Direct Link : Ultimate Bowling Fighter
Publisher : Astraware

Price : $19.95

Graphics : 8 Out of 10
Sound : 7 Out of 10
Gameplay : 7 Out of 10
Longevity : 8 Out of 10
Overall : 7.5 Out of 10

Bowling is a game that’s been done many times on mobile devices, especially cell phones. The game principles are very easy to implement on a mobile device, but Ultimate Bowling Fighter is unlike any version I’ve played before. From the opening screen you can’t help being impressed by the graphics, which are extremely well done. The sounds is also very complimentary, especially the driving music on the opening screen.

When starting a new game, you have the choice of solo game, which allows you to have a single game with no opponents; Tournament, where you try to beat the computer controlled opponents to become the champion and Multiplayer where you can play up to 3 additional players.

Tournament is probably mode that will be played most of all. Select the player you wish to play as. There’s Ryo from Japan, Kelly from the USA, Jos� from Spain and Maya from Brazil. There’s also an additional player that you can unlock later in the game. Each player has a different special hit, which is enabled when you bowl a bowl at full power. Each player also has a different weight, which further goes to vary the gameplay.

There are two methods of game control; Stylus Control and Gauge Control.For anyone that has played one of the many golf games available, the gauge control will be familiar. You first select the direction, by stopping the gauge when you want the ball to go. Stop it in the centre and it will go straight and similarly for the left and right. The gauge determines the power of the shot and you select this in a similar way. The other control method, gauge control, is very simple to use. You basically drag on the screen from the players feet to the top of the screen, adding left or right sweep to control the spin direction. This is a much more intuitive way to control, but I don’t seem to be able to have much influence on the balls speed in comparison to the gauge method.

The gameplay is very nicely balanced and the tournament progresses at a nice pace. My best at a single game is 164, so lots of room for improvement.

Conclusion : This is the best looking bowling game I have played and it’s playability isn’t too shabby either. There’s quite a bit of variation, that all goes to add to the longevity of the game.