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I flat out suck when it comes to bowling. I have never been able to recapture the bowling success I encountered at the tender age of 7, when I reigned supreme with my multi-colored plastic bowling set. The only thing that could keep me from bowling a perfect game back then was the occasional out-of-place tuft of carpet in our hallway. The wonderful thing about the sport of bowling is that it is readily available to most people, and not too hard to play on a casual level. While sports such as bowling, darts, and pool are not hard to casually play, they are difficult to truly master. Perhaps the fact that all three sports frequently take place in a setting that encourages the consumption of beer by the participants, is part of the reason that they are hard to master. Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is a game that deviates from the casual aspect of bowling, and throws the gamer into a professional circuit of expert bowlers.

Video bowling is a genre that can grow stale very quickly. It is imperative that such a game has a strong feature set. Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling does not disappoint in this area. The modes of play are: skins game, tournament, career, practice, and cosmic bowl (glow-in-the-dark pins, black lights, and groovy music). The skins game is a cash-based mode of play that is actually very fun. Players can also opt to play through an entire Brunswick Circuit tournament. The tournament consists of qualifying rounds, matchplay, and TV finals. The mode in which I spent most of my time is the career mode. This mode allows the user to compete in an entire pro circuit. The gamer can choose to use actual pro bowlers, or create a bowler. The create-a-bowler feature is nice, but the appearance of the bowlers could use some work. Once the career starts, the bowler will compete in a variety of locations throughout the United States, then in locations around the world. The prize money differs depending on the tournament. Interestingly, user statistics are kept. I was glad to see this feature, as it adds depth to the game.

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling, by THQ, is billed as "The most realistic bowling simulation ever." After experiencing the addictive gameplay of this title, I cannot argue with that assertion. The gameplay of Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling offers solid ball physics and action. The actual bowling involves a series of steps. The approach is made by pressing the "A" button. Power and accuracy meters are used to determine the strength of the roll, and the accuracy of the roll in relation to the path of the ball that is set by the user. The difficulty of the game can be varied to fit the gamer's ability. The line showing the path of the ball either lengthens or shortens depending on the difficulty level. I found the "Pro" level the most fun, since the other two levels yield a line that extends too far to the pins to make the game that challenging. Finally, another factor that affects gameplay is the choice of equipment. The gamer can choose from among a variety of balls. Each ball has its own characteristics and has a noticeable impact on the game.

While the gameplay of Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is very good, the graphics leave something to be desired. Virtually every aspect of the graphics is sub-par. There are some pretty bad crowd graphics out there, but you will be hard-pressed to find uglier crowd graphics than the ones in Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling. The sepia-toned crowd is not only ugly, but does not blend in well with the rest of the graphics. The crowd members look like they were cut out of a newspaper and pasted into the background. The actual bowlers look bad as well. The animations are poorly done, and the bowlers do not look that realistic. A couple items that should be easy to make look good are the bowling alley and the pins. Somehow, the developer managed to even screw these items up. The pins do not have much of a rounded, 3D appearance. The bowling halls are just downright ugly. On a positive note, the lanes do have a nice sheen to them, but this aspect goes virtually unnoticed due to the poor effect of the other graphics.

The camerawork in Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is outstanding. A variety of camera angles are used to show the bowler's release, the bowl rolling down the alley, and the pins being knocked over. These angles vary from frame to frame and range from an overhead view to close-up views of the ball as it rolls down the lane. This superb camerawork helps keep the action fresh and exciting. It is just too bad that the graphics are far below the high standards of the cool camera angles.

The sound in this title is above average. The sound of the ball hitting the pins, the pins falling, and the sound of the ball rolling down the lane are all very good and realistic. The sound of the crowd is pretty good as well. The crowd claps and moans at appropriate moments throughout the match. The music is average. It is nothing memorable, but not too annoying either. As should be the case with all games, the volume of the various elements of sound can be adjusted

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is not the type of game that will initially bowl you over (cheap pun intented), but it has an addictive quality that merits being given a look. The physics are incredibly realistic, and the gameplay options offer nice longevity value. The career mode is a fun feature that is not only challenging, but offers a cool financial reward system. The tracking of statistics adds even more "oomph" to the career mode. It is unfortunate that the graphics do not approach the quality of so many other sports games currently available for the Nintendo 64. While good visuals do not necessarily make for a great game, they can certainly heighten its overall appeal. If you can put up with below-average graphics, then I highly recommend giving Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling a try. It is fun, addictive, and provides a realistic simulation of bowling physics.