Brunswick Pro Bowling (Wii) Review
Posted by Chris McCarver on 09.21.2007
The first Wii bowling game you actually have to pay for...
Publisher: Crave Entertainment
Developer: Point of View
Platform: Wii (also available for Playstation 2 and PSP)
ESRB Rating: E
Review by CHRIS McCARVER
Brunswick Pro Bowling already has a number of strikes against it, pun woefully unintended. With Wii Sports already on the market, not to mention as a free pack-in with the little white Nintendo wonder-box, one has to question why we'd actually drop a wad of cash for a bowling title when we can Wii-bowl just as easily for free. I don't begrudge Crave Entertainment for giving this the college try, but I don't envy them either. Ah, well, let's crack the clamshell on this thing and see if it's worth a chunk of your paycheck...
Brunswick sure loves that product placement...
Graphics
Sorry to say the visuals on this game are a little bargain-basement. Very little is done to punch up the presentation; the character animations and camera angles are miniscule in their variety, the menus are fairly utilitarian, and the character models themselves look like previous-gen castoffs from even worse bowling games than this. And in the annoying-as-all-hell department, every major bowling scenario is paired with a lame cartoony animation, such as a tire bouncing across the screen for spares or bowling pins with picket signs in the case of strikes. The game environments are also woefully adequate, with very minimal activity going on in the bowling alley behind your player characters, even though admittedly the game does contain a variety of venues to roll that 8-pounder down.
Gameplay
Now we come to the crux of the biscuit. The game mechanics of Brunswick Pro Bowling come down to, you guessed it, rolling a ball down a wooden lane into an array of ten pins. The controls aren't entirely different from Wii Sports; before each roll you select your angle with the Wii-mote's D-pad, but in this game you choose your bowler's position by rotating the Wii-mote left or right, which unfortunately isn't entirely as accurate as one might think. Maneuvering the angle-path can be a bit tricky since the Wii-mote's sensitivity is a little on the high side. Actually, rolling the ball is something of a throw-off also, since the animation doesn't accurately reflect how much force you put into your arm-swing but instead has your character do the same sluggish throw every time. The core bowling mechanics aren't entirely broken, but they aren't exactly intuitive or very pick-up-and-play, so the game has a slight learning curve to overcome. Adding to the difficulty of the game is the fact that the patterns of oil on the lanes actually play a part in the gameplay, meaning that you'll have to aim your throws to take account for the oil and that the patterns get tougher as you progress.
What, no meter for inebriation?
The game allows you to customize your bowler to various extents a la Tiger Woods' Game Face feature, from everything from your performance stats to your clothing, though the number of clothing options are a bit limited and the menu interface is somewhat clunky. The various bits of swag you can purchase in the in-game pro shop also enhance your bowler's abilities, which adds a nice level of customization to the experience, even if the overall gameplay's more geared to the hardcore bowler than somebody who just wants a casual gaming experience.
The game contains a career mode in which you take your created bowler through a series of games against an array of NPC bowlers, which is the sole source by which your bowler earns cash for upgrades. The career mode stacks the deck a bit against you, taking into consideration your comparatively low skill levels to your opponents, as opposed to the quick-play option which just lets you go ten frames with wild abandon. And of course, you can always take things head-to-head against a friend if conquering the pro-bowling world isn't your cup of chamomile.
Sound
Like most else in the polish department, Brunswick Pro Bowling's audio package seems pretty much an afterthought. The sound effects are fairly decent, but what music the game does have seems composed only to fill the absence of same.
"Is there a guy in a red shirt behind me... no, you idiot, don't look! I owe him money!"
Lasting Appeal
The career mode is definitely what will have gamers come back to this title. The in-game pro-shop is loaded with unlockable clothing and gear, and, in the rare one-upping of Wii Sports, getting a new ball actually improves your character's performance stats. Unfortunately, online play is non-existent with this title, but head-to-head multiplayer is present and willdoubtlessly be the source of shelf-life for the casual gamers interested in giving this game a try.
Fun Factor
Is this game fun? Well, that's going to largely depend if you want a hardcore bowling sim or a handy little party game. Brunswick Pro Bowling is designed first and foremost for those whom bowling is an actual sport, rather than something a group of friends goes to do when the Killswitch Engage concert gets cancelled and Kevin Federline gets booked as a replacement act. So if you're looking to prove yourself as the next Dick Weber, you might want to give Brunswick a try, but be prepared to get schooled by the high learning curve. If you're less concerned about breaking 200 than you are finishing your Corona and ogling the hot college girl in the belly shirt one lane over, save your money and stick to Wii Sports.
The 411
As stated before, whether Brunswick Pro Bowling is something worth spending even a 3-night rental fee is going to depend on whether you’re as much into bowling as the dearly departed Colin McRae was into rally racing. But even if you are a PBA Tour contender, the game contains a number of presentation faux pas as well as some flaws in the core gameplay mechanics that may give gamers a second thought, to say nothing of the above-average learning curve. In brief, the game’s not a 7-10 split, but it isn’t a double six-pack by any means.
Graphics
6.5
Ten different alleys to bowl in but all are a bit drab, character models and animations stiff
Gameplay
6.5
Lots of bowler customization, in-depth career mode, NPC bowlers are tough opponents, bowler animations fail to reflect throw force correctly, lining up a throw can be tricky
Sound
5.5
Serviceable sound FX, music soundtracks are generic at best
Lasting Appeal
7.0
Career mode offers lengthy and challenging single-player experience, multiplayer vs. modes, no online play
Fun Factor
6.5
Mainly for hardcore bowling enthusiasts, well thought-out but will likely leave casual gamers cold
