Developed by Wanako Studios
Published by Sierra Online
Released for Xbox Live Arcade (4/2007)
Also on PC
Backwards Compatible with Xbox One
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures features a small variety of miniature golf courses. Rather than creating a realistic depiction of mini-golf, the developers have tried to inject some excitement with crazy courses and power-ups scattered about. There's a hole in outer space where you launch your ball off a ramp and onto a nearby planet containing the hole, so I'll definitely give the game credit for trying something new with the old mini-golf formula. There are power-ups scattered about on some of the courses, which allow your ball to jump or even turn the hole into a vacuum which sucks your balls in (insert obligatory "what she said" joke here).
There are two game modes to select from: Tournament and Hole Editor. In tournament mode, you're given two different courses to choose from and whichever you select you will play through each hole on two different days. After you complete these two courses under par you unlock a third tournament that includes all holes from both courses. The hole editor allows you to create your own holes and if you enjoy this sort of thing can greatly increase the replay value of this title. Overall, the game plays decent if you don't mind some craziness in your golf courses. The golf aspect is easy to use and the pars for each hole are very reasonable.
While playing 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures, I did notice some questionable behavior from the ball on a few occasions, particularly on the pinball hole. The ball physics just don't work well as a pinball and it either should've been tweaked or taken out. Other than that specific hole I didn't encounter too many other issues with the ball physics. The game is incredibly easy due to the fact you can back out to the menu and restart any hole at any time by loading your save file. I finished the last course with a score of -41! I wish they would've just had a quick restart button though, since backing in and out of the menus gets quite tedious quickly. There is also a downloadable course called Lost Island available for $4.99, but I'd had my fill of the 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures by the time I'd finished the core game to be honest. If they would have at least bothered to add some additional gamerscore to gain from it I may have been tempted. Overall, if the minigolf theme appeals to you and you don't mind a short game then I'd say give it a go, but personally I think I would have enjoyed just a plain mini-golf simulation more (or just hitting a real putt-putt course).
On a related note, this game is part of the 3D Ultra Minigolf franchise and is the 4th entry. The original goes all the way back to 1997 was released on the PC. There were 2 more sequels that came out only on PC and then this entry which came out for the Xbox 360. There was also a sequel which was released for both PlayStation 3 and the Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox 360 port has since been de-listed, so don't go looking for it, but the original is still up at the time of this writing.
Final Verdict: If a crazy mini-golf theme appeals to you, then there's a good chance you will find some enjoyment in 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures. It's an older release that shows it age a bit and is on the short side but there's still fun to be had.
Related Links:
Buy 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures - Xbox Marketplace
Sierra Games - Official Site
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures - Metacritic
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures - GameFAQs
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures - True Achievements
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