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An Outstanding Release -- But WHY Pay to play a Free Game??

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing Shot Online since the open beta, with the exception of an extended layoff when my hard-drive crashed. It's a fun game, and I've really enjoyed playing it.

Nobody ever expected that the game would ever be released as anything other than a free online multiplayer game; there was a pay component in place already to bring money into the company, and it seemed to be working pretty well. New courses were being released, improvements were being made, and things were good.

Then I read the press release. Well, actually I read the article at Blogcritics, promising that Shot-Online was coming out in an actual box this summer. And I wondered what they were going to do with the free version I'd become addicted to. How were they going to get people to shell out real cash for the game when they could download it for free?

The game is pretty much the same as it has been. The layout is the same, the interface is the same. Once you're in the game, nobody else can tell you're playing the game out of the box.

But your money gets you a few goodies. First, you get a voucher for item mall currency. Normally, you have to spend real money for this stuff - $10 gets you 1,000 cyber cash, to use to buy better clubs, cooler clothes, and other extras that enhance the game and your character's skills. The voucher gives you 2,000 cash to use in the item mall, so there's $20 right there.

You can get a decent set of irons with that much cash, and still have a bit left over. You also get a voucher for a free "lottery card," that will give you yet another rare item that will enhance your stats, and an entry into some of the Gold Membership Invitational tournaments, where you can win really nice prizes - including real world cash.

I mentioned some enhancements. My favorite is the 'club fitting' feature, allowing you to customize your clubs. You spend item mall cash to get fitting tickets, then use those tickets to upgrade the power, impact, stamina, or skill modifiers of your clubs. Having trouble controlling that new driver? Boost its impact rating, and hit the ball long and straight.

There is a lot of potential here, and it makes the game more realistic. There are also two new courses that aren't even covered in the full color manual.

Cadeiger is tough, as the fairways are suspended in the air. Miss a fairway, lose your ball. It's only open to higher-level players, though. There's also Token Tado CC Nagoya, based on a real course in Japan. I've played it quite a bit recently -- the greens are brutal there.

So is the boxed version worth an extra ten bucks? I would say so, if you spend your 2,000 in the item mall wisely and do well in the invitational tournaments that you can enter. It will be interesting to see how many new players this added exposure will bring to Shot-Online.

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