iPhone App: Arcade Bowling

April 12th, 2009

= 4 stars

Arcade Bowling is a Skee-Ball simulation, where you roll balls up a ramp and toward several holes contained within rings to score points.

The Good

• Uses multitouch and the iPhone’s tilt detection to create a near perfect simulation of a heavy ball rolling up a ramp. Just swipe up toward the top of the screen, where longer and faster adds more acceleration. Once the ball is on its way, tilt the iPhone to add a bit of English. That last part is a little unrealistic considering the game’s size in real life, but it’s quite satisfying.
• Point totals to achieve and multipliers add variety.

The Bad

• Minor nitpick: you can launch several balls quickly, one after the other, and they don’t interact in any way.
• The paid version doesn’t add that much to the “lite version” — I would have been fine saving the two bucks.

Conclusion

Arcade Bowling sets out to emulate Skee-Ball and does it almost perfectly. If you’re into the real version, you’ll enjoy this implementation. Recommended.

iTunes App Store Link:
iTunes App Store Link: