If you’re a fan of physics games, it’s time to go rummaging through your couch cushions to scrounge up some quarters to buy 2up Games’ first iPhone game, Melon Golf [App Store]. Featuring 36 holes between the three standard courses and one unlockable course, touch controls that couldn’t be more simple, and a difficulty curve that keeps you coming back for more, Melon Golf joins the ranks of my other physics favorites on the App Store.
The thing about Melon Golf is that it isn’t really a golf game as much as it is just a golf inspired game. You are trying to get a melon in to a hole, and the levels are called courses, and that is about where the similarities end. To fling your melon, you draw back on the screen and let go. The controls work exactly like all the other slingshot and archery type games, and come just as naturally. You can put a spin on your melon after your launch it by swiping on the screen while it’s in the air, a technique that becomes vital in later courses.
Once you finish the easy set of courses, Melon Golf starts throwing spinning gears, moving obstacles, and holes that require some pretty high accuracy to get in one shot– But that’s one of the things that seems to draw me to the game so much. There doesn’t seem to be a way to lose (or if there is, I haven’t found it yet) so if you’re not a Melon Golf pro, all you need to do is keep trying.
Getting the melon in to the hole in fewer shots than previous attempts has kept me playing courses I’ve already cleared and if there was one bad thing I had to say about the game it would be that there’s no replay system. I’ve had a few absolutely unbelievable holes in one that I would have loved to be able to save, but this is a minor complaint. Melon Golf also has no music, but I usually play simple games like this while listening to podcasts, so it isn’t an issue for me.
The developer put together this gameplay video:
If you like these kinds of physics games, there’s no reason you won’t also enjoy Melon Golf and if you’re new to the “flinging stuff from point A to point B" genre, this game is a great place to start.
App Store Link: Melon Golf, 99¢
