Hot Shots Golf makes its first appearance on PlayStation 3 with online support for multiplayer competition and a new shot system. The framework is otherwise the same as in previous games in the series, which began on the original PlayStation in 1998. Cutesy characters with large heads and whimsical expressions can compete on six new courses filled with onlookers, animals, and other animated surprises. The new venues take place along a coast, on a mountain range, in the woods, and across a desert. The shot system by default forgoes the horizontal power meter in favor of a swing-based approach in which players use visual cues to time their backswings and follow-throughs. Traditionalists can still, however, revert back to the old swing system from the options menu.