I’m a big bowling fan. Laugh it up, but I am. League bowler and all. So when a new bowling game drops, I’m all over it. High Velocity Bowling, downloadable from the PlayStation Store, is one of the deepest bowling titles I’ve ever played. Combining the deep bowling gameplay with a comedic style isn’t the easiest of tasks, but this game pulls it off fairly well. Here is a breakdown of some of the facets of High Velocity Bowling for the PS3:

Presentation and Graphics: High Velocity Bowling runs nicely at 1080p with crisp graphics. The menus are pretty cool in a 1970s feel to it. It is bowling, you know. Each character has their own home alley, which is tailored to their specific style. For example, Spider has a motorcycle on a lift next to the alley with a tool shop. It’s not the most intricate of graphics, but it looks nice none the less. Character models are all done well, with nice comedic styling (Spider has a Viking hat). The reflections on the lanes are very well done. 4 of 5

Sound and Music: The game’s soundtrack is a cheesy 1970s style of elevator music. The big plus here is that you can use your own custom soundtracks within the game using any music on your hard drive. Character voice overs are funny and add the experience. Sound effects with the ball hitting the lanes, gutters, pins and other obstacles are well done. There’s not much you need in terms of sound in a bowling title, but High Velocity Bowling does it well. 4 of 5

Gameplay: After spending a large portion of the last year playing Wii Sports Bowling, I wasn’t prepared for High Velocity Bowling. I expected an arcade style game, given the visual appeal. I was shocked when I got into it and found out just how the deep the game goes. You progress through the Challenge Mode to unlock new characters, balls, and costumes by played head to head matches, tournaments, and trick shot challenges. Each character has their own skill levels for speed, spin, and accuracy. To top that off, you will unlock different bowling balls rated on a grading scale from A+ to F on it’s spin rating. You have to choose wisely on what combination works best for you. What really threw me for a loop was when I realized that each lane has it’s own oil pattern. For those of you uninformed with the bowling world, the lane’s oil pattern determines how much you ball will spin and the break point for your shot. Using the same ball and throwing location won’t work from lane to lane, just like in real life.

The controls for High Velocity bowling are fairly simple. You use the SIXAXIS controller to tilt left and right to get your starting point in the lane, then set your point by hitting X. You then repeat the process to set your aim, hitting X to set your aim point. You then use the SIXAXIS motion controls to throw the ball, with L2 and R2 acting to control the spin of the ball. There is a shot meter on the right side of the screen, where you can see just how much spin and speed will go with your shot. And just like in real life, it’s not easy to get it just right each time. 4 of 5

Multiplayer: High Velocity Bowling has 2-4 player offline multiplayer, and that’s about it. There are online leaderboards to track your progress against the rest of the PlayStation Network. For a title like this, I really expected an online multiplayer mode. Bowling by yourself is good, but being able to play friends online would have really enhanced this title. 3.5 of 5

Lasting Appeal: The Challenge Mode in High Velocity Bowling will keep you coming back for a good while. The difficulty level goes up nicely as you progress through, so you need to really improve as you go to get all the way through. New characters are currently available for sale at the PlayStation Store, but none of them really will help you better than the current characters in the game. I would have given High Velocity Bowling a 5 in this category if there was online multiplayer. But for the price, it’s a terrific value that will keep you occupied for a while. 4 of 5

Final Word: High Velocity Bowling is a great title for the PlayStation Network. If you enjoy bowling, definitely pick this game up. If you enjoyed Wii Sports Bowling and want a bit more depth and challenge, this game is perfect for you. Hopefully an online play mode is added to the game through a future update, which is the only thing missing.

Overall: 4 of 5

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