Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2

Bowling, once a sport reserved for Fred Flintstone, junior high birthday parties, and ABC's Wide World of Sports, is enjoying a renaissance these days. THQ tries to capitalize on that with Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 but can't quite fire that strike.

Spare Us the Details
On paper, Circuit Pro Bowling has the makings of a great bowling game: the ability to play as real pro bowlers (including women), real tournaments from the PBA tour, updated Brunswick equipment, new bowler reaction shots, and tutorials. However, bowling is not played on paper, and it probably shouldn't be played on video game consoles either.

The added visual details could be nice, if they weren't so polygonal and blocky. The extended load times between frames doesn't help either. The game makes it very hard to get into the virtual bowling experience for too long without your mind wandering. Control-wise, you might start out by dumping a few balls in the gutter while you experiment with spin and power, but you'll be knocking down pins quickly enough. BCPB2 allows you to choose your music, but the music doesn't play when you're not bowling. So when you're watching the CPU bowler and need something else to grab your attention, the music is sadly lacking.

Strikingly Absent
BCPB2 promises the fun of bowling, but you end up missing the heft of the ball, the way your shoes slide across the oiled wood, and even the smell of shoe disinfectant.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment