Carnival Games: MiniGolf

Publisher: 2K Play
Developer: Cat Daddy Games
Genre: Sports
Release Date: October 20, 2008
Platform: Wii
Rating: E - Everyone

Reviewer: Eric

If there is one game that took me off guard as being a winner on the Wii it was Carnival Games. That title alone gave me hope in the console that is directed towards children. When I finally got around to playing Carnival Games: Mini Golf, I figured the game would be just as good or better, mainly since the Carnival Games name was on the title. Guess what my thought was blown into orbit, Carnival Games: Mini Golf is just another crappy game in the Wii’s already too big video game catalog.

I feel like an idiot for ever putting hope into this game. Carnival Games: Mini Golf is the sort of game Wii Haters love. Everything bad about the system and its control mechanisms are inside this poor excuse of a game. Trying to find something good about this game can be hard when nothing works like it should.

What makes a golf game? The developers of the game failed to put any time or thought into the main aspect, the controls. In this mini golf game you have to swing the controller to hit the ball. No brainier, right? Here comes to worst part to this whole golf travesty. If you want to play the game like a real golf game you’ll have to swing back the controller real fast, all the way up to the ceiling. Is this mini golf or Tiger Woods Golf?

Playing a mini golf game like a pro tour golfing game is just wrong. When I play mini golf I usually tap the ball lightly. In Carnival Games: Mini Golf you can either do the full swing or the simple method, giving you instant hole-in-ones. Take the controller and either swing it around like an idiot or just frail your arm like a wii-tard.

Another bad part about this game has to be the actual courses. Yeah sure you have a good amount of courses and holes to play but all of them seem to have a magic spot. If you can find that spot you’ll get an automatic hole-in-one. No joke. I found the key point in certain holes and I seem to frail my arm like an idiot and my ball always has the same strength going down the same pace. That pace leads me to a hole-in-one. How is that fun? Please tell me because I am trying to figure that out.

Instead of thinking outside of the box the developers went with the same corny themed mini golf courses we have seen in other games. You have the western, medieval, and tropical stages. Everything screams been there, done that. Stages barely come to life either. I would have thought much better visuals since Carnival Games as decent.

Don’t worry there are some extra aspects in the game that will make your head spin. Each person that plays Carnival Games: Mini Golf gets to make their own character (boy, girl, woman, or male). As you play the game you earn tokens to get more outfits. About half of the outfits don’t seem very golf-like while the others are too plain to enjoy. Silly hats and glasses are one thing, but plain t-shirts and pants? Where is the fun in Carnival Games: Mini Golf?

Final Verdict
Carnival Games: Mini Golf is the worst golfing game on the Wii and it might very well be the worst game on the Wii. If you haven’t played Wii Sports in awhile then Carnival Games: Mini Golf will make you want to put that bad boy right back into your system. Do the right thing and skip this carnival.

Rating Breakdown
Gameplay: 1 out of 10
    + The puzzle-like aspects are fun on the courses.
    - Carnival Games: Mini Golf plays nothing like a mini golf game.
Graphics: 4 out of 10
    + Below average but better than most half-assed Wii games.
    - Environments and animations are all the same.
Audio: 4 out of 10
    + Each course has its own theme.
    - The games mascot will annoy you after 5 short minutes.
Replay Value: 1 out of 10
    + Magic spots on courses will make you feel like a golf pro (yippee).
    - Pretty much everything sucks, even when drunk.

Overall
2.5 out of 10

More reviews:
MetaCritic: 3.8/10
TestFreaks: 6.2/10