Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 THQ
This game really ought to be rubbish. It a bowling simulation for fuck's sake. Bowling's for fat middle aged American's or families desperate for any sort of cross-generation interaction. But, much like real bowling, played with your mates this game can be quite a laugh. You play either as a 'well known' pre-set professional or as a kind of Frankenstein's monster produced using the games' create a bowler facility. This allows you to adjust everything from the design on the back of their shirt to their type of glasses. No matter what you choose, the result is truly hideous (and bearded regardless of sex). The bowling itself is simulated on two different screens. Firstly, you can adjust the spin, power and direction (there doesn't seem to any reason for not keeping it on full power all the time). Confirm these settings and, as your bowler does a badly animated run up, you have to hit a button at the right time to ensure good power and accuracy. In other words, it really is quite simple - ideal for drunken late night entertainment. The physics of the pins is very well done. They fly all over the shop in a very convincing manner. Unfortunately, this seems to be stretching the playstation (or maybe just the game) to its limit. After each shot it loads from the CD which makes for very slow and frustrating gameplay. The multiplayer game can accommodate up to 8 players (if you've got a small fortune to spend on controllers and multi-taps) and has enough venues and other options to keep a group of drunks interested. Okay, so the multiplayer game's all very well what about the one player game? The less said about this the better. Actually, its probably best if you ignore this part of the game all together. The tournaments seem to have very obscure rules which mean you have to play loads of identical matches before deciding who has won. Playing against the computer makes the games even slower to the point where you can read a book at the same time. In theory, there's career progression, TV appearances and stuff but I can't imagine anyone being bored enough to discover these thrilling aspects. A welcome addition to the post pub gaming collection ... just don't try and play it on your own.
8th Jun 2000