Game Reviews

3D Lawn Darts

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3D Lawn Darts
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Lawn darts is a lethal game. A string of dart-related injuries and fatalities caused such consternation in late eighties America that our transatlantic cousins banned sales of the game altogether. What's more, their Canadian neighbours soon followed suit. Let's put that another way, two nations - who delight in beating each other around the head with sticks as one of their national sports - have banned the game of lawn darts for being too dangerous. It must be pretty special.

First things first – what on earth is it? You might logically assume it to be darts played outside, and you'd be partially right. Think of it instead as a cross between standard darts and that fairground game where you have to lob a ring onto an upturned pole.

Players take it in turns to underarm-throw a foot-long javelin so that it loops down and sticks in the ground at the desired point. Players are given three throws each and points are awarded at the end of the round for each dart landed within a circular target area (Lawn Darts) or for those landed nearest a pre-thrown yellow dart (Crown Darts), depending on which mode you select. It's pretty simple stuff, but in the case of 3D Lawn Darts, it has a few nifty tricks up its sleeve that set it apart.

First up we should mention the major selling point of the game - that of 'camera motion sensing technology'. If your phone comes equipped with a camera – and really, what phone doesn't? - you can choose to initiate each throw by a literal forward thrust of your arm. It's a novel idea, and one ripe with potential, but it doesn't really work or add anything to the experience beyond the initial novelty value.

The problem is that your motion determines only the direction of your throw. The strength of each toss is either automatically handled or determined by a standard power bar system, which serves to render the whole system somewhat pointless. We also found it to be a little fiddly to set up and get working properly.

Fortunately, when using the standard control system – aim dart, set power and release all via the thumbstick – there's plenty to recommend in 3D Lawn Darts. The gameplay itself is very simple but further depth is added via a pre-throw choice of darts.

As well as an unlimited supply of standard units, you are given a limited number of specialist darts too. These include bomb darts (that destroy all darts within a certain radius), splitter darts (that splits into three, mid-arc) and laser-guided darts (for perfect precision) among others.

These add a welcome level of tactical nuance to proceedings, as you select the appropriate tool for the job at hand. Has your opponent (either computer or human controlled – multiplayer comes via Bluetooth or Shared Device) crowded the bullseye area with some surgical dart placement? Send in a bomb dart to clear the area. Need to get some serious points on the board with your last throw? Send in a splitter and pray they strike home.

Of course, such skullduggery can and often does go the other way, and it can be genuinely annoying to see your hard work literally go up in smoke as your opponent sends in a cheap bomb dart. Such darts are earned as you win points, and perhaps the more disruptive examples should be awarded a little more sparingly for the sake of rewarding skilful play. Still, rounds are rarely predictable and never less than fun as a result, with last-gasp turnarounds common.

And that's the reason 3D Lawn Darts is a success. It strikes a nice balance between strategy and mayhem, all the time maintaining that pick-up-and-play accessibility so desirable in a mobile game. Coupled with decent presentation, including sharply-rendered characters and colourful backdrops, it amounts to a fine alternative to some of the more mainstream sports available for your mobile.

3D Lawn Darts

Ignore the motion-sensing gimmick and 3D Lawn Darts provides a fun representation of a truly niche sport
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.