Brunswick Pro Bowling

"A few pins shy of a strike (heh, I love puns)"

First off, I looked for this game practically everywhere and could not find it. In jumping to conclusions, I assumed that the game was just that good. In the process, I ended up perusing the Brunswick board here at GameFAQ's. There weren't many good things said about the game, and my heart sank a little. There aren't many bowling games out there to begin with, and the hear that this one was horrible?

As a last resort, I found myself looking in BlockBuster (seeing the rental prices in there makes me shudder). They had one copy left, thankfully. I rented it, have played it a great deal since, and this is what I gather:


Graphics:
Well, we are talking about the Wii, not the 360. If you expect something like Gears of War, then you will be gravely disappointed. Still, the graphics are pretty good. The Wii has seen better, and it has seen worse. The bowling balls look like they should, the characters look decent, and there is an ever-present sheen across the lanes. And, if you take the time to notice, the computer-controlled players on lanes opposite you are not just set in a loop, like in Wii sports. You will see different games and different rolls, different players and different scores. It doesn't really amount to anything in the end, but it is a nice little aesthetic pleasure.


(As there is no story, there isn't really anything to say about it.)


Sound:
The game, on a whole, sounds pretty good, but there are a few little flaws, aka, pet peeves. The biggest thing that comes to mind is the clatter designated for a strike: you get the nice little explosion when the pins seem like they've hit a mine. However, you get this sound regardless of how the strike happens. If you've been bowling, you know not all strikes "explode." I've gotten the domino-effect myself a few times. Well, the game is detailed enough to get strikes like this, but the sound doesn't fit. Other than little things like this, the sounds are good. The ball actually sounds like a ball rolling down a lane.


Gameplay:
This is the biggest part of a game like this. How does it handle? Is it realistic? Is it enjoyable. Well, the bottom line of it is both a strong yes, and a strong no. Wii sports was very simplistic. It wasn't all too difficult to get a 200 game. You may be crushed to know that it is relatively difficult to get a 100 game in Brunswick. That is largely due to the steep learning curve, though, as well as some of the out-right annoying setup. Quick play allows you to basically jump right in. You get to choose from pre-selected bowlers with their own strengths and weaknesses (you can select up to four at a time, providing you have the necessary number of remotes). You get a good bowling ball and a fairly strong character. When I'd learned how to manipulate the game properly, it was of little effort to get a 187, a 215. But that is quick play. Career mode is another beast entirely.

In career mode, you start from the bottom, and I mean below the bottom of the barrel bottom. You begin by creating your player from the ground up: input a name, select your preferred hand, gender and body type (athletic or husky). After this, you get into the beef of the customization: ethnicity, hair, clothing, and accessories. For hair, it is a simple matter of color, no alternate styles (at least, for the guys - I haven't created a female player). For the ethnicity, it is...well, difficult to tell really. For the clothing, there are several types of shirts and pants in many different colors. Accessories would include things like hats, sunglasses, shoes, bowling gloves and wrist braces.

Once you are done with this, you find yourself on the career screen. Here, you can choose an event, get an overview of your character's stats, see the league standings, visit the pro shop, and practice. And this is where the game takes a big hit. The idea is to work your way from a league night amateur to a professional tournament contender. Well, that sounds good, right? Yeah... You start with a base of $500, which puts pretty much everything you need either locked, or out of price range. You can afford a glove which will add a few points to your puny stats. And that's fine, start out small and go big.

League night opens, your character is standing there...with a house ball in hand. You press A to get everything set up for your shot: trajectory, angle, placement. You press A again to move the camera to the ready position, and then pull the remote to chest level, sensor pointing straight up. This will put the character in ready position. You swing your arm back (in conjunction with pressing the B button), as does the character. At this point, you are ready to swing forward, but the character hasn't even begun to walk (this is one of the things Wii sports nailed: when you pressed the B button, the character began to walk as well as swing his/her arm). It isn't really difficult to get used to this gap in movements, but it is very easy to throw your whole zone off. Odds are, the first few frames with either be a zero, or one or two pins.

It IS league night, so you have an opponent. That's fine, aside from the fact that you cannot skip their animations (not that you always want to, but if you are in a hurry, like a quick game to help build your stats before you are off somewhere…moldy Cheerios for you). Competition is necessary, until you realize no matter who, they are not using a house ball. They are using a ball that you can neither afford nor access due to the lock on it. They can correctly utilize both hooking and speed. It becomes somewhat traumatic at this point. How do you unlock things? Progress in the game. You will unlock the asinine things first, like sunglasses, hats, shirt variations. Once you understand the game and how to get around the handicap of a house ball, it isn't impossible to win. From this, you garner respect points, and every so often, you'll get a minimal boost to your stats. Three weeks you must go through, gaining neither trophy nor cash. This is your first tournament. You are still stuck with a house ball, bowling those who, if you gander at the league standings, have an average in the 230's. It is a struggle to get a 150 with a house ball. So, inevitably, you will be booted from the tournament, it is a single-loss elimination, after all. What do you do now? Go through three more weeks of league night with a house ball, still earning neither cash nor trophy, and hope for a better run at the next tournament.


In Conclusion:
While this game isn't outright horrible, it does possess some glaring flaws that will be unforgivable in some people's eyes, and not quite so drastic in others. I'd suggest you rent it first.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/07

Game Release: Brunswick Pro Bowling (US, 08/28/07)