Take bowling to the next level in this fun, family friendly multiplayer bowling game.
General Gameplay
The game is a family friendly take on bowling in which you play as fantasy style characters in different bowling alley setting from fields, caves, indoors and outdoor settings. The game features up to 4 player bowling in both a standard version, and a objective style of bowling in which you have to meet goals. The Game Visuals are very vivid and colorful in its presentation. There is very animated character from both boys and girls and a bear, yes, a bear that you can select from the character selection screen. The bowling alleys are also fitting to their design and theme, so expect background elements that you would find from those themes. All the graphics are detail enough to see what object which is. As the game does not support a colorblind mode, there is no need as the colors are bright enough to see what color is. In our playtesting we did not run into any issues with the graphics or the character design. The game is very family friendly in its visuals. Audio in Crazy Strike Bowling EX is very basic. There is just basic sounds from the sounds that you would hear in a bowling game, from the pins being hit by the ball to basic background music that accompanies the game. There was nothing special about it however it is there during the gameplay. The game does support 5.1 surround sound but as this is a bowling game it is really not needed. There is no audio dialog so therefore there is no bad language in the game. Controls for Crazy Strike Bowling EX are very simple. There is one button from holding it to pressing to choose the strenght that the ball goes and how much spin is there to the ball. So you will push the button down to start the strenght meter, then let go to set the meter, the same with the spin. The left thumb stick is used to move the character around to better aim the bowling ball. The controls are simple for anyone to play (however we have some concerns about the controls for both younger and older gamers, see our Family Friendly section on our thoughts) The game can be played with the default controller setup and there is no need for a special controller to play the game. In our playtesting outside of our concern that we mention eariler, there was no trouble for the general gamer to pick up and play the game.
“Crazy Strike Bowling EX is a bowling game that is aimed for gamers that love bowling, but with limited gameplay, and bad controls it is just best a party game when you and your friends/family are bored.”
Family Friendly
When we saw the family friendly aspect of the game we were excited that a game like this was coming out, also that it had 4-player couch play for families, again what can you ask for in a family game? Well lots after our play testing. This is where it was a weird consensus in the office, everyone got bored of the game, quick also the controls. Now personally I found this disappointing as I enjoyed the game, but I can see what they were complaining about. First off when setting the strength of the ball, the buttons can be off and some gamers that are not used to hold/release style of games (younger and older gamers) can miss where they want to have the strength or spin of the ball. This can lead to frustration in the game and cause some gamers not to finish their game. So, if you have younger gamers and older that are not used to this type of controller setup you may want to monitor their gameplay. Another thing that came up from our testers is that game modes, or lack thereof. Now there is the standard bowling, crazy bowling and a player vs. player, but most of our gamers felt that there should have been more game modes. Now I personally saw that the game modes were fine and let’s be honest, how many game modes can you add to bowling? Again, as we test the game for families and all family members from young to old and this is one of the things that did come up. So, if you are in the market for a bowling game, and there is not many this may be a good choice, however if you have a family that does get bored quick or has trouble with a hold/release style of gaming then you may want to try a demo of the game first to see if this is a good fit for your family. In our special needs game testing, outside of the game control settings, some of our gamers got bored of the gameplay after 3 game sessions. Now this was depending on if they were a bowling fan or not so this may vary with gamer.
Closing
Even thought this is marketed as a family friendly game, Crazy Strike Bowling EX is more for fans that are bowling fans. With so many family friendly games out there best to either try a demo first or just pass up.
