There are several bowling games in the App Store but in my opinion, none is in the same league as Action Bowling, from Kronos Games.

It’s about as close to real bowling as you’re going to get on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Let me get one thing out of the way that I don’t like about bowling games in general so we can focus on all the things that are right about Action Bowling.

Most bowling games require you to swing your arm back and forth to release the ball. The games vary as to where you place your thumb, how long to hold it and when to release it. There’s some fun to doing that, but there’s also some danger.

One of these days, I’m going to launch my iPhone, Wii-controller-style, across the room, or worse, out the door of a subway car like the poor guy I saw on YouTube. So, I’ll only play bowling games that give me the option of flicking the ball down the alley. I also need good finger controls so I can throw a hook or a curve with precision, vary my speed and so on. This where I think Action Bowling excels. It’s got great finger physics.

Action Bowling also has got great features: You can flick through images of six bowling venues and choose from 12 custom bowling balls or create your own from a photo in your Camera Roll. The SFX are as realistic as they’re going to get. The soundtrack is music played by different bands each week. If you like the soundtrack, a tap takes you to iTunes to buy.

Action Bowling is on sale right now for $0.99. That’s bowling 300, if you ask me.

For more articles like this, subscribe to the AppCraver RSS feed.

category: Games, Simulation