Tue, 20 Oct 2009 by Corbie Dillard
It might be cheap, but it doesn't look or play like it
When the Domo titles were first announced for the DSiWare service, many people were left unsure of what to think of them, especially given their rather inexpensive 200 Nintendo Point price tag. Now just as quickly as they were announced Nintendo has released all five titles onto the service at once. And while this Pro-Putt Domo title isn't very deep or overly content-filled, what you're getting is actually a fairly solid little putt-putt game considering it will only set you back a mere 200 Nintendo Points.
It's worth mentioning that Pro-Putt Domo is not a full-featured golf title. Instead the game presents a miniature golf-style gameplay experience that features a surprising amount of variety. Your goal on each hole is to get your ball into the flagstick hole in as few putts as possible, and you'll also be able to pick up coins along the way that can be used to unlock other game modes.
You'll face the same types of hazards that you might face on a real golf course including sand, water, trees and even patches of beautiful little flowers. Your ball will even react differently depending on what type of surface it's currently sitting on. If you're on a hard surface, you're ball will roll a lot farther than if you're on short grass, and likewise being in taller grass or sand will require you to strike the ball with a lot more force in order to make it travel long distances. You'll soon realize that the physics of the game are actually quite accurate and will have to be taken into effect if you're to be successful.
There are three modes of play in Pro-Putt Domo. Small Classic is unlocked at the beginning of the game and presents you with a short 9-hole tournament to play. If you can win the tournament and pick up enough coins along the way, you'll unlock the next mode of play, Big Open. Big Open is the full 18-hole tournament and plays pretty much identically to the Small Classic game aside from the 9 additional holes. Once again you have to win the tournament and collect the required number of coins in order to open up the practice mode. Lessons is the final mode and will allow you to practice any of the 18 holes in the game. This can be fun to see how many coins you can get on each hole in the shortest number of strokes, but the downside is that by the time you open up the Lesson mode, you'll likely already be fairly good at the game, which kind of defeats its purpose overall.
The first thing you'll notice about this title is how detailed the graphics in the game are. You certainly wouldn't expect a 200 Point title to feature this type of visual polish, but it's refreshing to see it just the same. Each hole features its own distinct look and feel and there are plenty of impressive little graphical nuances thrown into each hole for you to enjoy. This might be a bargain-priced DSiWare release, but you certainly wouldn't know it from looking at it.
Much like the visual presentation, the audio aspects are actually quite good as well. The overly cute up-tempo melodies the game makes use of won't appeal to everyone, but they're quite catchy and are easily good enough to convey the light-hearted nature the game employs. And if the solid musical score wasn't enough, the game also features some very good sound effects to go along with it. In fact about the only thing you could complain about is the fact that the musical tracks are a bit short in length and do tend to repeat quite often. Something to consider if you plan to spend large chunks of time with the game and are not overly fond of the game's cutesy musical stylings.
1. Objection_Blaster
20 Oct 2009, 08:01 BST
Hopefully all these Domo games will be as good as this one seems to be.
2. Corbie
20 Oct 2009, 08:01 BST
I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.
3. Stuffgamer1
20 Oct 2009, 09:09 BST
I don't have enough points for any Domo games, and I can't afford to drop the dough for all five. Stupid 1000-point minimum purchase...
The review does make this one sound good, though. A better value than Paper Plane Chase, I'm sure.
4. Bones00
20 Oct 2009, 10:34 BST
So let me get this straight. Domo? Not the 711 "Oh Thank Heaven" Domo?
5. Bass X0
20 Oct 2009, 11:30 BST
Well these were mini-games on full price GBA cart originally right? I'm not sure if the whole GBA game has been split into five or if these five mini-games represent only a small part of the original GBA game. And yes, Bones. It is. I had no idea who he was before yesterday. I had seem him before though but didn't pay any attention to him. I can see these games dominating the charts.
6. JayArr
20 Oct 2009, 12:26 BST
For $2...Hell Yeah! Nice Review Corbie.
7. Metang
20 Oct 2009, 12:54 BST
Yesterday was a good day in Nintendo download history. I am so buying.
8. Hoffkage
20 Oct 2009, 12:57 BST
Tons of stuff for 2 bucks. o_0
9. ReZon
20 Oct 2009, 13:02 BST
@Stuffgamer1 (or anyone else looking to buy points)
Do a search on eBay for the seller zoeyduke79. This person sells 1200 (6 codes each worth 200) Nintendo Points for $8.75. I've bought from this person a couple of times, and it's nice because you can distribute the points between the Wii and DSi. It's a solid deal.
10. Tony
20 Oct 2009, 13:17 BST
I'm glad to see Nintendo beefing up the library for 200 point titles. This one looks good but its odd that lesson mode is unlocked after you beat the tournament. I just feel like Domo looks like an angry Tootsie roll
11. LEGEND MARIOID
20 Oct 2009, 13:33 BST
Wow, that's surprisung! I thought these Domo fragments were going to be a failure. Good to read that they are not.
12. Xkhaoz
20 Oct 2009, 14:36 BST
Sweet. I actually had high hopes for these Domo games. Hopefully the other 4 games will be as good or even better than this one. Because getting 5 goods games for 1000 Nintendo points sounds pretty good to me.
13. Adamant
20 Oct 2009, 14:46 BST
Bass X0: These are only a small part of the original game. There were 22 mini games in total, I believe.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/adoj/program/index.html
The original game was set up like a TV network with 6 different channels each showing different programs at different times, most programs being a mini game (some others are "news programs" and the like, I assume they give game tips or something). This particular game is the "Domo Open Golf" program from the "D-Sight Sports" channel.
(this is also why they're somewhat low on replay value, I'd guess - the game is to be taken as a whole, going through programs and channels, succeeding at minigames and opening new ones, rather than choosing a game and going for a high score.)
You know, I think I'm going to import this GBA game - it does seem really awesome.
14. brandonbwii
20 Oct 2009, 16:26 BST
Good review. I downloaded White Water Domo and have to say honestly I'm not liking it very much. I can't wait to hear someone elses opinion on that one.
15. Swerd_Murd
20 Oct 2009, 17:36 BST
Yop think I'm gettin' this one--have exactly 200 points left...been waiting months for something that looked worth getting.
16. Turkey Brutus
20 Oct 2009, 21:06 BST
"I downloaded White Water Domo and have to say honestly I'm not liking it very much. I can't wait to hear someone elses opinion on that one."
You won't be waiting long. I promise.
17. Corbie
20 Oct 2009, 21:09 BST
Phil's on the case! LOL. I'm awaiting impressions as well.
18. cheetahman91
20 Oct 2009, 21:16 BST
Well, if I had I DSi and only 200 points left, I'd know what I'd spend it on.
19. WolfRamHeart
20 Oct 2009, 21:37 BST
It sounds like this one might be the best of the bunch. I'm not really all that interested in these Domo games but at least this one turned out okay. I think that I rather save my 200 points toward something that I really want.
20. ryanknight717
20 Oct 2009, 22:32 BST
what is domos history anyways?
21. JuneBelle
20 Oct 2009, 22:50 BST
Would you recommend this over Birds and Beans or Paper Plane?
22. ballistikboy
21 Oct 2009, 00:34 BST
This is such a great game. I gave it 8/10. Go grab it up!
JuneBelle: No, I would get Paper Airplane Chase and Bird/Beans first actually, Pro Putt maybe get that third...
23. Corbie
21 Oct 2009, 01:10 BST
Where did you give it an 8 at?
24. Mr. DSi
21 Oct 2009, 01:17 BST
I was waiting for solitaire DSi but I think this is better.
25. Stuffgamer1
21 Oct 2009, 03:37 BST
@ ReZon: I'm guessing this eBayer must've stockpiled Pepsi cap point codes. Doesn't sound like a bad deal, though it is a bit odd. Wouldn't help my situation much though, because I have like, NO spare money, and even buying 1200 points for the cost of 875 is still more than I can afford. I'd have to give up NSMBW to do that, and THAT is not happening. Thanks for the info anyway, it's good of you to offer a solution.
26. ballistikboy
21 Oct 2009, 08:22 BST
Corbie.. In response to your question, I gave the 5 Domo games 8/10 in the "Domo" thread under the DSiWare forums. Great value, and Pro Putt is so much better than MySims Camera, maybe Americans will wake up and fall in love with these Domo games instead, because MySims Camera (top dsiware game in the nation! haha) sucks.
27. Corbie
21 Oct 2009, 08:58 BST
I thought maybe you had written up a full review of them somewhere. I've been unable to find many reviews on these games so far.
28. mjc0961
21 Oct 2009, 11:16 BST
Game sounds decent, but I don't think I want to buy $10 worth of points just to play it. Nintendo shoots themselves in the foot with their stupid point distribution policy. I'm also not impressed that I'm basically stuck with 100 points on my Wii that I can never use because I have to buy their set bundles of points instead of just the points I need to complete a transaction.
This is one of those times where Nintendo (and Microsoft as well, since they do the same thing with their points) should take a good hard look at Sony (their only remaining competition) and their "If you are spending more than $5 at once you can add the exact amount of funds you need to complete the transaction and have an empty wallet afterwords" policy... And then steal the hell out of it because Sony is the only one doing it right.
29. Stuffgamer1
21 Oct 2009, 12:50 BST
I agree wholeheartedly with mjc on this one. Though even the $5 minimum can get a bit annoying if a REALLY cheap download releases, like .detuned did last week. It's a minor problem compared to the crap you have to put up with from Nintendo and Microsoft, though.
30. mjc0961
21 Oct 2009, 13:18 BST
Haha, I knew you at least would agree (haven't we gone down this road a time or two before?
). And yes, Sony's $5 min can be annoying, but it's easily better than the nothing we get from Sony and Nintendo.
Plus, the Fallout 3 DLC for the PS3 took care of my leftover $1 or so in my PSN wallet, so now it's empty, just the way I likes it.
31. Ricardo91
21 Oct 2009, 21:12 BST
At least one of the Domo games are decent...
32. JuneBelle
21 Oct 2009, 22:09 BST
@ballistikboy
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking about getting Birds and Beans....
33. Mr. DSi
21 Oct 2009, 22:44 BST
Bird and Beans is better than this.
34. Tony
22 Oct 2009, 13:28 BST
There has been some confusion with those who have downloaded this title in the forums. Just to be clear in order to unlock Big Tournament and have your best scores recorded you must get 1st place AND have 50 coins as well.
35. NintenDude97
24 Oct 2009, 01:43 BST
I would give it an 8/10.
36. Pocketim
26 Oct 2009, 06:29 GMT
I've been considering getting some of the Domo games for some laughs. His character design just makes me laugh every time I see him =P
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