Join Mario as he competes in his very own golfing world tour! Choose to play as one of several characters from the Mario universe, including Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Luigi and many more. There are thirteen standard characters and a further four characters will be unlocked throughout the game.
The game starts with an interesting tutorial, which teaches the player all about how to correctly power their shot, alter camera angles and switch between auto shot and manual swing, which all becomes very useful as you progress through the game.
There are also several different courses to choose from including:
- The Forest Course
- The Seaside Course
- Yoshi Lake
- Cheep-Cheep Lagoon
- Bowser's Castle
- DK Island
- Wiggler Park
All the courses come with their own colourful environment and different challenges to overcome. For example, Yoshi Lake golf course contains many pools of water, which are difficult to avoid, making it a more difficult course than The Forest Course, which is one of the more realistic type of golf courses in the game.
As with normal golf, the main objective is to get the golf ball onto the Green in the minimum amount of shots. Mario Golf: World Tour allows players to choose whether they play the course using manual swing, or auto shot. Having the auto shot function is great for beginners as it means that the impact timing is preset for them so they only have to work on setting enough power for their shot. Here at Mini Gamers, we found the auto shot to be preferable on some of the more awkward terrains.
Players also have a limited number of Power Shots. Power shots are very useful for when players wish to make the ball travel over long distances. The exact number of power shots available per course will increase over time.
Coins will also be awarded at the end of each game. The higher the player's overall performance, the higher the rewards they will reap. Coins can be used later to purchase upgraded balls, clubs and clothing.
As well as playing a round of golf, more experienced players can attempt several golfing challenges. For example, in the Ring Shot challenge, players must aim to hit the ball through a series of metal rings littered about on the golf course. In order to succeed, the player must hit the ball through every ring without fail. A successful challenge will result in unlockable bonuses and/or coins.
In conclusion, Mario Golf: World Tour is a fun game that will excite Mario fans of all ages. The game is quite similar to other golfing games on the market in terms of its overall format, but the colourful graphics, wacky character animations and inventive challenges make it very appealing to avid sports gamers as well.
The game comes out on the 2nd of May 2014. If you are still unsure whether the game would actually appeal to you, then the demo version is available to try now from the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Overall Mini Gamers rating: 8/10.
