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| | Publisher: Freeverse  Genre: Sports | | | Min OS X: 10.4 CPU: G4 @ 1000 MHz RAM: 256 MB Graphics: 32 MB VRAM |
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Tiki Magic Mini Golf is a solid mini-golf game... at $10 to $15 less than what Freeverse is selling it for. A quick look at the MacGameStore features list for the title tells you all you need to know. Trust me, I’m an experienced game bargain hunter. I’m willing to pay top dollar for a title, but I need to know it’s got the meat to make it worth the coin.Allow me to break down the red flags for you before we get into the heart of the review. • Real-time 3-D game-play: Okay, this can still be a plus for a game, especially something as casual as a mini-golf game. But a title from a major company like Freeverse boasting about technology that’s been around for more than a decade is... sketchy.
• State of the art physics: This actually is a good sign, but as it happens, I think it’s a pretty heavy overstatement for the title.
• Instant “Sweet Shot” replays: Again, this is theoretically good, but not only can you not recall or save replays, but more than 80% of my replays were from straight in putts from about three feet from the hole. Ooh. Exciting.
• Anytime unlimited game saves and restores: Things start to head south in the features here. The ability to save one’s game is, well... it’s not like it’s a privilege or something. It’s more like a right.
• Animated tiki mask player totems: The game has officially started to list that your player icon being animated (read: it has two different faces it makes) as being a feature. I know when I’m looking for a game, I look for things to be animated. Yup.
• Tiki Magic Force Fields: Okay, now not only are they not mentioning anything that’s actually a “feature” for the game, but they’ve dipped into the realm of things that make no sense at all to anyone who doesn’t already own or have played the game. In fact, I’ve played through all the courses in the game, and I’m still not 100% sure what they’re referring to. Okay, to recap... what you have in this game is a title that, before you even download it, is trying to stretch what it has to offer. Icons, save games, and... force fields. These are not really features, not in a way that the gamer will find functional. Right-away, this lets me know that for $30, I’m not looking at a feature-rich title. Also among the full-list of features are the legitimate items listing 3 Courses and 54 Holes (18 holes per course). That’s not exactly anemic, but it’s not a terribly large amount of variety, either. And that’s the big hole that Tiki Magic Mini Golf paints itself into right there: variety. The spice of mini golf is its variety. It’s wacky environments and unexpected twists and turns and general creativity. Tiki Magic is all about tiki action. The game is really committed to the islander look and feel, with groovy island tunes, piña colada-style powerups, and tiki mask icons (a feature!)... but that’s pretty much it. It’s a bit of a one-trick pony.
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