AMF Bowling 2004

Last updated
AMF Bowling 2004
AMF Bowling 2004.jpg
Developer(s) Black Market Games
Publisher(s) Mud Duck Productions
SeriesAMF Bowling
Platform(s) Xbox
Release
  • NA: December 1, 2003
Genre(s) Bowling
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

AMF Bowling 2004 is a video game developed by Black Market Games and published by Mud Duck Productions exclusively for the Xbox in the US on December 1, 2003. Licensed by AMF Bowling, the game is a simulation of traditional ten-pin bowling, with modes for individual and local multiplayer and tournament play. AMF Bowling received negative reviews, with critics citing its lack of gameplay features and variety and sub-par presentation of the game's character models and environment design. The game was the first in a series of licensed bowling games published by Mud Duck Productions, succeeded by AMF Bowling Pinbusters! for the Nintendo Wii and DS in 2007.

Contents

Gameplay

A screenshot of gameplay in AMF Bowling 2004. AMF Bowling 2004 Screenshot.jpg
A screenshot of gameplay in AMF Bowling 2004.

AMF Bowling 2004 is a simulation of ten-pin bowling over ten frames. Players control the ball using a circular overlay with three regions and a pointer arrow. The player presses the A button four times to start the bowl, determine the power of the bowl, the accuracy of the bowl, and the level of spin. Lanes feature other mechanics, including an oil pattern that determines the level of grip on a lane, influencing how much spin can be applied to a bowl. The game supports a scoreboard and replay controls to view a completed bowl. Players are also able to create and modify the appearance of their own bowler and change the texture, logo, surface and hook of their ball. [1]

AMF Bowling 2004 supports two modes. In 'Open Bowling' mode, players can complete a regular local game with up to three human or computer opponents, a team game in groups of competitors, or a practice mode in which pins can be removed during frames. In 'Tournament' mode, players complete in rounds against 8, 16, or 32 competitors, either in a match play mode with bowlers eliminated in head-to-head rounds, or a shootout mode where players where eliminations are decided in groups of three, with the top two players facing off to determine the winner. [2]

Reception

AMF Bowling 2004 received a negative reception from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic stating the game received "generally unfavorable reviews" with an average score of 48% across six reviews. [3] Critics were mixed on the merits of the bowling gameplay. Hilary Goldstein of IGN praised the physics as "good as they can get in a bowling game", but found the core gameplay "bare bones" and "boring". [5] Similarly, Alex Navarro of GameSpot praised the game's "realistic delivery", but found the game "isn't much fun" due to the game's "complete and utter lack of variety...with no rule variations", also critiquing the game's poor explanation of mechanics, stating "oil patterns and aiming marks may be true to life, but they aren't exactly intuitive...the game never really explains how these elements come into play." [4] However, Russ Garbutt of Xbox Nation found the game to be "fun", stating "the ball, pin and lane physics are as spot-on as the developers claim they are." [6] Dale Nardozzi of Team Xbox stated the game was "stripped down" and "fails on pretty much every gameplay level", finding the lack of options led to a "purely score-based game" with no unlockable features or motivation to play. [2]

Several critics dismissed the visual presentation and sparse design of the game. Writing for IGN , Hilary Goldstein critiqued the game as having "no frills, weak animations, terrible character models, and a lack of visual pop". [5] Similarly, Alex Navarro of GameSpot stated the game's "graphics and sound leave quite a lot to be desired", dismissing the bowler models as "a complete joke, with badly shaped bodies and no real detail to speak of", and finding the "remaining set pieces and components (to be) pretty low-res and generally not nice to look at". [4] Russ Garbutt of Xbox Nation stated "the title does very little to impress...the flashy balls and pins are artistically rendered, but these are last-generation graphics." [6] Dale Nardozzi of Team Xbox dismissed the graphics as a "full-frontal insult", disliking the "poor animations", "sheer lack of detail", and "terrible" surrounding details. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>NHL 2004</i> 2003 video game

NHL 2004 is an ice hockey sports video game developed by EA Black Box. It is the successor to NHL 2003. The game adds three European Elite Leagues: Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), Sweden's Elitserien (SEL), and Finland's SM-liiga.

<i>NHL Hitz Pro</i> 2003 video game

NHL Hitz Pro is an ice hockey video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Midway Sports, in the NHL Hitz series. It was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Unlike the previous titles in the series, it has 5-on-5 gameplay instead of the usual 3-on-3 gameplay with the earlier titles. The game does not include penalty shots, and it is still an arcade-type hockey game like its predecessors. It also has a lot of hard hitting. The cover athlete of the game is Nicklas Lidström, and features commentary from Tim Kitzrow and Harry Teinowitz.

<i>Bomberman: Act Zero</i> 2006 video game

Bomberman: Act Zero is a maze video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Xbox 360 in 2006 and published by Hudson Soft in Japan and Konami worldwide. It is noteworthy for its departure from standard titles in the Bomberman series; it features more realistic graphics and a dark, dystopian future setting. The game was panned by critics and fans, and is considered one of the worst video games ever made.

<i>Dead or Alive Xtreme 2</i> 2006 video game

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 is a 2006 video game for the Xbox 360 game console. Developed by Team Ninja, it is the sequel to Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. The title expands upon the activities available in the original, supplementing beach volleyball with additional beach-related minigames.

<i>Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddlers Green</i> 2005 video game

Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green is a first-person shooter licensed video game based on the George A. Romero zombie horror movie Land of the Dead, developed by Brainbox Games and published by Groove Games.

<i>Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling</i> 1998 video game

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is a sports video game released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation in 1998 and the Nintendo 64 in 1999.

<i>Terminator 3: The Redemption</i> 2004 video game

Terminator 3: The Redemption is an action-adventure video game based on the 2003 film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Developed by Paradigm Entertainment and published by Atari in 2004, the game was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Terminator 3: The Redemption received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic. While it was praised for its graphics and considered an improvement over an earlier game, the gameplay was criticized for being linear, repetitive, and difficult.

<i>Cabelas Alaskan Adventures</i> 2006 video game

Cabela's Alaskan Adventures is a 2006 hunting video game developed by Sand Grain Studios, Fun Labs and Magic Wand Productions and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 video game consoles and Microsoft Windows. In April 2017, the Xbox 360 version was made backwards compatible with the Xbox One.

<i>Strike Force Bowling</i> 2004 video game

Strike Force Bowling is a video game of the sports genre released in 2004 by LAB Rats. A previous game, Fast Lanes Bowling, was published by Enlight Software for Microsoft Windows. The two games are similar as they share the same physics engine and graphics, although Strike Force featured more locations as well as left-handed, and reverse-hook bowlers. LAB Rats assisted in the development of Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling so the game has the same physics engine, but has a more fantasy-oriented theme. Strike Force features 14 places to Bowl and 8 Playable characters. There are only 7 locations, but each has its own "nighttime" variant which is unlocked as a secret stage. It also features Golf Mode, Challenge Mode, Skins, and Tournaments. There are also 14 different bowling balls to use, such as the Lightning, and level specific ones like the Bone Crasher and Pharaoh's Magic.

<i>TMNT: Mutant Melee</i> 2005 video game

TMNT: Mutant Melee is a 2005 fighting video game developed by Konami. It is based on the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.

<i>Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines</i> (video game) 2003 video game

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a 2003 first-person shooter video game based on the film of the same title, with elements of hand-to-hand combat in the third-person perspective. It was developed by Black Ops Entertainment, with assistance work done by other Atari-owned subsidiaries. The game was published by Atari for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2003. An isometric shooter version was released for the Game Boy Advance during the same year. The game was also going to be released for GameCube, but was eventually cancelled.

<i>Pimp My Ride</i> (video game) 2006 video game

Pimp My Ride is a simulation/racing game published by Activision. This game is based on the popular MTV show of the same name. It was released in 2006 for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. It was panned for its poor physics, lack of replay value, and repetitive gameplay.

<i>RocketBowl</i> 2004 video game

RocketBowl is a sports game developed by LargeAnimal and published by GarageGames, released November 4, 2004 for Windows. The game features a retro-futuristic 1950s theme. It was also released on the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade on September 10, 2008.

<i>AMF Bowling Pinbusters!</i> 2007 video game

AMF Bowling Pinbusters! is a bowling sports-based video game.

<i>Pure Pinball</i> Video game series

Pure Pinball is a series of pinball simulation video games developed and published by Legendo Entertainment The single-player games feature several themed pinball tables, each with different mechanics and game modes. The game engines mimic the physics of real pinball machines. The player can choose from several different camera angles to follow the gameplay.

<i>AMF Xtreme Bowling 2006</i> 2006 video game

AMF Xtreme Bowling 2006 is a 2006 bowling video game released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

<i>Bicycle Casino</i> (video game) 2004 video game

Bicycle Casino is a gambling game for the Xbox created by American developer Leaping Lizard Software and published by Activision Value on October 26, 2004. Described by the developer as a simulation of an "authentic casino environment", the game is a compilation of casino games licensed by Bicycle Playing Cards, with an advertised 500 variations on games including texas hold'em and blackjack. The game was marketed as the first casino title released for the Xbox to have featured multiplayer capabilities using Xbox Live. The game was released to generally mixed reviews, with publications praising the inclusion of online play, but critiquing the game's presentation and performance of AI players.

<i>IHRA Drag Racing 2004</i> 2003 video game

IHRA Drag Racing 2004 is a 2003 video game from Bethesda Softworks.

<i>Prince of Persia Classic</i> 2007 video game

Prince of Persia Classic is an action, platform video game developed by Gameloft and published by Ubisoft. It is a remake of the original 1989 Prince of Persia game that utilizes the style of graphics introduced in 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Similarly to the original, players control an unnamed protagonist, the Prince referenced in the title, who must save the imprisoned Princess from the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar, who attempts to conquer the land while her father, the Sultan, is away. The game is generally considered to be non-canon to the Prince of Persia series.

<i>Pro Fishing Challenge</i> 2004 video game

Pro Fishing Challenge is a 2004 fishing video game developed by Japanese developer Opus and published by Atlus for the Xbox.

References

  1. ↑ AMF Bowling 2004 - Game Manual. Mud Duck. 2003.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Nardozzi, Dale (2003-12-17). "AMF Bowling 2004 Review (Xbox)". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  3. 1 2 "AMF Bowling 2004 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  4. 1 2 3 Navarro, Alex (2004-01-30). "AMF Bowling 2004 Review". GameSpot . Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  5. 1 2 3 Goldstein, Hilary (2004-02-04). "AMF Bowling 2004 Review". IGN . Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  6. 1 2 3 Garbutt, Russ (April 2004). "AMF Bowling 2004". Xbox Nation: 91.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.