Wii Sports Club - Bowling (Wii U) Review

The franchise delved into other areas, more extreme and exotic events in successor Wii Sports Resort, and is back to its original line-up in the Wii U downloadable version, Wii Sports Club. This time the game isn't quite packaged in the same way - each of the sports have been rebuilt as downloads, purchasable from the Wii U eShop as individual, smaller titles.

Each have spruced up high-definition visuals, improved controls and extra training modes outside the core experience. It does, admittedly, remain near identical to the original; a multiplayer fest that truly demands friends and family in the same space to play, but has also incorporated an online element for regional wireless matches. Players are still knocking down pins in a bright and bustling digital bowling venue, but the key difference comes in the use of MotionPlus technology that's now standard in newer Wii Remote controllers, or comes as nifty attachment for the older ones.

Ten pin bowling in the home seems like a strange concept to someone who hasn't ever step foot into the world of Wii Sports and its contemporaries. It's a particular sport that demands a specific venue, footwear, types of balls - whereas the remaining selection, tennis, golf, baseball and boxing could, really, be played more casually in a back garden or the local park without really deviating from the actual experience.

There have been other bowling titles in the past, but when Nintendo introduced the sport in the Wii launch title, it's become one of the staple events in an evening of multiplayer battles. It's a sport that can be very easily, like golf, tackled solo; a lone sports person's game with internal competition, yet demands even more skill when going up against friends and family. The other sports are ones that can be easily improved through MotionPlus technology - tweaks in golf club, bat and racquet swings, but can the same apply to simply rolling a digital ball?

The short answer is an unmistakable yes. Like Wii Sports Club Tennis, the Bowling event uses MotionPlus technology to make the sensation of sending a marbled lump into a set of pins that bit more realistic. It demands more thought than simply swinging the arm about without repercussion. That slight flick of the wrist, which could have been easily ignored in the original, comes back with a haunting vengeance - it can send the ball into the side-lines at the very last second, causing a campaign n to come crashing down for all the wrong reasons. For the casual player, this is where the divide between pin-point realism and more refined physics comes into play - can a young child grasp the necessities of the added precision?

In reality these pitfalls can be easily remedied by simply raising the barriers on the side or by using a ramp for newcomers to guide the ball and gain a strike without much work. Of course, it's far more difficult to replicate these handicaps in a video game. For the more experienced player, or seasoned bowling professional, the added control can offer up a far deeper experience; accuracy is certainly key here and this version of Bowling does require more than a flick to get by. There are two control schemes to differentiate newcomers, however, with an auto release option in place to avoid having to think too much about the actual swing, just more the angle and intensity.

An option to allow barriers to be placed along the side-lines for newbies, or to perhaps even remove the MotionPlus element for certain players, could have made the learning curve that bit easier. The technology is a double edged sword in a game like Bowling - it's all about the drive through, the stability in a swing to earn a strike, and can cause frustrations for newcomers.

In the main mode itself there are a handful of options - the regular 10-pin, a 100 pin varieties, plus a dollop of spin control. These can easily be handled single or multiplayer, making for one of the more well-rounded experiences within the Wii Sports Club package without too much fuss or hassle. After some time, it can become fairly dry, especially with one player, so there are a set of three training modes to test dexterity and skill, relying on players to knock down a set of scattered pins in all sorts of formations.

The Skill Shaper mode is where competition can really heat up, especially in multiplayer, which each competitor takes it in turns to try and break through a tricky curve, or use the side rails to conjure up impressive angles and bounce action. These particular games are where Bowling comes into its own element, creating more reasons to play than the standard 10-pin lark - it's where the game experience has the upper-hand when it comes to digital versus actual, physical sport. These features also extend the replay value quite considerably, as the difficult level can grow to exceedingly challenging, yet rewarding, levels.

Online play can make up for not having friends or family available to play when a Bowling craving comes about. Simply connect to players within the local region to play through a session of wireless Bowling. It doesn't sound all too complicated, but the problem comes with the sheer lack of players heading online, especially given the connectivity limitation. It's bizarre how the online component is restricted in how far it can really reach; relying more on regional clubs instead. Tennis suffers from a frustrating frame lag and issues with ball positioning given the pace of the game and the number of players simultaneously inputting swings, but Bowling is a far less demanding sport so fares better in the online space. It's far more fluid and actually enjoyable for the handful of matches that managed to actually connect. Miiverse is also included, through comments from local club members on ball skills - these aren't actually live, more so pre-set messages, but do offer a nice touch especially if playing alone.