Product description PlayStation ~ Ten Pin Alley Review Bowling video games have always had a fundamental flaw: The hardware wasn't powerful enough to handle the near-infinite number of ways pins can break. The huge number of possibilities was therefore simplified to a few dozen potential results. The result was that most average players could learn to bowl a 300 game after a few lines. But that all changed when Tin Pin Alley struck the Playstation. Ten Pin Alley is anything BUT simplified - the programmers relied on technical assistance from a major university to come up with physics algorithms. And it shows. The pins in this game break with uncanny realism - it couldn't look any better if they'd motion-captured strikes and spares. The power meter is also very well-designed, and requires a surprising amount of timing to get it right. In this regard, Ten Pin Alley the look and feel of a top-of-the-line golf game. Bowling 300 in Ten Pen Alley is as difficult as in real life, which is to say, all but impossible. Strangely enough, this feature is one of the game's most appealing aspects: It requires players to make tiny technique adjustments and constantly work to find the perfect delivery. Ten Pin Alley's brilliant gameplay is balanced with humorous graphics that capture the lighter side of the sport. The texture mapped, polygon rendered characters (which range from Fred Flintstone clones to adorable kids) react to success and failure in cartoon-like fashion: Strikes are punctuated with celebratory air-punching, while gutter balls cause the characters to groan, scream, and cry like babies. Ten Pin Alley's one weakness isn't even present in the game; rather it's the too-thin instruction manual. The manual assumes the player has an intermediate knowledge of bowling, which might not always be the case. For example, why would a player want to choose a heavier ball, or one made of urethane instead of resin? The manual doesn't say. Perhaps an in-game tutorial would have been a wise addition. Plain and simple: Ten Pin Alley is loaded with addictive action that's equally fun played alone or with friends. This game isn't as fun as real bowling - it's more fun than real bowling. The editors at VideoGameSpot cringe when reviewers use hyperbole, but this time it's warranted: Ten Pin Alley is unquestionably the best bowling game yet created. --Peter Criscuola --Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
K**H
Fun, but difficult.
For what this game was, figuring out the controls can be a bit tough, but once you master it, you can expect to score high quite often. The CPU's even on Pin King/Queen settings can leave unmakeable splits often, but there is a chance that it can almost never do so. Take Dutch for example. Some AI's go through the nose and leave Big Fours and other difficult splits while some almost avoid them entirely, but I have still seen one very rarely. AI's that avoid the difficult spilts are capable of throwing 300s on Standard format, although rarely also. With three different alleys, two different scoring formats and 12 different characters to choose from, it is nevertheless a fun game but difficult to master. The only other gripe I have about this game is the loading in-between frames for two or more bowlers at a time. If this game gets remastered for the PS4 and other systems with these errors fixed, it can go really far again.
M**R
Good game.
I have been buying this game for years. My son wears it out and we order another one.
R**T
Five Stars
Excellent Game and it is in nice shape for it's age. Thank You!
A**H
The best REAL bowling game, EVER
As an avid 215-average league bowler of 18 years (and I'm only 23) I find that discovering a bowling video game that converts true-to-life pin physics and ball control to the TV to be rather difficult....until this masterpiece came out.The control is top-notch, and probably the best possible way to accurately translate the skill required to bowl well.This isn't arcade bowling, folks....with maybe 10 different pin reactions after the ball hits the pins....this game has MILLIONS of possible pinfall outcomes. I literally have not seen the same pin reaction twice, and I've had and play this game still ever since its release over 7 years ago.I love this game so much, and it is SO REALISTIC that I actually can portray MYSELF and EVERYTHING about myself in real life, and put it in the game. I use a 16 lb. urethane ball. Done. I can stand in the same spot I usually do on a real lane, aim and put the same spin and power I do in real life on my character in the game and get damn near the same outcome. Hell, I am even averaging about 215-220 in the game via tracking my career stats. I've never gotten a 300 in real life (I've gotten 299 five times) and I can't even achieve a 300 in this game, no matter how perfect I think I'm throwing the ball....Trust me, you'll be filled with tension too if you manage to get 11 strikes in a row in the game and then massively choke due to palm sweat and the jitters as you go for that magical 12th straight strike....Sure, the first time I played this game, I bowled a 2. TWO points. THAT'S IT. I was about ready to throw the game in the toilet and flush it. But....I resisted, and over time....got the hang of the timing (which is CRUCIAL) and I got the hang of it....and slowly my game got better....and better....until the point where I could breeze through tournaments and rack up the dough. I must say though, bowling in the pro tournaments sure is a task to behold....friggin' Chucky (or the characters that look like him) have bowled multiple 300's against me....and I've lost bowling 269's, 279's, and once even bowling a 290. They RARELY mess up, and by mess up I mean actually missing a spare....they hardly EVER have any opens during the game, unless you're lucky enough to come into a tournament round playing one of the little kids....lol....it sure is a challenge.One other thing....I refuse to play 9-pin tap tourneys....those are way too easy....and if you get a perfect game of 9-counts and strikes, it counts as a 300 in your stats....which I can't have cuz it's not the real thing. And to me, it's not an accomplishment unless its the real thing.When I'm not bowling on a real alley, and I need a bowling fix, I play this game....10 out of 10. It's the best realistic bowling game ever....
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