Mini Golf MatchUp Review

 

Does anyone remember the game Words With Friends? Well Mini Golf MatchUp is the next installment in the very successful With Friends franchise. In this game players from around the world can participate against each other.  The actual gameplay is top-notch due to its simple controls and well-designed levels, and it embraces the style if turn-based multiplayer.
Mini Golf MatchUp starts with a lengthy and interactive tutorial  that guides players through all of the basic game mechanics, like initially  placing the ball, how to shoot, and zooming in or out. After the tutorial, users  can play against others online. This is a With Buddies game, so I was able to  use my previous With Buddies account. I didn't even have to login, the app just  recognized my device. Playing against others is asynchronous, so users can make  their shots and then exit the app and multiple games can be played at once.  Players can also chat and set an avatar for others to see. The controls are relatively intuitive and make sense. Placing a ball is  accomplished just by tapping and dragging shoots the ball. There isn't really  anything surprising about the game controls or game mechanics, but everything  feels polished and thought through. Players also get one free do over per game,  so hitting the ball of the course isn't the end of the world.
Each course has a par, just like in real life. The courses are very  interesting and I was surprised by the variation. Each course has a unique  layout, set of colors, and obstacles. There are tubes and hills to effect the  movement of the ball, and multiple landscapes. Unlike regular miniature golf, where the object of the game is to get the lowest score possible, Mini Golf MatchUp embraces its video game roots.  You'll be going for a high score here, with points being awarded for coins and gems collected, as well as how few strokes it takes you to sink your putt (the fewer strokes, the higher the score).  If you manage to get a hole-in-one, you'll get double the points on the next hole.

As you might have expected, the holes here aren't always as cut and dry as they might be in real life.  You'll find yourself presented with tough, crazy challenges from time to time, like a gem that can only be collected by knocking your ball over a deadly drop, or patches of course that will push your ball into the opposite direction.  Having said that, the courses feel rooted firmly enough in reality for the most part.  Whether or not that's a good thing is up to you.
courses may be well-designed and fun to play on, there are too few available for play.  Additional courses can be purchased using in-game currency, but unless you're willing to shell out real cash or wait an awfully long time to earn it, you'll find yourself repeating the same holes over and over again.  Sure, this'll give you the chance to perfect your play on each hole – but once you've done that, you'll start to grow tired of the same old miniature greens. Speaking of shelling out money, Mini Golf MatchUp manages to secure it's free-to-play nature through a heavy dose of ad-support.  Normally this wouldn't even earn a footnote in a review, but the ad frequency is so aggressive in MatchUp that it's bound to turn some players off.
Now whether if you are a golf fan or not Mini Golf MatchUp is a fun and easy game to play and get in to. This game is free a the Google Play Store, I would say that it is safe to play, so download it today.