''3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures'' is a 2006 arcade golf
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
developed by
Wanako Games
Behaviour Interactive Chile Ltda. (Behaviour Santiago; formerly Wanako Games Chile Ltda.) was a Chilean video game developer based in Santiago. The company was founded as Wanako Games in 2002, by Esteban Sosnik, Tiburcio de la Cárcova, Santia ...
and published by
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary of CUC International, after the latter acquired video game companies Davidson & Assoc ...
. The game released on December 20, 2006, for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, and April 18, 2007, for
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
.
Gameplay
The game focuses on arcade elements rather than stick to a simulation way of miniature golf. While traditional stroke rules apply, there are power-ups to be found throughout each course, like making the player's ball jump, or the hole become a vacuum.
[ The original release of the game comes with three courses and overall 36 holes, which are set within space, a carnival, and a Wild West.] The courses have their own separate conditions and traps, like scorpions in the Wild West one. One of the features present is the course editor. It allows the player to customize all aspects of the course, including the ability to place hazards and power-ups in any location. There are two modes to play, either a single-player tournament or a multiplayer game both locally and online for 2-4 players.
One of the main features is the map editor. It allows the player to customize all aspects of the course (ramps, intersections, turns), including the ability to place hazards and power-ups in any location. Tournament mode offers a choice between four characters, along with 3 control styles: Hold and Release, 3-Click, and Analog Control.
Development
Sierra Online announced the development of 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures on September 27, 2006, saying that it would release on Xbox Live Arcade in the winter of the same year. On July 25, 2007, the ''Lost Island'' expansion pack was added for Xbox Live, introducing another eighteen-hole course. Sales at the end of 2011 were approximately 34,000 units.
Reception
The game received mixed to positive reviews from critics upon release, according to review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
.
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
reviewed the game, saying that "it's adequate amusement for the price, but still falls short of the gut-busting potential presented by online crazy golf". IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
praised the multiplayer modes and graphics, while also adding that "3D Ultra Mini Golf Adventures is a fun multiplayer game". GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
criticized the pace of how the game plays and physics, but liked the multiplayer mode and the course creator. The reviewer said that "3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures is an unremarkable game that fails to capture the fun of real miniature golf".
Sequel
A sequel titled ''3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures 2'', was released in 2010.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:3d Ultra Minigolf Adventures
2006 video games
Miniature golf video games
Sierra Entertainment games
Windows games
Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
Xbox 360 games
Video games developed in Chile