Customer Reviews

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling

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I think I can succinctly sum up the value of Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling by stating the following: it would be unfair to say this is a bad video game. Personally I think maybe one or two bowling simulations exist out there that might have a slight edge over this one -- like perhaps AMF for the Xbox -- but Brunswick does fit the bill if you are in the mood for some enjoyable bowling action on your PC.

Take the graphics, for example. They're good -- not outstanding by any means -- but good. What it amounts to is that you have to prepare yourself for a pre-DirectX 9 or 10 software application. I suppose certain visual aspects could have been done better, like the crowd. Sure, the fans look mostly photo-realistic, but they're just static backgrounds with very little 3-D depth to them at all, which is quite peculiar visually. In addition, the heads of the players sometimes look like they're barely attached to their bodies. Still, what you see throughout the game does resemble an actual bowling alley, and the multiple camera angles really help you to get a good view of everything that's going on (you'll see reflections on the lanes -- a nice touch, and necessary realism in my opinion). There are also quite a few different venues from which to choose.

You can customize your character in many ways, but there is no way to create a female player that I can see (thumbs down on that?). The mouse-controlled bowler setup and swing interface is pretty smooth and strikes a relatively good balance between difficulty and results (although I haven't won very many games yet even at the intermediate skill level). The game forces you to take into account the oil level and pattern of the lane on which you bowl, and the pin physics are excellent. The audio portion of the game definitely scores high marks. The sound effects are well done -- I like the silent hush that you hear as you perform your approach, although you might find the applause to be somewhat repetitive after awhile. You'll probably really dig the musical accompaniment, which is downright funky, almost industrial at times. Furthermore, cosmic bowling is certainly an interesting departure from the typical scene, which lights up your monitor's screen with all sorts of wild and unusual colors.

So, when you add all of this together along with a multitude of features, game options, and modes (saved statistics, practice sessions, exhibitions, tournaments, careers, network play, etc.) as well as the fact that you can compete against various lifelike CPU opponents (each with a complete bio and promotional video clip included), you've got yourself some fun in store for a rainy afternoon.

I got this bowling game for my father because he is such a fan of the on
line bowling games, so I thought I'd get this for him. I downloaded it and
played a few games myself and it in no way compares to the ones we are used
to playing. We don't use it at all.