Pocket Mini Golf Review

There are a few games on the Zodiac that are so short that they can barely be qualified as anything but a distraction. This would include Duke Nukem Mobile, a pick-up and play title that will only take a minute for each level, if that. Pocket Mini Golf might not be that accessible, but it’s darn close.

Observe. The main difference between golf and putt-putt golf (a.k.a. ‘mini-golf’) is that one is fun, and one isn’t. That’s my biased opinion. Mini-golf takes a skill of angles, avoidance of obstacles, and a keen sense of precise hitting. Just remember, “it’s all in the hips�, and you’ll be fine.

In Pocket Mini Golf you’ll choose from four different characters. Three courses are available, of eighteen holes each. The courses vary in difficulty from easy, to medium and hard. Before you even select the course difficulty, you need to select the game difficulty. So you can choose from ‘beginner – easy/medium/hard’ or ‘expert – easy/medium/hard’.

You obviously won’t be able to play all three courses from the get go. Once you complete easy, you’ll unlock medium, which will in-turn unlock hard, once you play medium on the expert difficulty. So far as I can tell, there’s no difference between characters, aside from appearance. The difficulty in the levels comes from the ramps, conveyer belts, sand, water hazards, and curvature of the course.

Pocket Mini Golf has three game modes to choose from. Normal has you play a game of regular mini-golf. Strokes will be counted against you; pass ten and you’ll be disqualified from the game. Arcade adds a level of comfort with a clockwatch, instead of the strokes. Practice is an invaluable tool. Here, you’ll get the option of selecting a course to practice on, from the ones unlocked.

Possibly the greatest accomplishment that the developers made was fitting the game to the Zodiac’s large screen. No graffiti area! The graphics aren’t anything to drool over, but they are fitting for a game of this type. The holes are displayed in 3D, with the option of moving the camera angle 90 degrees around the hole. Had this not been allowed, guesswork would have been required. Kudos to the developers for adding the camera options.

Pocket Mini Golf might not take too long to beat, but there’s plenty to be replayed. It’s a shame more courses weren’t available in this game, but you always have the option of purchasing Pocket Mini Golf Extra. The Zodiac isn’t full of golf games, so you’ll have to make due with Pocket Mini Golf, which isn’t asking too much of you, as this game is rather good.