Mini-golf isn't really a bad social activity. But if you don't want to cough up $5 - $15 or just don't have friends to
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures is actually a good game to play with other people. It's a break from most of the other games that you actually have to move your thumbs a lot more. This one is just plain hitting a ball in the right direction at the right strength. Just like in real life!
Playing this game by yourself is a bit disappointing. You only have the option of entering the tournament without knowing what to expect from each hole. I guess that was the trick to get us to replay the game... unfortunately. I really would like to call for a practice mode on whatever course, but since they don't have that, you're stuck playing through every hole before you get to the hole that you have the worst trouble on.
Graphically, I'm not going to complain. After all, it's an XBox Live game. Don't expect to see beads of sweat or the pores on their faces. The graphics are decent and the way they should be. The four character models don't necessarily look like real people, but that doesn't matter. What I do appreciate is that the variety of courses are pretty good looking. It's a variety of strategy used on each hole.
The gameplay is pretty frustrating. As I have mentioned above, they don't give you the option of practice. Just go straight to the tournament. So, at first you have to play and even fail a tournament before you get a hand of the ball physics. And quite honestly, the ball physics are strange. Tap the ball, it hardly goes anywhere. Hit the ball some what soft, it's already on the other side of the course. Hit it to the max, it goes out of bounds. ?????? You're just as confused as me. But, to be somewhat positive, once you get used to the ball physics, they won't bother you anymore,
The music sets the tone of the course, but it gets very boring after a while. You actually have three types of courses: Western, Fairgrounds, and Space. For the first two tournaments, you play 6 courses on each type. So you play 6 courses of the same music, then another 6 with different music, and so on. It's not that great, but you can always mute the music and play your own. That helped me out.
The sound effects are moderate. They aren't the best sound effects I've ever heard for golf, but it's not that bad. What you really are going to be watching for is your ball, not the sounds. And you'll have to listen for sounds when it effects the course of play.
There is also an option of making your own course. I personally thought that it's pretty neat. It's not organized to find each piece of the course, but you'll figure it out once you've tested it. And I wished that they would have given you a better type of theme on each course, but that would have been more money than what we've bargained for.
Playing online is probably the big difference maker of this game. You'll ignore the graphics and everything else because you're in competition with players over the internet. Even if it lags, it doesn't even matter. It's not going to effect the course of play.
Well, in summary of my first review, the game is a moderately fun game. It really does help the time fly, but it may help you with more social activities over the Internet. But I honestly can say that you can enjoy it more if you go out there and play with people in person. Mini-golf isn't really a bad social activity. But if you don't want to cough up $5 - $15 or just don't have friends to go with you, just pay the simple fee for this game. It's not that bad. Just keep your eye on the ball!