Everyone has one game that’s their guilty vice; it’s a game that doesn’t deserve the hours upon hours that are plunged into it, a fact that typically brings great shame upon the gamer plunging said hours into it. For me, that game is Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds – or Everybody’s Golf: World Tour as it’s known over here. After investing the best part of 2008 into it, I had thankfully managed to wean myself off it in 2009’s early stages.

Had being the imperative word, because in mid-April the withdrawal, cravings and overwhelming sense of emptiness proved too strong to keep ignoring. Fingers trembling and eyes blurry, I loaded up the game and played a couple of online matches to get back into the swing – pun unintentional. I soon realised that I’d missed quite a few changes in the Hot Shots world. Not only was there a new course (ooh), special events (aah), and online leaderboards (ooooh), but most notably of all there was a very familiar knitted fellow clubbing and putting his way around the game’s courses. Yes, it was of course LittleBigPlanet’s Sackboy, whored out by Sony to Hot Shots Golf as a playable character. Somewhat predictably, he appears to be very popular with this cutesy game’s cute-loving contingent; during my play sessions, I’ve found myself bumping into far more Sackpeople than, well, people.

Since its release, anything Sony-related has found its way through downloadable content into LittleBigPlanet. There have been costumes and items from Metal Gear Solid, Heavenly Sword, God of War, Patapon, Locoroco, Resistance 2, Killzone 2 and a whole host of other Sony games. I wouldn’t be surprised if the television Sackboy sticks his head through was a Bravia. There are plenty of visitors to chez Sack, but the Hot Shots Golf series has traditionally been more picky with its Sony icons. Fore! had Jak and Ratchet as guest player characters, with small guys Daxter and Clank helping out as caddies, while late last year God of War’s Kratos was made available as a DLC character for Out of Bounds. Honestly, there’s nothing more amusing than a half-naked behemoth of a man who’s covered in red paint, whirring above his head an enormous chain blade while leaping in the air and then punching the ground, all while screaming “I am immortal!”... to celebrate a birdie. Anyway, the point is that while this isn’t Sackboy’s only guest appearance to date (see Pain and Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic), Sackboy starring alongside such popular guest characters in Hot Shots Golf seems to confirm Sony’s stock in him.