Vista Golf 4+

My favorite app.

So I have to be honest, I never write reviews for apps. But this app in particular I have spent a crazy amount of time in. Been playing since the app came out and have never had any real complaints. I am slightly ashamed to admit it but, I am on hole 16,000 in infinite mode and I don’t plan on stopping. However, the most recent update removed some really fun and challenging features on the golf holes so I do hope they make a return soon. I know you have to keep the app running smoothly so app updates are needed but please work to make the holes tougher and more interesting. Also, an option to use the new shooting mechanic or the old shooting mechanic would be nice as the new shooting line makes it a little too easy. All in all, it’s still the greatest app to kill time with and easily one of the best mini golf apps in the store.

Almost

Vista Golf is fun. These problems with Vista golf could be corrected. The playing surface would benefit with some opacity, so you can see multiple tiers, when a playing surface is directly under another, as what currently is offered. impossible to see where the track leads. Also placing direction of play would make it less confusing to know which direction leads to the hole, “just a few arrows”. Lastly, it would be a nice feature if the infinite course allowed the hole numbers to be changed without having to reload the entire game. An excellent feature is not having innumerable ads. An improvement was the enlarged holes. All in all, a pleasant way to pass time. Addendum: As of mid March, the developers have added a huge number of ads, to the level of lowering my original review from 5 to 2 stars. Unless you are willing to spend more time viewing ads than playing, you must disconnect from the internet. No other changes, and no improvements were implemented. THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE WAY TO PLAY is to SELECT AIR PLANE MODE. DISAPPOINTING.

Developer Response ,

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment, and I'm sorry that we've had to add the ads that we have. Prior to the interstitial ads, we were barely making enough money for coffee. I want to release updates and more games, but I can't do it for free, given living expenses. It's unfair to suggest there are more ads than content - 18 holes takes 10-15 minutes, the 5 ad views over that course take around 25 seconds total - I believe ~95% content is more than fair when considering it's totally free, and comparing to other media sources. It also only costs a (us)dollar to remove ads. I appreciate your input, and I'm regretful that the ads did become a necessity (they do degrade the quality of the game, no argument there), but I have plans for Vista Golf and other games, and to make those happen I need to be able to purchase my own time. All that said, I know you've been a loyal player, and I'd be happy to send over a "remove ads" promo code if you shoot me an email at reid@shallotgames.com

It’s a calming experience

Vista Golf won’t wow anyone with its graphics. It’s not supposed to. It’s about the gameplay, stupid, and that’s where this shines.

The tutorial is brief but you won’t need of that because the controls are that intuitive, and rotating the hole around is quite important on some of the more challenging holes. It doesn’t hurt that once you get used to get to the obstacles and what they do, you’ll quickly discover things are set up to be challenging, but fair.

Vista Golf doesn’t want you to rush. It wants you to take your time and enjoy the ride. It doesn’t congratulate you on an ace or ride you when you need 23 putts on a hole as happened to me once. Every hole sinks in the same fashion, and the next rises in a gentle fashion. This is mini-putt done right.

My only real suggestion for the developers would be that once one of the 9-hole weekly courses has run its route, it’s gone forever. It would be nice to download 9-holes that you like and be able to revisit them offline just for fun, see if you can beat your best round. But this a minor quibble. Two thumbs up for this stroke of genius that won’t be disappearing from my iPod Touch anytime soon.