We won't say that mobile minigolf games are a dime a dozen; they cost $4.99 each. Mini Golf: Castles is the latest Digital Chocolate game to feature a group of four putting pals. As you might have guessed, this game has a castle theme, so don your cuirasses and practice your Middle English. Apart from some thematic obstacles, Castles plays just like every other minigolf game out there, which isn't the worst thing in the world. Putting works well on mobile, which is probably why developers are intent on making so many games of this type.
In Mini Golf: Castles, it's your job to hit balls into holes, choosing where to aim and how hard to smack them. Sometimes, it's possible to sink a ball in one shot. In other instances, you'll be chasing your ball around the course as you would a disobedient child. You can compete against the scores of three artificial intelligence-controlled players, three human opponents, or any combination thereof. If you manage to hit par for the nine-hole course on which you're playing, another course will open up, until you have a total of three.
Some of the obstacles you'll face in Castles are suits of armor, ball-launching cannons, and--mystifyingly--futuristic moving walkways. None of these obstacles are particularly inspired. If you want innovation, though, you're probably not looking at minigolf games.
Castles generally looks quite good on the Motorola V551, but its character portraits are downright ugly. Some halfway-decent artist was hired to draw Amber, David, Trish, and Emil on the game's splash screen, but his services were apparently not retained long enough for him to get to the character portraits. The result is kind of unfortunate. During gameplay, though, everything looks peachy.
The game's sound is undoubtedly its best feature. The opening theme sounds like a mixture of "God Save the Queen" with a medieval role-playing game's swelling overture, and during the game you're treated to what sounds like a Japanese RPG's in-town music.
Mini Golf: Castles is an average entry in an oversaturated genre. Castles doesn't distinguish itself in any meaningful way, which is to say that it's a decent offering--no more, no less.
