sports games are often really boring when played alone. I found myself enjoying the single player experience, just about as much as multiplayer; reason being that you can skip through the computer’s turn, which makes for a snappy but sweet game of golf.

I found the graphics to be creative, lush and detailed. The character models each had their own unique personalities (with a few sexy twists at times) and showed them at just the right times on the course. The only qualm that I did have with the visuals had to be the shadowing; it can be just downright blocky and gritty. However, it took some scrutinizing just to notice that and it’s being very nitpicky.

Golf fans rejoice! Are you sick of the normal drudgery of those serious golf games? Outlaws Golf just might be your medicine. With loose but logical controls, humorous gameplay, and more ways to stroke than… I’ll stop the punch line right there, there are kids reading. So I will end this in kid-like fashion with the help of Reading Rainbow: Outlaw Golf is a fun game. I like it and I think that you will like it too. Da, da, da!!