On the Lanes
Zombie bowling: Take them out or … The person who says to you, “I’ve seen it all!” is obviously a liar and please keep your distance. I know this mainly because they could not have seen “Zombie Bowling.”
That is correct, I said Zombie Bowling.
Any one of us who has even the smallest amount of “little kid” inside has at one time or another played bowling on a computer, an arcade game, or even a cell phone. We have set the pins and knocked them down and thrown countless wild hooks and gutter balls and had a blast doing it. But, nothing can compare to setting up 10 zombies and trying to knock them down. That is because, if you miss one, or more likely, all of them, they actually come after you.
The game is called “Zombile Bowling HD for iPad,” and obviously when we add zombies to anything and it’s instantly awesome.
Zombile Bowling HD, from AtlanticNet, combines the delightful tongue-in-cheek camp of a classic bowling alley with the grumbling, gurgling undead.
The game includes two modes of game play, one for full-on bowling and one for when you’re just in the mood for unadulterated zombie carnage. “Bowl” allows you to pick an alley, a ball, and a “bravery” setting with how many bullets you want. Those bullets definitely come in handy later.
Once things are configured, it’s just like any other bowling game with 10 frames and 10 zombies to knock over. Flick the ball forward or drag it back and release to bowl. Like in all of these arcade type games, aiming can get a little tricky, but an arrow will help you determine where the ball will hit. You get two shots to take them all out, but if you can’t, the real fun begins.
Remember those bullets you picked earlier? They will come in handy, as any remaining zombies will start walking toward you, and you have to drag your finger across the screen to aim, and then tap the “FIRE!” button to finish them off. This little extra is the main event in the “Shoot” game mode, where you have unlimited ammo to shoot as many waves of 10 brain-munchers as possible.
The graphics look a bit stiff and old fashioned, with the zombies resembling cardboard cutouts, but the detailed bowling alley environments, including “13 Apocalypse Street” and “The Fiend Factory,” add a fun dimension to an otherwise simple game. Zombie Bowling HD is just as straightforward as it is entertaining.
And hey, killing zombies is fun no matter how you do it.
EXPO BOWL IN INDIANAPOLIS: More than 2,000 youth bowlers are expected to participate in the 2010 USBC Youth Open, sponsored by Pepsi, which starts July 9 at Expo Bowl in Indianapolis and will run July 9-10, 15-20 and 22-24. The tournament is patterned after the USBC Open Championships and USBC Women’s Championships.
Youth bowlers compete in team (four players), doubles, singles and all-events and the tournament, which will award approximately $100,000 in scholarships this year, has four average-based divisions:
l 129 and below
l 130-159
l 160-189 and
l 190 and above.
Participants are matched according to skill, not age or gender. Scores are based on actual pinfall and one out of every five entrants in team, doubles and singles will receive scholarships, while one in six will receive scholarships in all-events.
Each youth will bowl nine games total – three singles, doubles and four-player team. The combined scores from those events is the all-events score.
There are a number of exceptional youth bowlers from our area who really should take a shot at this. And, we have the added asset of the JBRPT (Junior Bowling Regional Players Tour), which has the same feel if not exact format.
Bowling news
Uniontown resident Gary George writes a weekly bowling column for the Herald-Standard. If you have any bowling news, contact George, a member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1997, via email at probowler48@aol.com or fax at 724-438-7290. Information is welcome from all area bowling establishments