Carnival Games: Mini-Golf – WII – Review

Admit it, how many of you serious
gamers really expected the Wii to be a huge success? I didn’t and yet somehow
the system keeps chugging along with a huge assortment of casual games. Yes, for
some the words “casual games” will make them cringe while the rest of the gaming
public happily jumps head first into the market. The original Carnival Games for
the Wii offered an assortment of short casual games you would expect to find at
a Circus, Carnival or Fair. Carnival Games: Mini-Golf instead focuses on just
one game, miniature golf, with all of the wackiness seen in the original
Carnival Games.

The premise is simple enough: it’s a
miniature golf game with a Carnival atmosphere. Your ultimate goal is to collect
prizes from the coins you earn while playing the courses. Prizes include
additional items you can use to customize your character, such as shoes, shirts,
hats, glasses, etc. The game includes nine courses each based upon a specific
theme, such as Pirates, Farm, Wild West, Amazon Jungle, etc. Each course usually
has three different holes to play and an assortment of mini games to challenge
you as well. Not all of the courses are available immediately, you will have to
unlock a few of the 9 courses but that shouldn’t be a problem.

The single-player game only offers
two different modes, Solo and Beat the Barker. Solo allows you to play any of
the courses by yourself while Beat the Barker has you competing against the
Carnival leader, Barker. You will earn more prizes usually in Beat the Barker
mode if you actually do beat Barker. But besides a simple one-on-one competition
there isn’t much else different between the two modes. I was really disappointed
that the game didn’t offer some type of career or tournament mode for single
player.

Each course is usually broken down
into three different holes. Each course and hole is ranked differently depending
on their level of difficulty. Just as you would expect the more difficult the
hole the more coins and prizes you can earn. Adventure Hole are the least
difficult but will have a hidden mini game. These holes will contain a secret
path that will open up the mini-game if you can make it to the path. Finishing
the mini-game will give you a hole-in-one but if you don’t finish the mini-game,
watch your score rise and rise. Challenge Hole gives you multiple paths to
follow in hopes of getting a hole-in-one. Trick Shot is just as the name
describes a hole where you have to pull off a gimmick shot in hopes of getting a
hole-in-one. The Trick Shots can get old real fast because it’s all of nothing,
if you don’t get the hole-in-one you’ll have to play the hole over again.

The mini-games are simple yet
frustrating due to the sometimes inaccurate motion-sensing controls. For
example, you get an arcade joystick style mini-game, a pointing mini-game, a
tilting mini-game, a shooting mini-game and a rhythm mini-game. The mini-games
are a nice diversion but the controls just don’t feel spot on. This created a
sense of frustration as I missed simple tasks that I knew I should be able to
complete.

The regular golfing controls were
better with only the swinging motion being mapped to the motion sensing. You
hold down the A button that then swing like a golf club, or just flick it
towards the screen, and watch the hit meter rise. Once you get the meter to a
point you want, let go of the A button and your character will swing. Really the
only glaring problem with the golf controls was the lack of a birds-eye view of
the hole while playing. The game gives you an overview of the hole right at the
beginning but you can never select a view of the entire hole to see all of the
obstacles and surprises.

The multiplayer mode is where, like
most Wii games, Carnival Games: Mini-Golf excels. You and up to three friends
can play against each other in two modes: Play for Fun and Item Competition.
Play for Fun lets you all play in a simple atmosphere of who can get the lowest
score. Item Competition raises the bar by allowing the players to bet on items
they’ve collected in the game. Whoever wins the hole also wins the items. Yep,
simple gambling comes to a Wii casual game.

All in all Carnival Games: Mini-Golf
is a fun game, just not the type of game that will please everyone. Gamers
looking for a real miniature golf experience with tons of courses and a
tournament mode will need to keep looking. Gamers looking for another game to
play for hours on end with their friends might find that Mini-Golf may fit the
bill. If the game would have included some more holes, a better motion-sensing
control scheme and an overhead camera angle of the holes this would be an easy
recommendation to everyone.

Gameplay: 6.5
The golf mechanics work well enough but the mini game controls definitely need
more tightening up.

Graphics: 7.0
Bright colorful graphics make this game look like the most vibrant miniature
golf courses you’ll ever see.

Sound: 5.5
Besides Barker’s voice there really isn’t much else to the music or sound
effects. Nothing that will get you hooked or have you humming along.

Difficulty: Easy
Really no one should have any problem jumping in with this game. In fact, you’ll
probably plow through all of the courses rather quickly.

Concept: 5.0
All we really get is a miniature golf game, with a rather limited selection of
courses and holes.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Another example of the multiplayer experience being the best part of a Wii game.
Of course, no WiFi multiplayer, just local only but still enough to keep friends
playing for a while.

Overall: 6.2
Carnival Games: Mini-Golf will probably find its niche among gamers looking for
a miniature golf game. Solid visuals, decent golf mechanics and a large
assortment of prizes to collect will keep some gamers busy. The game just needs
more courses and an expanded single-player mode to really make gamers come back
for more.