Crazy Strike Bowling EX Review

Crazy Strike Bowling EX is a bowling game, created and published by Corecell Technology. Essentially, that is all it is, a bowling game, although there are characters and a mild personality thrown in there. To make the game just a little bit more interesting, each character has a little special something that they can do to score some high points.

The characters all have generally generic personalities, but there are a lot of unlockable customisation options, from their hair to their clothes, to make your character feel more like your own creation. To make the level of play feel more individual to you, they also have different types of bowling balls, that can aid you in your quest for strikes. In addition to this, there are a variety of locations where you can set up the ol’ bowling alley, which affect you in terms of the wind, but generally just make the game more aesthetically pleasing.

There are an array of modes to keep you engaged, such as: classic exhibition, which is just classic mode; battle mode, where you and your opponent face each other and bowl against each other, meaning you can hit their ball with your own; and challenge mode, where you are tasked with challenges such as not hitting obstacles or getting multiple strikes in a row. If you do not have anybody to play against, challenge mode will be where you spend most of your time, as the challenges are fun and interesting, and also teach you how to improve your game. It is good for practising on, and the best part about it is that the skill you pick up is transferable to other bowling games, which seem to weasel their way in to many a family party.

Crazy Strike Bowling Ex does support the use of move controllers, as long as you have a PlayStation camera, which is standard. As I do not have the move controllers, I cannot comment on the feature, but I have read through various reviews to inform you that the feature works just fine. If you have been waiting for an excuse to whip out the move controllers as we lead up to PSVR, and get in some practice, here is a good chance to do so.

Whilst the screenshots might show good graphics, this game leaves a lot to be desired. Character animation is a miss, it is truly terrible watching them move around. The soundtrack is just as you would expect it to be, quirky but irritating within a short space of time. Not to mention that the characters are bland, as they just seem to fill character tropes we ‘know and love’. They speak, squeal and cry, depending on how many pins you knock down, which I suppose is just meant to be a reflection of your true reactions, but the crying is particularly grating to listen to when you just know you should have got a strike but instead ended up with a gutterball.

I will not lie to you, this game is not great. Youngsters will probably find it quite fun and entertaining, especially when you throw the customisation in there as well, and the local multiplayer does allow for a group comprised of you and your buds to come together and play, but I cannot see why you would want to exclaim you own this game during a low point of an evening, unless you want your friends to leave. I feel as though this game has the potential to be a lot better, but the developers just said ‘that will do’ and published it. Overall, if I were you, I would not waste my time on this game, especially when you can find others out there which will pass the time in a much better manner.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation 4 code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.