Reviews > Brunswick Pro Bowling
(Wii, PS2, PSP) Hands-On Preview
June 30, 2007
Anyone looking for motion-controlled bowling hasn't had much to choose from thus far. Wii Sports is the only title to put bowling on Nintendo's new console, and it isn't exactly a detailed recreation of the sport. Enter Brunswick Pro Bowling, Crave Entertainment's entry into the less-than-saturated videogame bowling market. GameWad was able to try out a final build of the game, which is scheduled to release on the Wii, Playstation 2, and PSP on August 14th. While the PS2 and PSP versions weren't on display, the leader of the pack was there for our rolling pleasure.
Brunswick Pro Bowling plays much like Wii Sports, but is more of a full-fledged sim than an arcade game. Trying to remain an authentic experience, the game features almost entirely Brunswick-licensed gear, from balls to bags to shoes. There are a variety of lane oil patterns, and even between-ball animations (which can be turned off). No professional bowlers are featured, which may bother one or two people. For the rest, I imagine it's not an issue.
In addition to a quick play mode that allows players to simply choose a bowler and dive right in, there is also a career mode, where one can create a custom roller and then compete for cash prizes. The career mode is arranged into weekly events, between which players have the opportunity to purchase new equipment, thus improving their game the next time around. The goal here is to...win.
As for the game's motion controls, they are nearly identical to Wii Sports, with a few minor differences. First off, lining up your bowler is less cumbersome, because there is no toggling between lateral positioning and angle of approach. Moving side-to-side is accomplished by holding the B trigger and rolling the wii-mote left or right, and changing angle is as simple as pressing left or right on the d-pad. Here, it gets a little tricky. Just like Wii Sports, players hold down the B trigger and swing the remote to throw the ball, applying whatever amount of spin their little hearts desire. Because the on-screen avatar is somewhat slow-moving, though, how to time your swing is a bit ambiguous, and your real-life motions may not correspond to those seen in the game. Quite a few times, the various journalists in attendance would swing in what seemed to be a powerful manner, only to see their balls trickle down the lane like a 5-year-old made the throw. Getting the timing down is key, and it takes some time to do so.
In th Playstation 2 and PSP versions, the motion controls are replaced with traditional swing meters that make use of the analog sticks.
Brunswick Pro Bowling will cost $39.99 on the Wii, and $19.99 on the PS2 and PSP, when it arrives on store shelves in August.
*Eddie R Inzauto - Senior Editor, GameWad.com
