Twirdie Review

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Twirdie Review

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Twirdie Review

By Jennifer Allen on June 16th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: INTRIGUING
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Golf and Twitter? Combined into a game? Yes, really. It makes for an interesting experience.

Developer: Simple Machine
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.69 out of 5 stars

To describe Twirdie as a golf game feels a little disingenious. It certainly has the hallmarks of a simple golfing game and the golf theme is there. Underneath that though is more of a comment on the power of social networking in Twitter’s ability to not only rule the world but even control the progress of a game.

The word Twirdie is an amalgamation of birdie (a common golf term) and Twitter, which sums up the game perfectly. Players play through one of 9 golf courses with the intention of completing each of them in fewer moves than the par time given. Taking a swing however isn’t done in the conventional golfing sense. Instead players have to think of a word that would be tweeted and type it in. The game then searches Twitter to find out how many times that word has been tweeted in the past 60 seconds and then uses that power to determine how far the ball will travel across the course.

It’s an interesting way of using the power of Twitter and it certainly makes for an intriguing oddity. Because of the way that Twirdie works, it’s important for players to keep abreast of situations that might be popular on Twitter at any given time. For instance, Lady Gaga and Obama tend to be pretty popular throughout the day but checking out the big trending topics and using them can really make a difference if a powerful swing is required.

It’s not all plain sailing as, just like regular golf, if the player hits the ball too far then more moves are required to progress. Careful choosing of words is vital for success, especially in the later stages when putting is needed rather than huge swings.

Twirdie works for the most part though, mostly veering away from being too tough. It does feel a little gimmicky but there’s enough content to keep playing. As each course gets increasingly challenging with shorter par times and more obstacles such as bunkers and water hazards, it extends longevity. Ultimately, Twirdie is a fascinating combination of social networking and gaming.