If you remember the Crash Junctions from those games and you substitute the car for a golf ball and the junctions for everyday environments then you're not far away from what Three Fields are trying to achieve here, and they achieve it very very well.
Upon launching the game you are presented with an intro video that explains what is expected of you and is narrated by an old friend from Burnout 3 in the form of Ted Stryker. In Burnout 3 he was a DJ for Crash FM and in Dangerous Golf he switches to Smash FM.
After the video, which is packed full of information, you get to choose which mode you play. The different modes are shown in the screenshot below and I'll mainly be focusing on the solo section of the game for this review.
As you can see in the screenshot, you can go back to view the intro video at any time if you need refreshers.
The World Tour consists of four countries which you visit on each of the ten 'tours'. I believe there are 100 holes in total(still haven't finished the game), so there is plenty of 'bang for your buck' as the saying goes. You navigate between each of the countries using the Smash Nav and the world is depicted on the surface of a golf ball which I though was a nice touch.
The aim of the game is much the same as it was in Burnout Crash Junctions, cause as much damage as you can in pursuit of medals and high scores.
You start each hole with a tee-off, you can aim your ball at anything within a 360 degree radius. After you hit the ball, you steer it using the sticks and aim towards the objects you want to destroy.
Each hole has it's own special rules and these are explained to you at the start of them. For example, a room may have 6 statues in it and you are awarded a bonus if you successfully destroy them all. At the start of the hole there is a fly-by which takes you on a tour of the current environment and highlights the objects that you can destroy, there is also an indication of how many things you have to hit before you can unleash your Smashbreaker which is the Dangerous Golf equivalent of Burnouts Crashbreaker. This allows you cause maximum mayhem and destruction to boost up your score.
The Smashbreaker turns your golf ball into a flaming tool of destruction, whilst in Smashbreaker mode you can slow down using the Danger Time feature. This allows you to get a good look around the environment and plan where to steer your ball to cause maximum chaos. When your Smashbreaker runs out you enter the putting mode and as the name suggests, it's time to putt the ball. Putting is very forgiving in this game, you only need to hit the ball in the general direction of the hole to be successful. If there is some debris blocking your way then there is a very handy feature called Smashwave, when this is triggered it clears anything that is in a certain radius of your ball. Extra points and bonuses are awarded if you can manage to putt your ball using ricochets, so it would perhaps be prudent to plan where you leave the ball if it's big scores you are after.Should you miss your putt however, your final total will be halved.
The holes start of easily enough but as you progress it gets harder and harder to hit the high scores consistently.
You may think that novelty of just smashing things would wear thin but Three Fields combat that by introducing different challenges as you progress. The first few holes are standard hit everything and then putt the ball type of affairs. Further on though new hole types ranging from Warp Holes and Glue Balls to Timed affairs and Bucket Blast ensure that there is enough variety to keep you hooked.
There are also things to unlock for the completionists among you. Signature Smashes and Smash Headlines which can be viewed and tracked in the Clubhouse.
At the end of each tour there is a putting challenge which presents you with a room full of holes to sink your ball in. Each time you putt a ball the hole you just hit disappears, if you miss a putt then you lose a ball (start with 3). Bonus points are awarded for ricochet shots and these levels can provide you with big scores if you are skillful enough.
Another thing which pushes my happy button is that the name of the holes are very pun heavy and relevant to the environment where they are situated. Below is one of my favourites and I'm sure there are still many witty names to come.
I sampled the online play with a friend and this consists of you trying to beat each others scores whilst playing the same hole. You can set up anything from 3-9 holes and the only difference I could see from solo mode is that Danger Time wasn't available during the Smashbreaker. This makes planning your route more important should you want to be victorious.
Online leaderboards are always a good thing in these type of games, pushing yourself to firstly top your friends score and then ultimately to strive towards being the best in the world is one of the things that is like honey to a bear for me...you just have to get it. This feature will keep me coming back for more and extends the life of the game.
I popped on last night for half an hour to try and improve a couple of my scores....... and was still playing 3 hours later !!!!
The visuals in the game are very very good and the detail that has gone into the environments can really be seen when in Danger Time. All the bottles and tins for example in the kitchen levels have legible labels and look good, the attention to detail shouldn't be overlooked in this game.
It runs very smoothly and I am struggling to say anything negative here.Another good thing is that Three Fields Entertainment actively encourage players to suggest changes that can make the game better and in fact have recently released a patch based on feedback from the original launch of the game.
Three Fields Entertainment have delivered a game that is challenging to play but above all else is fun. What more could you want ?
For the price of 3 or 4 beers (depending on where you are in the world), you really can't go wrong.
I score this addictive game 9/10 .
Code kindly provided by Three Fields Entertainment.
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