Putter Golf: Information from Answers.com

Release Date: October 23, 2001
Genre: Sports
Style: Golf
Similar Games: Hot Shots Golf (PlayStation), Fox Sports Golf '99 (PlayStation), CyberTiger (PlayStation)

Game Description

This value-minded release from Agetec brings the links to the living rooms of PlayStation gamers. Several options allow virtual golfers to putt to their hearts' content in various conditions and situations.

~ All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Whether you are a fan of golfing or not, chances are you have enjoyed the cheesy thrills of miniature golf at least once in your life. From the cliché windmill hole to that last hole where the ball is sent back to the clubhouse, thirty minutes spent playing mini-golf can be a great way to start off a date, spend time with the family, or act silly while inebriated. Believing that, like Jell-O, people always have room for miniature golf, the folks at Agetec have released Putter Golf. Unfortunately, the game's tediously slow gameplay and bizarre take on the pastime make the title not worth playing.

The biggest problem with Putter Golf is that it cannot decide whether it wants to be a miniature golf game or a conventional golf title. While the holes seem small in scale and require the use of bank shots and other mini-golf tactics, many elements of each hole seem more true to the sport Tiger Woods has tamed. Rather than only having a "green" to putt on, the game features a tee box, fairways, rough areas, and even sand traps. That said, it seems very peculiar that anyone would want to putt from the rough, or the fairway for that matter. Equally annoying is the fact that such surfaces in the game really do not differ in speed that much. Hitting from the sand and the rough are the same when they should not be, as are putting on the fairway or the green. While one could say the game is lighthearted and not meant to be taken seriously, the game comes as a disappointment to those looking for true miniature golf simulation.

On top of the game's poorly conceived concept of miniature golf, Putter Golf suffers from having intolerably slow gameplay -- so bad that you would have thought Sergio Garcia sponsored the game. After aiming up and putting in a manner all too similar to almost every other golf game's putting format, players are forced to watch the ball roll slowly towards its destination. This becomes very annoying as the ball completely ignores the rules of physics as it will roll to a stop and then suddenly speed up for no apparent reason. To make matters worse, the game has no sense of progression. After watching the ball slowly travel for ten to 15 seconds, the game changes camera angles and actually shows the same movement seen from the previous angle.

If gamers can overlook the problems mentioned above, Putter Golf has its moments. Some of the game's holes are very unique -- using conveyor belts, tunnels, and even ice to make things difficult. And while each of the game's holes provides a specific challenge for gamers (such as water hazards, steep hills and sand traps) there are usually several ways to make a birdie. Nevertheless, while the game's holes can be somewhat entertaining, there are not enough to get excited about. The game features only two nine hole courses (of which neither features a windmill hole -- sacrilege!) and four different characters to choose from -- all of which play exactly the same. That said, gamers are better off spending their cash at a real miniature golf course.