Hot Shots Golf 5 gets a feature-ridden update

Also politely known as Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds outside of Japan, Hot Shots Golf 5 is getting a host of new features on February 7th in Japan. Hopefully, these additions will appear for all of us when the game is released in March. The free update adds two online modes: Stroke and Match. The former allows stroke play for four players. The neat thing is you can run around the course freely while chatting away with your friends. Match mode is a one-on-one battle with several predetermined rules set by you and/or your opponent.

The update also lets you tweak rules in the game, like forbidding the use of certain skills in certain missions or holes or whatever. The online lobbies get a facelift too, allowing you to make it so only friends can get into your lobby, or people at similar skill levels. This update is free, but priced downloads aren't far away -- two new characters will appear across February and March, with a new course to be offered in April. Sounds like we're getting the game just in time!