Review misses some pictures, but text is there. Please bare with us as we are currently in a migration process of all the reviews.

Brunswick Pro Bowling – The good

  • Graphics are good
  • The concept for a realistic bowling atmosphere is there
  • Has real league play up to 4 players, so you could have real leagues each weekend like the real thing

Brunswick Pro Bowling – The not so good

  • Controls need a lot of work
  • Physics need a lot of work
  • Needs a patch to be more accurate
  • Once those 3 things are fixed, we’d have a real bowling game

Brunswick Pro Bowling – Story
Not really a story mode, but there is a career mode. The career mode allows you to do league play, tournaments and rival play.

Brunswick Pro Bowling – Kinect experience
Unfortunately the game still needs work. I figured after the initial delay they were taking their time to make it perfect, this was not the case. I’m not sure what the delay was for but it definitely had nothing to do with the game itself. I haven’t cracked the code, so to speak, on how to throw the ball.

Typically when I bowl, I use my left hand to hold up the ball, and throw with my right. In this game you can’t do that. Your left hand/arm is primarily for aiming. So if for years you have used your left hand to hold up a ball, you are going to have issues with this game.

Next is throwing. There’s some formula to it, but I don’t get it. Sometimes the ball gets stuck to your hand and it takes forever to get it to release. I tried everything, shooting lower, standing still, stepping and throwing, even sidearm. Nothing worked.

Lastly, is physics. You can whip the ball as hard as possible, and it always measures it at 19-20MPH. If you bowl normal, it’s like 10-12MPH and the ball barely moves. This really needs to be fixed.

Brunswick Pro Bowling – Graphics
The graphics are fine, nothing spectacular, normal for an xbox game.

Brunswick Pro Bowling – Gameplay
The actual concept of how they set everything up is great, however the controls make the game suffer. If Farsight would of used Rare’s controls, this would be the best bowling game ever, but they used their algorithm and it needs work.

Brunswick Pro Bowling – Multiplayer options
There is xbox live head to head, although its not even worth playing to be honest. Once they fix the controls, if ever, then it’d be cool.

Conclusion
Overall, save your money. Unfortunately I’m out $50 USD due to this rubbish. When and if it gets patched, I will re-review and update you, otherwise if you absolutely must try a new kinect game, then that’s your decision.


This review is based on a retail copy of the Xbox 360 version of Brunswick Pro Bowling
Scoring policy: What do these game review scores actually mean?