Classification:	Game / Sports	vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Publisher:	Commercial Data Systems
Programmer:	Bill and Dave Fehr
Music/Sound:	n/a
Year:	1984
Rating:	★★★☆
Disk:	5pinbowl.d64
This game is compatible with the Comet64. more info...

Leave it to the gang over at Saskatchewan's own Commercial Data Systems (CDS) to release the only Canadian-rules Five Pin Bowling game for the C64, aptly named “5 Pin Bowling”. There are lots of bowling games written for the C64, but most all of them are version of ten pin bowling, which everyone is familiar with. But, we Canadians have our own version of bowling, which doesn't seem to make it into video games very often.

Just to refresh your memory, CDS are the ones that created the much beloved “Frantic Freddie” are were based in the small prairie community, Emerald Park, right here in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Anyway, 5 Pin Bowling is your typical bowling game, but with only five pins. You have the option of playing up to four players and the game follows the standard Canadian league rules. The graphics in the game are pretty plain, as are the sound effect. But, the game-play is quite smooth and the controls are easy. Hey, it's bowling, so there's nothing really complicate to it.

You have the choice of throwing either left or right handed, using L and R to choose, and you can adjust your throwing angle by using the + and - keys. But the real trick to getting a strike is putting the right kind of spin on the ball when you roll, using the joystick. You push up on the stick to walk to the line and as you approach, pull left or right and press the fire button to release the ball. Getting the timing down is crucial to getting the right kind of curve on your roll. Also, don't cross the line.

Being only five pins, it's a little more tricky to get that strike, than it is in ten pin bowling. But, if the sport itself isn't all that interesting to you, then this game is probably not for you. As sports games go, 5 Pin Bowling is a game that my wife and I can enjoy playing together, as it isn't too difficult to get into.

★★★☆ - A pretty simple looking game, with mediocre graphics and sound effects. But, for those who enjoy a leisurely game of bowling, this version of Canadian five pin bowling will probably keep you entertained for a spell.

266 visitors