Game Reviews

Golfinity

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|
iOS
| Golfinity
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Golfinity
|
iOS
| Golfinity

Infinite golf games are a funny old thing. You wait for ages for one to turn up, and then within the space of a couple of weeks two of the blighters hit the App Store.

Golfinity is the newest of the duo, and it doesn't quite manage to capture the compulsive, lo-fi beat of Desert Golfing.

It's simple enough to pick up and play, and the earlier holes offer just enough challenge to keep you swinging for an hour or so.

But when the game introduces different levels and lumpy tracks, you'll find that enjoyment gradually replaced with frustration.

It's a shame, because the stark palette and floaty levels make an interesting crazy-golf counterpoint to Desert Golfing, but Golfinity never manages to really spark into life.

Clubbed to death

The golf itself is relatively pleasing. You drag a finger back from your ball to power up and aim your shot, then release to fire.

All the usual crazy golf staples are here. There are bendy walls, ramps, and gaps in the scenery that you need to navigate if you want to make par.

The number of shots you should be taking for each level is displayed in the top-left hand corner, but there's no real penalty if you go over. Just shame and some extra numbers added to your overall score.

Things are pretty smooth to start with. The levels are generated at random, but that first chunk of ten or so are usually pretty entertaining, in a simple, relaxing sort of a way.

But after that, when things start to get more complicated, it becomes obvious that the game underneath your complex, banked shots is a little too light to really deal with them.

Below par

The main problem is the camera. It's fixed, but you can tap a button to zoom out for a view of the whole level. That's fine when you're tackling a flat level, but as soon as lumps, bumps, and different tiers are thrown into the equation it's a completely different matter.

There's different shading on the hills you need to conquer, but it's never clear if you're hitting up a ramp or down a slope, especially not to begin with.

And when additional layers are thrown in, and you're having to hit from one tier of a structure to the next, it becomes almost impossible to judge where your shot is going to end up.

And in a game where the only reason to keep playing is to improve your score, that's really not good enough. What should have been smart, difficult tasks, become exercises in ball-thwacking frustration.

Golf pun

Golfinity has its moments, and for the most part it's nicely put together. A moveable camera would change the game completely, and it's a good bet while you're playing you'll be trying to pinch and swipe to look around the level.

Without one though, it's hard to recommend. What should be compulsive fun instead becomes a slightly pointless grind that ends up in angry club-flinging.

And that's too much like real crazy golf for my liking

Golfinity

A clunky and clumsy attempt at something a little different, Golfinity has too many problems to really recommend it
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.