Customer Reviews

Amf Bowling Pinbusters

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I received the game today and my first impression is not favorable. To start, there is no choice between left- and right handed playing, even Wii bowling had that basic feature. The ball physics appear to be odd - it is like the ball is changing speed/angle in the middle of the lane.
The sound effects are off as well: when you hit the pins it sounds like you just hit some dixie cups. My recommendation is to rent it before you buy.

***UPDATE***
After playing it for a longer period of time, the game is more fun than it seemed at the first glance. It is still beyond me why there is no option to adjust gameplay and animation for left handed players but
the game itself is pretty enjoyable after you get the hang of it.
It is also odd that Pinbusters does not save high scores or sound preferences.
I'll give it four stars, with wii bowling still being my favorite.

I've played about 5 or 6 Wii games now, and I made the mistake of buying this one before renting it.

It is a truly horrible game except for maybe some cool looking graphics.

Even when you throw the ball straight, the dumb program still hooks the ball.
The pin sounds aren't realistic, the Wii Sports bowling is much more accurate.
The characters catch-phrases get old very fast and annoyed me.
The game doesn't use the Wii remote to any advantage at all like Wii Sports does.

All in all, skip it!

I agree with what most other reviews have said. The wii bowling game that comes with the system is actually a lot better. The characters in this one are kinda neat, but they say things throughout the game and it gets really repetitive due to a lack of sayings per character. Requires a lot more aiming and tweaking prior to each round of bowling which kills the fun when you just want to chuck some balls down the lane. Overall, hey, it's twenty bucks and really worth just about that. Good to have when you get bored with wii bowling or at a party - but otherwise I can't see playing it all that much!

This game is not worth 20 dollars. Save your money and stick with the original WiiSports bowling... it is 100% better than this game was. Fuzzy picture, poor reaction for spin, horrible viewpoint for approach, poor choice of characters no variety... extremely dissapointing.

Very dissappointed with this bowling game. No option for right or left hand. Sound don't match up with what is going on. Graphics ok but nothing spectacular. Sure wasted noney on this one!! Rent it first!!!

Given the different opinions posted on this game I'd recommend that you rent it before you buy it; however, in my opinion, the controls on this game are awful. The motion sensing is marginal and balls will just fly off into the gutter for no reason. The physics of rolling the ball are nothing like Wii sports bowling or the other bowling game currently on the market (which I tried after this one and like). My wife and I both hated this one after only a few games and I took it back in disgust days before the rental was due back. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and I'm thankful I only lost $7 on the rental.

If you are expecting a game similar to Wii Sports Bowling, forget it. This game is robotic and does not take advantage of Wii's motion controllers. The bottom line is, pass on this game.

I found this as a cheap used game, and thought I'd check it out as we all enjoy the Wii bowling game.

It looks good - nice background, some fun characters (only 8) and a choice of lanes (Vegas, Wild West, etc) and each setting has its own music.

Like others have said, there is no option for left or right hand bowling (being a lefty, this bothered me). You can't save your records or high scores, and you don't connect the game to your mii - so you start fresh each game. To me, seeing your progress as you move through a game is a big part of the gaming experience.

I also found that the when you add spin to the ball, the result is quite random. Even an exaggerated spin in one direction can end up spinning the ball in the other direction. Also, you are viewing the lane from behind the bowler, so you don't get a clear view of the lane.

I won't say that it's a complete waste, but if you already have wii bowling, you don't need this game. If you just want a cheap bowling game, this will provide some fun, but ultimately you will feel like you're missing something.

$10 is about the most that you want to spend on this game.

AMF should have tried this game before putting their name on it. This game has absolutely no sense of the physics of bowling or the position of the controller. My family has played this game one time and will never put it in the Wii again. It's that bad - really. When you click the B button to begin your swing, the camera zooms out of the character a little before beginning the motion of the swing. This throws off the sync between your actual motion and the motion of the avatar on the screen. You're supposed to release the B button at the bottom of your swing, but of course this is impossible because the bottom of YOUR swing is nowhere near the bottom of your avatar's swing. And hooking the ball? Try doing anything BUT hooking the ball. And don't ever plan on throwing a backup ball - this game has no sense of hand position. Not only that, but the ball hooks MORE the harder you throw it. Impossibly bad. I can't think of one single thing to say about this horrible excuse for a bowling game. Wii Sports bowling is light years ahead of this - I so much like the action of that game I thought this one HAD to be good with the AMF name on it and all. I'm really not commonly a trasher of products but this is REALLY bad. If I could give it zero stars I would. If you have never bowled, this may be fun for you. If you have, it will just be a source of endless frustration (or frustration lasting one game, at least - that's all we could take). Oh, and by the way, the characters you play with are not that good either (although Elvis is O.K.). I could deal with that if there was a single thing I liked about the actual bowling, but there's not.

When I first bought the Wii, I purchased an additional handful of games to go along with it. AMF Bowling Pinbusters was one of the those games. It was moderately priced, and so I figured that it would make a nice diversion from time to time. I set the Wii up, popped in Wii Sports which came with the console and played the bowling game which comes with it. I liked it, a lot. I then switched over to play AMF Bowling Pinbusters and tried playing that. I didn't like it, not one bit. The game is boring, each character has -- at most -- three or four comments they can utter after a thrown ball, and they say one of them AFTER EVERY THROW. So after about five minutes of game play, I turned off the TV volume and turned on the radio for some background noise. The characters are uninspired, the venues are tacky, and you cannot use your Mii's in the game. If you want to bowl, stick with the bowling game on Wii Sports.