Impressing Looking.  Bad Controls. –

Even with a number of downloadable golf games available on both the DSiWare and eShop services, 101 MiniGolf World is an ambitious and admirable attempt at creating a light hearted digital mini golf experience. The goal is simple – putt your ball from the starting position to the hole at the end in the least amount of strokes while avoiding hazards along the way.

follow the instructions

This downloadable title is admirable because it is a full 3D (polygons, not stereoscopic 3D) experience despite only costing a few bucks.  The “101” in the name isn’t just there for show either; it means there are over 100 holes of content which is a pretty staggering number considering. Unfortunately, you have to unlock new content by getting quality scores which is more difficult than it needs to be.

Even those there is a ton of 3D content available the gameplay suffers because of frustrating controls.  The all-touchscreen control concept is noble but is not accurate whatsoever, a feature critical in any golf game.  Stabbing the screen and dragging to control the camera works well enough even though lining up pinpoint shots is still difficult; controlling power is the biggest challenge.  Using an upward sliding motion with the stylus on the touchscreen causes the player to hit the ball but speed determines how hard the ball is hit.  This is random at best making even one foot putts trickier than they should be. Thankfully the mulligan feature is close at hand but this is like putting a Band-Aid over a huge gaping wound – it is not going to do much. Also, balls will sometime get stuck in awkward places, like behind a random hazard, so level design could have benefitted from a little tweaking even though the fans, loop-de-loops, traps, and ramps make for solid mini-golfing.

impressive for a low cost DSiWare title

If patient levels are high enough, there is some joy to be found in this commendable golf game but most players will quickly move on due to the cumbersome controls.

Not As Good As: Super Monkey Ball or True Swing Golf

Better Than: falling off course into an endless ocean abyss

Also Try: Mario Golf (GBC Virtual Console download)

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com