BRUNSWICK PRO BOWLING
SPARE YOURSELF
Brunswick Pro Bowling is not the bowling game that the current generation of systems deserves. It is a shallow, simple game that might not even appeal to absolute diehard fans of bowling. With the technology on the market right now, pricing a game at $50 needs to guarantee some sort of standard. With Brunswick Pro Bowling, this is not the case. Such a simple concept as a bowling game deserves much better treatment than this, because sadly this game is just a gutter ball.
Okay from this point on I will try and stop with the puns, but can you really blame me? Getting back to the point, as soon as I started the game there was a huge red flag. The player is designated to pick a gender, so naturally I picked male. One would think at this point there is going to be some degree of customizing said players physical appearances like hair or skin tone. Nope, throw that thought right out of the window. Everyone that plays this game will either be a plain white male or a plain white female with no entry on the matter, all wrapped up in character models that look like they were pulled from a way early last-gen Tony Hawk game. Even Wii Sports gives you 6 preset characters to pick from in addition to customizable Miis. The graphics as a whole are sub-par, though I will say the lane lighting and reflection on the lanes stood out as the best looking aspect of the game. So I let it slide, figured that’s not what really matters in a game about bowling, and would get my fill elsewhere. I was wrong, again.
In my experience, the majority of less popular (exposure wise) sports games like pool, golf, and bowling all build a dynamic around managing power and balance effectively. These are usually represented by one or more bars, with players attempting to stop a moving symbol in the sections that are more powerful or accurate. In Brunswick Pro Bowling, the mechanics are so simple that I threw a perfect 300 game ON MY FOURTH ATTEMPT. After finding my “sweet spot” minutes into playing, I realized that there would be no learning curve for me, let alone any competition. After 6-7 hours with the game I had bowled 9 perfect games and averaged over 260 per match. All while monotonously repeating the same gesture, time and time again, frame after frame. Disappointing is an understatement. When it comes to sports, and sports games for that matter, you want or rather need to be challenged or else there is no drive for the player to do better.
While the title does incorporate stats via purchasable clothing, they are completely unnecessary. As I mentioned before, I found a sweet spot. My spot was right between the center arrow and arrow right of that. To control your roll strength, you tilt the right stack back. After being held for a second it fills, and pushing it forward in the direction you pulled makes it more accurate. With no challenge in balancing your moves other than making sure your flick of the stick is the same way as you pulled it, your shots will be essentially the same every single time. I had no need for addition curve, strength, or accuracy stats. They were worthless to me once I saw past the basic gestures of gameplay. The only savior in the grit of the repetitive gameplay is the special use balls that can be paid for with tokens players can earn. One blows up every pin, another splits in two Fred Flintstone style, and the last one is bigger and able to be shifted mid roll. While fun, they too are unneeded after mastering the game.
Oddly enough my biggest disappointment with the game is probably the simplest to fix. Ambience. The game has absolutely none, no heart and no soul. Though the six different stages are diverse and colorful, they are absolutely lifeless. Other than the sight of your own generic character post rolling, you will see no other NPC’s enjoying a game of bowling. You won’t even here other pins crashing or chatter to give the impression of other characters. No, because evidently bowling is a game best enjoyed in utter silence and alone. You get your run of the mill quirky music, but turn that off during a round and you will realize how necessary ambient noise in a game is. Hell, I grew up playing Ten Pin Alley on the Sega Saturn and it was loads more immersive (and it’s nearly 20 years old.) The only spark of life in the game comes via the authentic “strike” and “spare” videos that show after you roll.
There is a lot to do here, regardless of how repetitive it is. Career mode for starters lets you take place in tournaments as well as go head to head with rivals. The A.I. is not too smart and relatively easy to trump, so once you have finish a handful of tourneys don’t expect much more variety out of them. With the funds you earn via winning or completing challenges you can buy some of the gear I mentioned earlier, like hats, wristbands, shirts, balls and more. Each have different stats you can upgrade, with my personal favorite being the ones that increase the funds you earn. Aside from that there is quick play, which includes a multiplayer option that unfortunately is no fun if hitting strikes takes no effort. There is also a spare challenge where you attempt to pick-up some different sets of pins in succession.
Brunswick Pro Bowling on the Xbox One is not the bowling simulation that this generation of gaming needs. It’s quite the opposite actually, and comes across as a cash grab with the Brunswick name slapped on it. Retailing at $50 is absolutely nuts, and I unfortunately do not think even the most dedicated fans of bowling would even appreciate this. It has no heart or soul, and it’s not easy to be passionate about something that has no passion. The mechanics are poor, its offerings shallow, and as a whole leaves much to be desired. Skip the game, and just do the real thing instead. Or download the free mobile version of the game, which is arguably the better game by many strides.
5/10
+Authentic Brunswick B-Roll
-Poor Mechanics
-Shallow
-Lifeless
2.5