MiiPlaza.net

WiiSports Bowling is arguably one of the biggest games in video game history. Enjoyed by an extraordinary number of people, and with the help of it's siblings Baseball, Tennis, and Boxing, Wii Bowling enticed our imaginations and gave us fond memories of a past-time not too many take time to enjoy. It also left us wanting more of everything, and so here's the first bowling game to follow it up.

Given all the fanfare and fun, it seems natural to have another bowing game on the Wii with more depth and better controls.

Brunswick Pro Bowling does not have the natural grace of Miis bowling. It's controls have more to do with timing (targeting key points of on-screen animation which ends up really disconnecting you from the bowling on screen. You line up your shot with a rather odd control mechanism (turning the Wii Remote like a key to move left and right) then press the A button to shoot. You then raise the controller in the air, like with WiiSports bowling, and press the B button - but here's when things go wrong. The character will wait for you to pull your arm backwards, and once you do, he/she begins to walk towards the lane - your new task is to hold still for 3 or 4 seconds until she's closer to the line and swing the remote back forward. The lack here being any firm correlation between your movements and the on-screen action. It does not feel responsive or fluid, but instead feels like a cross-gap between a PS2 game and a Wii game... You don't really have any control over the character, the character's arm, or the ball, you simply make gestures at intervals.

I was bowling strikes before my 10th frame, but there seemed to be some consistency to my shots. I felt like I had to make extreme errors to really mess up bad, however. Still, it seems like there may be discernable player skill to increase, even with the rigid control scheme.

Now there's unlockables, various environments, and let's give them credit - the graphics aren't that bad for the price - but then there's really poor music selection, the other lanes are generally empty despite the active ambient sound effects, and the inevitable, irreversible and damaging fact that the system it's for has a pack-in game that bests it in the fun category.

There's a career mode that lets you select a few different traits for your generic character, but it's nothing near an EA Game Face or Mii Channel editor... it's just a few options and you're off to the lanes, where you compete in events for league advancement. Once you've started your career you can also practice and visit the Pro Shop for some glasses, a new ball, or a change of clothes.

Jose's Verdict
If you're looking for bigger, badder Wii Bowling after you fell in love with WiiSports Bowling, this is not the game for you; however, if you don't know what WiiSports is or you're looking for something different, this might be a game worth looking into. It's not terrible, it's not great. It's another sports game that got about half way there that only really caters to existing fans.

I didn't like this game at all

Wii sports bowling is a lot better.

We can't even get this game working. We're doing as the instructions say. It loads a game and we go through the various machinations to set up the two player game. Then get to the player screen and there's your aim and track stuff. YUCK! So non-intuitive and imprecise I really didn't feel confident about my ability to aim. Then eventually I figured out how to get into throw mode, and threw, and nothing happened. I did it again. Lets see now, lift wiimote in front of me, depress B key, swing arm back and then forward in bowling move, and release b key. Nothing. Third time, after I release the character throws the ball. Ok. two down. Do it again, try harder on the aim and the throw. Once again I have to throw several times before the game responds. Hooks to the left again. I don't have THIS trouble in wii sports! I can throw as straight as I choose! Grrrr. Dan takes over as player two with remote #2. Aims and all that crap. Can't throw. We throw over and over and over till we're putting our shoulders, elbows and wrist joints out and the character stands static. Switch to aim window and back, yep, remote works. Try #1 remote, no, that ain't it.
We reset the game. Now neither player or remote would throw the fargin ball. Oh aiming and every other function worked as intended (rotten).
This game sucks suck sux0r sucks. I'm SO glad I only rented it and at that it's a waste of $6 and I wish I could get that money back. Maybe I will try complaining. Grrrrrr. What are they thinking???? If they expect to sell this fancy pants graphics game it's got to work at least as nicely as the one included in wiisports with your new wii game!!!!!

decent but Wii Sports Bowling is Better