Intro:
High Velocity Bowling by Sony's Santa Monica Studios is one of the most downloaded titles on the PSN and I figured id take the time out of my not-so-busy life to review this little bugger and tell you what its all about.
So, most people are going to jump the gun and expect this to basically be Sony's throwback to Nintendo's critically acclaimed Wii Sport's Bowling and this may or may not disappoint you, but its not. High Velocity Bowling does take the concept of motion controlled bowling that Wii Sport's has brought to the masses but it adds more elements of an actual COMPLETE bowling game than Wii Sport's. Basically this is more or less a straightforward sports party game, where Wii Sport's was more of a simulation but enough beating around the bush, let me break this down.
Controls:
The controls in High Velocity Bowling are for the most part fairly well done and straightforward if a little shaky at first to get used to. You hold your controller in your hand with the two hand rest pointing toward you, and aim your shots by twisting your wrist and aiming the arrow where you want. You then press X and then your characters begins their approach and you begin the motions of an approach yourself to roll the ball. The motions of aiming and approach are like I said, not the most fluid in the world, but they definitely do they're job and are fairly well done. The only gripe i have about the controls is that to add spin you have to press and hold L2 or R2 depending on which direction you want to spin the ball, which is odd considering the way your holding the controller. I think the controls were tested fairly thoroughly though and put out working the best possible way, so ill give them a 7 overall. Not Great but not bad either.
Gameplay:
This is of course a prime aspect of every game and its also where High Velocity Bowling shines. Taking note from games like Outlaw Golf, the game has its own style at playing a quasi-realistic game of the sport while mocking it and in this case that sport is bowling. First off the main mode in the game is Challenge mode which pits you against a character and there is (if i'm not mistaken) 8 characters in the core game, 2 at the star with 6 unlockable ones. Challenge mode has you do 3 main task to unlock this bowler and their accompanying ball and costume set. The first thing your going to do is take on the bowler in a game, which is a standard game of bowling. The second thing is the trick shot mode which puts you on the themed lane of that bowler and requires you to hit a specific pin/pins while going through or sometimes avoiding obstacles. Then finally, the last part is a tournament against all players. Each time the characters, the tricks, and the tournaments all get harder. Id also like to point out that every ball has its own Weight and spin to it, and each character has things they're both good and bad at, there is all kinds of combination's to suit everyone's needs here. When your done with the challenge mode and unlock everything, you can just bowl a friend in Quickplay mode, or Trick Shots. Its pretty fruitful game for a PSN title. Gameplay gets an 8.
Graphics:
The visuals are one of the games shining points and not for their technical beauty but for their artistic design. Each character and lane has its own personality and flare that really gives the game life. The game has a very comedic and cheap bowling alley undertone to it in every aspect. They poke fun at local Soccer mom bowling leagues, the rich womanizer who has a cheesy bowling alley in his bachelor pad, the old geriatric grandma with smokers cough, disgruntled postal worker, ex con. You name a bowling stereotype and its here in the game and displayed in full tilt. Graphics get an 8 as well.
Sound:
The sound in the game is pretty fantastic. It captures every element of the cheesy low end bowling alley life many of us grew up in. The corny elevator jazz and cheesy calypso music, the smoker cough and alcoholic banter, everything is here to make you chuckle and maybe shed a tear or two for the sheer nostalgic value. Each character has its own voice and cheesy one liners they like to repeat, they get old but they're all pretty damn well done, especially for a PSN title. Sound also gets an 8.
FINAL VERDICT.
Overall I would say High Velocity Bowling is one of the best PSN titles for your hard earned cash. It has a whole plethora of content, it looks great, it does something new, and it utilizes the motion control abilities of Six Axis fairly well. There is also a good amount of DLC you can get for it and its great to play with friends. The learning curve can be a little overwhelming at first, but its not too steep and anyone familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of motion control at this point will get the grasp of things fairly quickly. For $9.99 there's really no reason you shouldn't own this.
8 / 10.
