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Hands on with Mini-Golf: Wacky Worlds on iPhone

Cutting our mini-golf chops on Cheese world

Hands on with Mini-Golf: Wacky Worlds on iPhone

As if it wasn't crazy enough trying to lob tiny little balls into a hole metres away, Mini-Golf: Wacky Worlds had to blast the game out of this world, quite literally.

Glu's newly revealed putt-putt golf game travels to quirky off-worlds that assure it a special place in the mini-golf hall of fame. Decent controls and hilarious holes promise a game full of as many giggles as good golfing.

Mini-Golf: Wacky Worlds offers four themed worlds on which to play miniature golf: Cheese, Winter, Sky, and Tiki. Yes, the cheese of the universe originates from this giant planet where mini-golf is king. There are another ten holes apiece for each of the other three worlds as well.

The holes are just as crazy as the worlds in which they reside. One such on Cheese world requires flinging the ball up a near-vertical incline so it may drop into a car attached to a roller coaster. Once strapped in, the ball is then rocketed through a loop and deposited near the pin.

Each world comes with its own set of unique obstacles and traps that fit within the theme. For instance, holes in Sky world are infested with ladybugs that randomly flutter about, deflecting your ball off its course should it come into contact.

The ladybugs are particularly troublesome because their movements are completely random; attempt the same hole a second time and they harass you at different spots along the green.

Depending on the mode of play, additional challenges are heaped on you. The basic Par mode is joined by Timed play and Gopher. In the latter, you contend with gophers that pop up on the green, flicking your ball from its intended path. Timed mode obviously has you working against a strict time limit to complete a course.

As you work through each mode and world, you earn goodies for customising any of four characters. Additionally, a Pro Shop enables you to augment your mini-golf skills with better clubs and bonus powers. Once such ability includes nuanced manoeuvring of your ball after a swing by tilting your handset.

That could prove immensely helpful given the limited camera controls. While sliding your finger vertically on the screen allows you to change the height of your view, it's not possible to get a good survey of a hole before taking the initial swing.

The swing mechanics work decently enough, though. Setting your golfer is done with slides of your finger horizontally on the screen, the power of the shot set via a gauge on the right.

With the release of Mini-Golf: Wacky Worlds still a few months off, there's more than enough time to expand the camera options and fine-tune the shot mechanics. No need to embellish upon the kooky course designs, though, as they're coming along fabulously.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.