If there’s one thing modern bowling is missing, it’s rocket propelled balls. But according to Rocket Bowl, a clever and fun addition to the Xbox Live Arcade, bowling isn’t entirely awesome until you’ve got lanes set up like golf courses, complete with ramps, loop-de-loops, and basically no rules.

Gameplay

Bowling in Rocket Bowl takes place across a variety of different courses where wagering cash earns you funky colored new balls, and collecting plenty of star-markers scattered throughout earns new places to bowl. Like traditional pin-hunting, you’ll have a set starting point to launch your ball and a generally straightforward spot to aim for. But the twist comes with being able to not only boost your bowling ball with rocket-power, but also launching off track and in to other lanes. These “Wild” shots are fun and satisfying, but will also be your saving grace when boosting accidentally sends you careening off course.

Other collectibles include time increases – for when you shoot the wrong way and need to direct your ball for a Wild Strike – and extra rocket boosts, both of which help for racking up stars in addition to standard ten-frame points. This adds a bit of variety to the already expanded-upon sport of Rocket Bowl, as unlocking new courses and winning fat stacks of cash in tournaments is both fun and fast.

Sounds & Graphics

Simplicity carries over to the visual department where things are vibrant and varied in color, giving the 3D game a bit of a cel-animated look. Solid colors and very little shading means there’s nothing spectacularly gorgeous about the way the shadow rolls off of your fire-painted ball, but the cartoonish look lends itself well to the style of the game. Perhaps the best thing about the way the game “looks” is the physics, which are expectedly great and made more enjoyable by the bizarre course layouts.

Chucking colored balls across wooden floors is all well and good, but with groovy tunes and authentic sound effects (well, as authentic as a rock hitting ten pins could be) to accompany you, you’ll be comparatively chilled out compared to the, um, “high octane” action on screen.

Value

The biggest bummer of the game is that you’ll have to go way out of your way to unlock new places to hurl your collection of balls, as lanes quickly become too easy or plain old stale as you memorize critical paths to huge points. Being stuck on the same course for too long makes it feel like you’re grinding since you’ll find yourself sacrificing score for stars. Expect to bowl the same places repeatedly before unlocking something fresh. Meanwhile, Rocket Bowl is a game that is entirely worth your ten bucks, if only to hear the hypnotic “Rocket Bowwwwwwwl” menu greeting.

Bottom Line

Rocket Bowl manages to be a spectacularly fun game and the 1950s-inspired/futuristic cartoonish art style and music is both suitable and awesome. The wackiness of boosting bowling balls left or right with blasts of fire keeps the game fresh, and being able to hop in and do an entire round in five to ten minutes makes this a great addition to Xbox Live Arcade. It’s far from perfect, but the simplicity of bowling is mixed up with fresh ideas, crazily constructed courses and a quick clip at which to play. The accessibility of the controls is also great for playing with family and friends who both love and don’t really play games.