Review: Flick Golf! - Flick It In The Hole!
by Staff Writer
December 6, 2010
Overview
All of the typical golf games don't compare to Flick Golf which is unlike any golfing game you've played before on iOS devices. The main difference is the amount of control you have on the ball to get it spinning and bouncing in the direction you want it. Also, rather than playing full courses you play more of a target practice mode with the cup changing locations on one specific hole. The app is universal for all iOS devices.
Features
Your score is dependent on how close your shot lands to the pin, whether you sink it, land in the bullseye zone or further out in different point rings. There are two modes with quick play where you shoot as much as possible while being timed, and career mode giving you only nine shots. You flick the ball off the tee, and then flick some more while it's in the air, and while it's bouncing on the ground.The Good
Rather than playing a realistic golfing sim or even an arcade golfing game you're given a much simpler golfing experience. Rather than choosing clubs, hitting perfect shots, and traveling across a whole course you just flick once, and your main actions are after the ball has been hit. All of the tedious pre shot adjustments are thrown out the window, and instead you flick to adjust the balls trajectory to land as close to the hole as possible.
Every shot is like playing a par 3 where you're in one shot range of the hole, and you have a lot of spin at your disposal. You can flick while the ball is in the air to apply back spin or top spin, and even curve the ball. Once it hits the ground you have three bounces to apply the same effects to try to get the ball into the cup.
In career mode there are three locations to play, and you only have nine shots to score as much as you possibly can. In quick play you have 90 seconds to score as much as possible with better shots earning you more time. There are three courses for each mode which are only unlocked by reaching a certain score on the previous course.
The game is fast paced arcade action which is quite surprising for a golf game, and can really reach players who have never enjoyed other golf games. The game is simple to pick up and start playing as you just flick trying to get the ball into the hole which is just so intuitive. Also with the mechanic you can be quite successful, and it's plenty enjoyable having so much control over your shot, and sinking so many hole in ones.
The game looks great with beautiful hole landscapes for each location all rendered in retina quality 3D. These are some of the best looking graphics yet on iOS devices which look so realistic. OpenFeint is also included for online high scores and achievements, and you can get gold on each event.
The Bad
The game doesn't have the most content with only six total events between the two modes. More events would definitely help the replay factor or even a different mode with the same courses. Playing through all six events will go by very quickly, but the game will keep you coming back to better your score, and unlock certain items which are quite challenging. The game also is quite simple as every time you're just flicking the screen which can be quite repetitive. There isn't much variability in the gameplay with such a simple mechanic. The only main difference between the events is the amount of wind which adjusts your initial flick.
The game has some very difficult score plateaus to reach to get gold on the events where you practically need to sink every shot. The game does make golf seem a little too easy, and you can land on the bullseye with practically every shot. The main challenge is sinking the hole as everything else doesn't require much skill. Also it seems every flick sends the ball sailing over the cup, and you need backspin, so the flick power isn't perfect.
