Super Bowling

N64

Review by Nathan Dunsmore

UFO

Sports

Graphics: 7

Sound: 6

Gameplay: 6

Overall: 6

 

UFO went out of their way to think outside the box with Super Bowling. Fifty- percent fantasy and fifty- percent anime, many of the new concepts may be enough to turn off the hardcore, passionate player’s of the sport. As for the casual bowler, this is one of the most unique bowling experiences they could ask for.

superbowling1n64.JPG (7464 bytes)Starting from scratch with two bowlers and lanes, Acquisition will likely be the first mode player’s will tackle. Hidden bowlers are unlocked by defeating them on their home turf in rounds best out of three. Achieving the highest score in vs. matches is bowled straight out the door and the new intense objective becomes keeping your timer from reaching zero before your opponents. Bowling over a complete set of pins rewards time while any gutter withdraws time.

Golf is a marvelous union of two sports, in which the task is to bowl over a given number of pins under a par limit. Challenge also plays on similar terms, where you clear as many frames possible in under five attempts. It is no deeper than any other bowler or sports title and all characters have special groove areas so bowling a perfect game can be easily accomplished.

Imprisoned in static, low-res polygons, fluent bowling animations are never given the chance to shine. Alleys do compensate for this unpleasantness. They are definitive in their character’s background, and all the neat graphic touches give something to look at during moments of non-action. Some terrain’s apply real physics to the motion of the ball. The Ice Lane causes the ball to glide while the Garage Lane slows it down from building friction.

Twenty songs make the soundtrack and none of them are gutters. The finger snapping jazz and head nodding piano are a refreshing throwback to the 16-bit era, also meaning that looping is a major reoccurrence. This time around a female announcer takes on the microphone and digs right into the action when a strike is made.

Out of the three bowling titles in the N64’s canon (the others being Milo’s Astro Lanes and Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling) Super Bowling is the best bet. The challenge could be raised a few more notches but the style direction is highly commendable, and may be the sole reason that will keep the player coming back after everything is unlocked.

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Last updated: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 11:38 PM