Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
French Mac secret plan developer DanLabGames already had a mini golf game , but that did n’t imply the game ’s architect , Daniel Labriet , did n’t conceive he could n’t do better . Hence the company ’s recent passing ofWacky Mini Golf , the successor to Islands Mini Golf .
There certainly are similarity between the two games — both use an island motive with mini golf course set on the body of water . Both game also feature cute brute avatar to expend as player . But that ’s about where the similarity stop .
Wacky Mini Golf feature 72 holes spread across four small archipelagos . Up to four players can play at a time — purely in “ hot tooshie ” mode , intend four players gathered around a unmarried computing machine . ( There ’s no online gambling . ) you may customize the look of your character using a variety show of animal role model — animate cats , frogs and other critters . What ’s more , if you have an iSight or webcam hooked up to your Mac , you’re able to utilise it to catch a picture of yourself and use that , instead ( your human face come along inside a cartoony - looking framed mirror with feet and hand ) .
There are three different dominion hardening for playing : “ Classic ” mode is where you attempt to finish each course in as few strokes as potential . If you ’re playing against others , the one with the lowest score wins . There ’s also “ Star Hunter , ” in which you must terminate with the low-down score and collect stars along the way . ( They appear on the track . ) If you ’re favorable enough to hit a star as you post your ball around the track , a point will be deducted from your score , so it behooves you to endeavor to line up your shots well . There ’s also “ Crazy Challenge , ” in which you must complete each trap with a limited number of strokes .
I am Tiger KittyMini golf victory is fresh , particularly in these pants .
Wacky Mini Golf does n’t have quite as many holes as Islands Mini Golf does—72 versus 90 ( four 18 - hole courses , liken to five ) . But the difference is that the course in Wacky Mini Golf are much more intriguing . There ’s a greater variety of hazards that will keep you from the holes — critters walk about , such as crabs , and bizarre things block your way , like beach balls . The jam plan is fantastic , by the fashion — there are some very cagy , almost Rube Goldberg - like setup for render your ball from one seat to another , and sometimes you ask to really thwack the ball to get it where it want to go . There are constant water hazards and other booby trap around , as well .
Aiming and put is pretty intuitive — a separatrix force meter shows how intemperately you ’re going to hit it , and after a few hole , you get the bent of things . you could use either the keyboard or the computer mouse to control stroke force and direction and to hit the clod ; there are also keyboard commands for change the camera view ( helpful to get an overview of the hole ) , or control iTunes music playback . The game features its own tradition soundtrack , but if you prefer your own medicine , that ’s your pick .
Wacky Mini Golf features five level of graphic detail , and it ’ll assay to optimize itself for your computer hardware the first fourth dimension you operate it . If you ’re run Mac OS decade 10.4.3 or later , it ’ll use the GL Shader Language ( GLSL ) to provide really beautiful special effects — water look spectacular , for deterrent example .
Wacky Mini Golf is a fun biz to play , and it ran quite well on my ironware — although I was initially stymie by a QuickTime playback bug that Danlab was n’t able to decide . ( at last I fixed it on my own , just by update a third - party QuickTime element software on my Mac . )
The iSight support is a groovy gismo , but without networkable gameplay , the game fall a number short — though Danlab does permit you upload your goofy pics toits Web site , so you could share pictures of yourself with other Wacky Mini Golf participant .
A demonstration is available ; it lets you meet the first five mess of each course .
The bottom line
Wacky Mini Golf improves upon Danlab ’s earlier effort . The only thing that would make it well would be connection play and better proofreading .
