Original Frisbee Disc Sports: Ultimate & Golf – NDS – Review

I must admit that I have a burning
passion for Disc Golf. Yes, you’ve read that correctly, Disc Golf. The game is
golf but played with a flying plastic disc (Frisbee) with very similar rules and
structure. I love playing the game ever since I was introduced to it several
years ago. I love the challenge of getting the disc into the basket just as
regular golf player loves the challenge of sinking the golf ball into the hole.
So I was jumping at the chance to play one of the few disc golf games available
and the only disc golf game for the Nintendo DS.

Original Frisbee Disc Sports:
Ultimate & Golf is a collection of two games: Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf. As
I mentioned before Disc Golf is strikingly similar to regular golf while
Ultimate is comparable to soccer. In Disc Golf you play an 18-hole course and
the objective is to finish the course with the lowest score possible. Each hole
has a standard score (par) that you are scored against. The more throws it takes
for you to complete the course the higher your score (over par). In Ultimate
there are two teams composed of seven players. The objective is to score against
the other team by catching the disc in the opponent’s end zone. But the player
with the disc cannot run with the disc, they can only turn and pivot with the
disc.

This collection for the Nintendo DS
is a very simple, stripped-down package. No tournaments, character creation
option, or season mode. In Ultimate you get to play a single game either against
the computer or another player. The Disc Golf game includes a few choices but
still very basic: 18 holes, the front nine or back nine. There is a practice
mode available as well. For me this was the biggest disappointment with this
collection because I wanted the extra bells and whistles of character creation
or a ranked tournament against the computer. For veterans of Ultimate or Disc
Golf just be warned that this game is a very simple representation of those
respective sports. For rookies the lack of options might not be a big stumbling
block. This collection firmly supports the DS motto of pick and play in a very
short amount of time.

Gameplay wise the games feel just as
lackluster as the options. In Ultimate I never felt in control of any my
characters on the field. Catching the Frisbee was just a simple task of running
to the black circle where the disc was headed. But the way the game switched
from player to player was awkward since you could never see the entire playing
field. One minute you’re centered upon one character but when you switch
characters it took a while to figure out just where you are on the field. You do
have the option of banking the disc to the left or right using the shoulder
buttons on the DS. The touch controls are limited to selecting offensive and
defensive formations.

 

The Disc Golf gameplay was a little
better since it tried to include the various aspects of the actual sport. You
have several types of discs from your driver, and approach disc to your putter.
Each disc is ranked depending on how far the disc can travel. Throwing the disc
can be performed either with the touch screen or pressing a button. Using the
touch screen you simply touch the disc icon the screen with the stylus and then
quickly move the stylus up to the top of the screen. This is a great idea but it
becomes very difficult to consistently get the same strength on your throws
using the touch screen. One throw might travel 300 feet while your next throw,
that felt exactly the same, only goes 50 feet.

I would recommend sticking with the
button pressing controls since it felt more accurate than the touch screen. You
simply press the A button to start your strength meter and then press A again to
lock in how strong you want your throw. Then you press the A button again to set
the angle of the throw, hard left or right, medium left or right or straight.
But the game still comes up short with rock and tree interference in the game.
It’s next to impossible to determine at what angle you’re going to hit the rock
or tree near you. Sometimes I sailed right over them while other throws had me
leaving chunks of the disc on the course. There was no way to adjust the camera
angle to determine just how close you are to obstacles on the course.

 

Original Frisbee Disc Sports sounds
like a tempting package but just doesn’t deliver in the end. The lack of
gameplay modes is a big drawback to the game since the rest of the game feels so
limited. After you play an Ultimate game or finish the 18-holes in Disc Golf
you’re done. That’s it, nothing else to see here, move along. I wish I could say
there is more to offer with this game but unfortunately there isn’t. If you’re a
die-hard Ultimate or Disc Golf player than you might get a few minutes of
enjoyment with this collection everyday. You can get a few minutes of enjoyment
each day but only a few minutes.


Review Scoring Details
for Original

Frisbee Disc Sports: Ulitmate
& Golf

Gameplay: 5.0
In Ultimate I felt completely lost just trying to find my players but in Disc
Golf the game actually tried to replicate the actual game with some accuracy.
Unfortunately course interference was a hit-and-miss affair. Trees!

Graphics: 3.0
This isn’t one of the prettiest games on the DS. The characters in Ultimate just
looked terrible and animated just as bad. The only way to tell the difference
between the holes in Disc Golf was the map on the bottom screen. All of the
rocks and trees looked exactly on each hole.

Sound: 2.0
Not to be the bringer of bad news but I thought we had grown past the generation
of pure MIDI music a long time again.

Difficulty: Easy
The game doesn’t include a tutorial to help you along in learning the game
but that shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Concept: 4.0
Putting both games on the same cartridge was a great idea but stripping away all
of the possible game options didn’t help the game. We need variety.

Multiplayer: 5.0
Thankfully Multiplayer was included for both Ultimate and Disc Golf.
Unfortunately both players must own a copy of the game. No game sharing or Wi-Fi
support.

Overall: 3.8
If you’re only looking for an Ultimate or Disc Golf game that provides the bare
minimum of gameplay possibilities and graphics, then this is your game. For the
rest of us we still need the whole enchilada, beans and rice.