Game Reviews

You can't avoid comparing PlayStation Move's bowling motion controls to Nintendo Wii's. And, basically, they're the same: you hold a controller in your hand and you swing your arm. But what Wii Sports Bowling stripped the sport down to its basics; you threw the ball down the lane and tried to knock over all the pins. High Velocity Bowling for PlayStation Move, however, brings real-life variables into play, things like oil patterns on the lane and the quality of your bowling ball, in an attempt to create a more challenging, well-rounded gaming experience. Unfortunately, if you're looking for a fun, simple, pick-up-and-play bowling match, you'll find yourself frustrated by HVB's counter-intuitive controls.

The first thing I noticed was how difficult it is to use the Move controller to navigate through menus; the loose feel makes it too easy to skip past items I want to select. The game shouldn't require that much finesse to simply set up a match, but it does. Once you do start playing, you'll discover that you aren't simply just bowling; instead, you take control of a character with specific attributes and limitations. To be honest, this completely put me off the game at first. Why wasn't I able to throw the ball the same way from one bowler to another? But it actually does create an interesting challenge for you to learn how to best use (and win) with a character in order to upgrade to the next bowler or the next higher-quality ball.You start off only able to choose below-average bowlers (using below-average quality bowling balls),