Carnival Games: Mini-Golf (Wii)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 1.5 stars Poor
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 3.5 (1.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Brett Todd
• Reviewed on: 11/25/2008
• Released on: 10/20/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: Carnival Games: Mini-Golf (Wii) Review

There are plenty of decent video game adaptations of sport and sport-like hobbies on the Wii, with the notable exception of this rather popular pastime played with mini-putters. Things don't get any better with the release of Carnival Games: Mini-Golf, which isn't anywhere near as fun as a good day on a real kiddie course, due to wonky controls, a dearth of goofy holes to play, and lackluster visuals and sound.

A lot of design deficiencies underline the game's bargain-basement production values. Just about everything here seems cut-rate, with the biggest problem being unresponsive Wii controls. The game attempts to mimic swinging a putter by having you pull back and push forward with the Wii Remote, but the sensitivity is so dulled down that short movements aren't registered. So instead of applying a fine touch like you would when using a real minigolf putter, you have to yank the remote back and then slam it forward hard like you were driving for distance on a par-five hole at Pebble Beach. Putting is a delicate art, yet here it comes with all the finesse of a two-by-four.

Hole design is another shortcoming. Carnival Games: Mini-Golf comes with just nine course themes, and each features only three holes to play. The themes themselves are nicely mixed up, taking in the usual minigolf concepts, such as fairy tales, barnyards, medieval knights, and haunted houses, but even this variety can't compensate for the small number of holes. Even worse, these holes are broken up into three different types that don't play much like real minigolf. Trick holes require you to figure out some kind of trick to score a hole in one, such as bouncing the ball off a wall or triggering an exploding barrel or something equally ridiculous to cause the ball to carom into the hole. You need to get really lucky and hit a precise shot here, which isn't easy to accomplish because of the gawky controls. Challenge holes are somewhat similar, although at least here you're allowed multiple shots to pull off some wacky objective like cracking a bunch of giant chicken eggs. Only the adventure holes play out like real minigolf, and these are so lengthy and convoluted that you have to play them through a few times and learn them like puzzles before you have a chance of beating them in a reasonable number of strokes.

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