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Review Information |
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Reviewer Name: |
Stan |
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Game Difficulty: |
Hard |
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Difficulty Options: |
False |
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Game Information |
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Full Title: |
Putt & Putter |
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Year Released: |
1992 |
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Game Type: |
Puzzle |
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Max Players: |
2 |
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| Introduction |
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| My first Game of the Week, now my next review. At first, when I originally popped this baby in, I was quite happy with it. Note to self, PLAY GAMES FOR A FEW LEVELS BEFORE DECIDING ON THEIR AWESOMENESS. |
| Gameplay |
| Putt & Putter is an interesting title to say the least, kind of like a sports/puzzle shtick, but more sports than the latter. It's a mini golf game, ripe with little obstacles and different hazards. The courses are quasi-3D with lots of nice little things everywhere. Kind of like mixing Great Golf with Marble Madness, in a way. The goal, of course, is to get the ball into the hole within par, under preferably. First you select where you want to place your ball on the little square allotted to you when you start. Though the instructions say it matters where you place your ball, it really doesn't if you get your angles correct. Once you have it placed you can scan the course if need be (you can do this before placing the ball) to see what you have to do. Once you have the ball placed you move around a little cursor to decide on the angle you want to shoot at, hit the button, watch the meter, and press the button again when you get the right amount of power. A very simple, easy to learn setup. Unfortunately, the courses start out easy and then completely wipe you out no questions asked.
The programmers were even sinister enough to put a little thing in the game where if you go too over par the game just says "Give Up" and you have to start the round all over again. You're probably thinking, well just play better. Yeah, good one, if that was possible I would. The first two levels are a general breeze. You should definitely get them under par. After that, good god. The levels become so progressively difficult that it isn't even funny. There are certain things, for example switches, that you have to hit if you can even hope to get anywhere. The problem is that to hit most of them you have to be absolutely perfect in order to stay under par. Hitting a switch to stop a conveyor belt sounds like a great hazard, but you waste a shot hitting the switch and you can never seem to get the ball to go far enough to get around the next corner even though you CONSTANTLY hit the ball with full power. I really don't get it. Am I doing something wrong here? I managed to make it to about level 6, but it didn't matter, by that time I was so way over par on everything else that one shot over made it game over for me. There's a lot of variety in this game, but unfortunately no learning curve of sorts for the beginner. It's all or nothing with this game, if you don't rule to begin with it casts you into the icy lake of the tenth ring of hell. |
| Graphics |
| Again, as with most SMS games, these were really nice. Sometimes a bit basic with not enough to look at considering everything else, but still well done. The setup is meant to appear 3D and it really works well. The courses are in the middle of an endless expanse of water with different obstacles here and there to hinder your progress. Good job with this part of the game. |
| Sound & Music |
| Again, good, I really enjoy the music, it fits, though the tunes that come through to you when you get the "Give Up" message really get to me. They're good, but, just come on guys it's hard enough as it is, can't the music remain cheery even as the game kicks my ass? Sounds are good as well, no problems there. |
| Controls |
| Controls are also good, as I mentioned above they're very easy to learn. The only problem is that even when you hit the ball with full power, it sometimes never seems to be enough. However, this is a problem with the gameplay (programming), and NOT the controls. Controls are just fine. |
| Replay Value |
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| I have yet to come back to this suffering agony. It could have really been a fine game if they would have just made it more accessible to new players. It simply takes more practice than you feel the need to put into it. If it was set up so that you can make it through generally every level at par, thus going through again to hone your skills, it would have been great. But, unfortunately, it's set up for the programmers to play as they're the only ones that know what the hell you're supposed to do. |
| Conclusion |
| In conclusion I'd have to say that this is a sports game for the SMS I would suggest owning, just to see how much better you have it with everything else. If you actually find a way to get through it, e-mail me and tell me your story as I can scarcely believe it even just thinking about the possibility. |
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