Astro Golf – Mini-Golf has Never Been So Large
Astro Golf is mini-golf. Except you, a robot, are the ball. Also it’s in space. Are we done? No? You want to know more? Jeez, so demanding.
Astro Golf is a game for iOS devices from Bolder Games, and, well… it’s dang fun. As mentioned, you are a robot who can morph into a ball a la Samus Aran, and then launch yourself at the golf hole through an increasingly convoluted set of levels. Controlling your ball is fairly intuitive: Dragging around the screen will shift your camera, dragging from your robot ball (roball?) will set up your shot, and a meter next to your robot will help you gauge how much oomph you’re giving your shot. While the controls are fairly simple, very few of the levels are. Ramps, pads that add speed (but only in the direction they’re pointing), and what appear to be some sorts of gravity wells/black holes are just a few of the obstacles you’ll encounter throughout the game’s many levels. What this all means, in a nutshell, is that it makes me look very bad at virtual mini-golf.
Beyond that, the game also features a story told between particular levels through a scroll-able comic. The most important part of the story is, of course, that it will unlock new robots for you to use in your attempts to escape through the most effective way possible — hitting par or below on the spaceship’s incredibly intricate golf courses. Seriously, the whole ship is basically a golf course, it’s my new favorite take on what space ships might be built to do. Sure, your ship can bend the laws of space and time in order to outstrip even light, but how’s its back nine?
As for gameplay modifiers, those are bought with the game’s one kind of currency: Coins. You can, of course, buy more through an in-app purchase; but to be perfectly honest, I never felt a need to use it. This isn’t because I have thousands of coins accruing, either, but simply that coins are given out often and are easy to earn simply by playing the game. Besides coins, the only other microtransaction is for “T.O.R.K.,” another robot ball with the very helpful attributes of being able to equip four power-ups and having a laser sight for aiming more effectively. That said, he is – as Bolder Games points out – entirely unnecessary for beating the game. It’s honestly just a small boon, and — if it’s possible to get a hole in one on every hole, which my rapidly graying hair seems to disbelieve — you shouldn’t have any trouble getting through the game without paying anything more than the base price.
I still haven’t gotten through the whole game — it is wonderfully long — but I’ve played it long enough to know that even I want to buy this game. Speaking of which, the game is currently sitting at two dollars (USD) for either the iPhone or iPad version; though this is apparently half off, meaning if the idea of mini-golf in space excites you — as well it should — then you should pick the game up now. There are plans for a PC and Android release as well, but for now it is iOS exclusive.
