The Lost City is an appropriate name for the business, as it rather difficult to find. Stuck between a GAP outlet and other small businesses, The Lost City provides its customers with laser tag, mini-bowling, several arcades and mini-golf. While I can't attest for the mini-bowling or laser tag, which is what I assume is their feature attraction, I can attest for the arcades and mini-golf.
The arcades that are available are very... Dull. Outside of Time Crisis 3, there are not a lot of great games available. Sure you have your air hockey, but that's something to be expected from arcades. The prize games were very focused on giving away tickets, heralding them over legitimate prizes you'd find out of similar prize machines elsewhere.
Then there is the miniature golf... I'm going to be very blunt with this and then explain why I feel this way... This is the absolute worst mini golf course I have ever played on.
Usually when you play mini-golf, you can choose between at a minimum, 18 holes and 36 holes. Here? Just nine. Going in, I thought, "maybe the holes are high in quality play and are in general, fun." But I was wrong. Oh so very wrong.
First off, the putters were loose at then handle. Have you ever played a game of mini-golf where the grip of the putter is so loose that it's unreliable? Having quality supplies for mini-golf isn't just a must, it's common sense.
Second, the putting surface, and let me tell you, each hole was atrocious. All of them had jankey carpeting that didn't even attempt to mimic a putting green. Glow-in-the-dark mini-golf courses even put green carpeting on even though it's not going to be seen with all the special lighting. In addition, some of the carpeting was damaged, altering the direction and rolling speed of the ball as a result. The carpeting is inconsistent and fails to mimic that of an average mini-golf course.
Third, the course theme is Egyptian? I get that some courses have themes, but... Egyptian? How does ancient Egypt and mini-golf come together? Is it supposed to be this way to fit with the name "The Lost City"? Because let me tell you something... This is one horribly put together theme. It has a bunch of horrendously-crafted Egyptian cliche objects that present nothing fun to the course.
Fourth, the length. The holes themselves were very short. Most mini-golf holes tend to have some length to them, but this place just seemed to cut the standard mini-golf hole in half. They're all elevated, but you can still putt while being on the main floor. My girlfriend and I managed to finish all nine holes in 10 minutes.
Finally, the obstacles. Some of the course obstacles were just asinine. The first hole had this silver crocodile or something halfway submerged into the carpet and at the end, the upward slope is completely plastic. Why? Was there not enough in budgeting to add extra carpet to the hole? Or was this an attempt at making the course "more challenging"? I've never seen a mini-golf course use plastic as part of the putting surface, let alone, at such a crucial part of the hole.
The second hole is a mess. There's these tiny, possibly plastic squares that pop up across a part of the course. If your ball hits a square, it will go out of the playing course and you lose a stroke. Basically, you have to put precisely straight or else you lose a stroke. I get the idea is to bring obstacles that are challenging, but not ones that punish the player for having a putt travel slightly to the left or right. Imagine a kid playing this. His putt is never going to be dead straight.
Then there was the hole with two carpets and a shuttle loop. The shuttle loop is fine, but what was the point of the carpets being rolled up next to each other? Were they meant to be an obstacle or did someone just drop them on the course and the course architect said, "Don't move it again, this hole is perfect"? You basically just putt to the left, ignoring the entire center and right side of the hole, kind of like what the architects did.
Then there is the ninth "hole" which is what I'd call "an admission of defeat." This so-called hole merely takes your putted ball and determines what stroke you get by making your ball play plinko. If your ball lands in the "bonus" hole, you get a ticket for a free game of mini-golf. Any other hole warrants no such prize and determines your stroke.
That is the worst way to do a hole. Have luck determine your outcome? What if you were winning and all of a sudden lose because your golf ball landed in three whereas your opponent's landed in two? So luck ultimately outweighs skill and smarts? That's bull.
Somehow my ball landed in the bonus hole and I was given a ticket for a free game. But am I going to go back? No. Why should I waste my time on such a horribly put together mini-golf course that has no direction, an empty theme, horrible putting surfaces, unreliable equipment, obstacles that punish way too hard and just in general insults mini-golf? read more