Simple Game Reviews

This frame requires you to slightly curve the ball

RocketBowl is an original arcade game that mixes Bowling, Mini Golf, and rocket-powered balls.

Setting: The game is set in the 1958 Kalamazoo World’s Fair, where you get to play against the local pros of this brand new futuristic sport known as rocket bowling.

Gameplay: RocketBowl takes the concept of bowling and adds a Mini Golf feel to it. Instead of playing on the same usual bowling lane, you get to play on different play fields with obstacles that require you to aim carefully.

At the start of the game, you play a frame simply by aiming and setting the power you want to give to the ball. As you progress, you earn money and get to buy new balls with additional abilities. The main feature of the improved balls is the Rocket Boost, which is used once the ball is thrown to give it a sudden boost in a chosen direction. The more expensive the ball is, the more Rocket Boosts can be applied to it after a throw. This boost is pretty fun to play with as it makes the game much more dynamic: instead of just watching the ball after the throw, you keep playing by trying to apply the rocket boosts at the right moments.

Once the ball is thrown, you can use Rocket Boosts to change its direction

Another ability that you get by upgrading your ball is to throw curve balls. You can adjust the power of the curve to make the ball turn around obstacles. This is a more traditional element of bowling and actually isn’t nearly as useful and fun as the rocket boosts.

The game comes packaged with 10 courses, each featuring 10 frames. You can play each course in 3 different game modes: Freeplay to practice the frames, Challenge to try and beat one of the local pros, and Tournament, the most challenging mode, where you get to play against better opponents.

Personal opinion: The concept is original and nicely implemented with good controls, a fun theme, and simple but attractive 3D graphics. For a while I found the courses not challenging enough, but the later courses fixed that issue. If you like bowling, there’s a good chance you’re going to enjoy this futuristic version with crazy rocket powered balls.

Play RocketBowl:
Download the demo for Windows.
Order the full version.

(7 votes, average: 3.14 out of 5)

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