Power Grip

.: By: Shaun Beane :: Device used: iPAQ H3650 :: March 18, 2001 :: Buy this game :.

You don't have to be a fanatic about bowling to enjoy Power Grip. With multimedia that rivals the best available today on the Pocket PC platform, you should at least download the demo and give this realistic bowling simulation a shot.

Looking Ahead

If this title is a preview of things to come from Flux, then I think we'll be seeing some awesome games released over the next few months.

Incredible Graphics

One of the main reasons I love this game is because the developer paid close attention to detail when designing the graphics for this game. You'll do well to find any flaws (graphically) with this piece of software. The screens are crisp, clean, and easy to read. One of the main reasons we all chose Pocket PCs over the Palm devices in the first place was because of the color screen, so I love to see developers use the exploit the real power behind these wonderful little devices.

Game Play

After you load the game, you are given the choice of a one or two player game or you can look at the high scores. After you have chosen the number of players, you'll be given a chance to select a male or female bowler. Enter your name and the game begins!

Three window panes give the player a very good overview. One pane has a close up of the pins. Another pane is similar to the view from behind the pitcher's mound during a baseball game on TV (a kind of over the shoulder view). The last pane, and the largest, is a view directly behind the bowler, looking down the alley.

In the lower right hand corner of the screen, there is a control similar to many of today's popular golf simulations. Just above the shot control is the aim control (a top view of the player's position on the floor). It might sound like a very busy screen, and it is, but it's very well laid out and definitely does not inhibit game play.

Again, the controls are very similar to a golf simulation. Aim, click once on the ball to select strength, then click again to aim. The first few times I played, almost every frame I bowled two gutter balls. It does take a few games to get the hang of the controls. 

Easy Strike? Not quite...

I have played a few bowling simulations on a desktop and found Power Grip to be as realistic as any I've played so far. The controls are anything but easy. The key is to not give up right away. Just like any game it takes a few games to really get the hang of it. Once I got a feel for the controls, I felt I was able to control my placement fairly well.

However, if your "tap" is off just slightly, you'll probably get a gutter ball; after which your player will either say "What?!" (the male player) or "I don't know anything" (the female player). I found the female player's saying a little odd and I'm sure some people will even be offended by that little sexist remark.

If you are an avid bowler and are looking for realistic ball movement, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. With practice, I was able to get a nice curve and found the number of pins that fell in relation to where the ball went was pretty close to what I've experienced in real life.

Every once in a while the ball looked as though it went through the pins before they reacted, so there probably needs to be some fine tuning with collision detection. The rest of the animations were pretty flawless in my eyes.

Annoyances

As with all games, there is always going to be something that needs fine-tuning. Not that this is a bug, but after every shot, you have to completely reset your player's location and aim. Maybe this is to add a little bit of challenge to the player. Let's face it, as soon as I found the "sweet spot" I'd never move my player and hopefully I could bowl a strike more often!

The other "feature" that in my mind could be changed is not having the score drop down after every shot. I'd like to see a current frame score maybe in the lower left hand corner of the screen, which displays until I start moving my player around or aiming.

Performance

The iPAQ certainly has no problem running this game. I experienced a limited few "skips" in animation while playing several games, back to back. I've certainly seen worse slow downs while playing more CPU intensive games like Turjah or Metalion. I never have to worry what else I have running when I load up Power Grip. With that said, I assume this is a very neatly coded program.

Conclusion

The reason this game is so addictive is because it's challenging. I don't think I'll ever master the controls, so every shot is a challenge. I'm a casual bowler. I don't bowl every weekend and I certainly don't watch bowling on TV. Even if you aren't a pro bowler, I think any gamer will want to at least give Power Grip a shot. I don't like to have too many games loaded on PPC at any given time, mostly because I don't want to carry my expansion pack around, so space is limited! This is one game I'll leave loaded, at least for a while.

Pros:

• Outstanding graphics!

• Smooth animation.

• Challenging game play.

• Player selection.

Cons:

• Limited, repetitive sounds.

• Difficult controls to master.

.: Game category: Sports Games :: Reviews Index :: Buy this game :.