Golf Zero review
:: OBVIOUSLY NOT A GOLFERPrice: Free
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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Golf Zero may sound like a typical golf title, but it's anything but. Imagine if you combined golfing with Super Meat Boy and you might be approaching what this game is. Golf Zero is a super-tight platformer with a really awesome golfing mechanic that delights, even when you're dying over and over again.
Tee off
In Golf Zero, you play as a little yellow golfer who has the ability to run, jump, and shoot up to three golf balls on a given hole. Unlike regular golf, you don't have to hit your ball whenever you want to get closer to the hole. Instead, you can run your way straight over to the hole before taking a shot at it.
This sounds simple, but considering levels can be loaded with spikes, pits, saw blades, enemies, and all manner of other crazy contraptions, you're lucky if you can make it close enough to the hole to get off at least one shot before falling to your death. If you're feeling really fancy, you can also choose to spend some of your shots hitting balloons, which are bonus goals to hit in each level.
Slow on the upswing
Golf Zero's platforming moves at a blazing fast pace and pairs that with some ultra responsive controls. Things only slow down when you're ready to take your shot, which then puts the game in slow motion and lets you aim with a little circle and arrow that appear around your golfer for a few seconds.
This mix of speed and slow motion makes playing Golf Zero completely exhilarating. Every level feels as if you're being asked to play a level of Super Meat Boy and then hit a last peg in a game of Peggle. It's nerve-racking, and occasionally frustrating, but oh so fun.
Pay for par
The gameplay in Golf Zero clicks because you can instantly restart a level at any time. So, even when levels get tougher or you're trying to improve your time in the game's Speed Run mode, dying repeatedly doesn't feel like too much of a penalty because you're always instantly right back in the action and ready to try again.
The only place where this falls apart is if you play Golf Zero without paying $1.99 to disable ads. In playing the free-to-play version, deaths are interrupted by video ads that completely destroy the flow of the game.
The bottom line
Golf Zero is an amazing game that can be aggravating, but in two entirely different ways. If you pay for the game, you'll be grinning ear-to-ear as you restart levels over and over again, shooting for one more hole. If you don't, you'll be treated to a bunch of video ads that will take you out of the action and likely make you delete the app. Do yourself a favor and pay for Golf Zero. For two bucks, you'll be buying yourself one of the best platformers on iOS.