A Holiday Classic Redone

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 1:14 am

Seems a seasonal tradition to visit the NStorm website and find out what the free game they're doing this year turns out being. And what did I do today in preperation for my Freeware Spotlight? Just that, to find that the Holiday Season game has been released. So here's the spotlight, in all it's glory!

For the past 3 years, NStorm has put out a new installment into their Elf Bowling series, and this year would mark the 4th installment. Typically the game isn't necessarily bowling, it just happens to be the same little elves being used in some game, so they've continued the name thru. There was the original Elf Bowling, that offered you the classic bowling game, very simple, and very fun. Playing as Santa (as you do in all of the games), you hurled bowling balls at the elves who were lined up as your pins, and taunting you into bowling them over. The next installment was Elf Bowling 2, in which you got to play shuffleboard against Santa's "ne'er-do-well" brother, Dingle Kringle. This time, the elves are your pucks, as you throw them down the line, in an attempt to not only score well, but knock your oppoent off the board. And finally last year, Elf Bowling 3 had us launching the elves as our skeet in a wacky skeet shoot! These games have always been free, and an absolute enjoyment to play during the holiday season, plus if nothing else, it's great entertainment for the little ones while you wrap their gifts!

So, following in this great tradition, this year they've decided to revisit a past game, and allow Elf Bowling to return to it's roots as a bowling game, with Super Elf Bowling! In some ways I think this version was sparked on by peoples disbelief that another company decided to put a bowling game on an OS's Plus Pack, and it's only a SHAREWARE version! Paying $40 for a shareware bundle? Hardly seems fair, alas, I digress.

In Super Elf Bowling, we see the first time the series has had a 3D engine backing it, which marks a step forward in NStorms design of these games, as typically they're 2D engines with a "3D feel". While the graphics at times can seem a tad un-refined, it in no way takes away from the joy of playing this game, and the classic charm of the series is still there. As for the controls, this time they've opted for a mouse controlled game, which is another major change for the NStorm crew, as typically their games are all a simple "hit the spacebar to fire" type game. In previous versions, a arrow bar would slide back and forth, and if you hit it at the right time, you would hit your target. In this version, it's all about how well you can control your mouse while bowling. Aim left or write, click, hold, pull back, and slide forward, releasing the button at just the right time to get that all perfect power behind your ball. A very simple, yet utterly enjoyable game.

Welp, I think that about wraps up the game for anyone who is interested, and I must say, if you want a good bowling game for free, it's gonna be hard to beat the humour and fun this one can provide. So do yourself a favor, and head on over to the NStorm website and download this game now!

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 5:25 pm

Oh yeah, guess I should have mentioned also that you can submit your best scores online, and try to get into the top 100 scores in the game! So far my personal best is a 220 game. Not to shabby, but still not that golden 300 game.

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:16 pm

i played that new elf bowling, and i diddnt like it, it looks like they ditched all quality in favor of doing it as a 3d world. personally i think they should have kept chainging the game to a diff game each year (first year: bowling; second year: shuffleboard, third year: catapults fourth year should have been (imo): darts or archery....

tell me what's better than fastening a razor tip onto the head of an elf and letting it fly only to skewer another elf up the ass Very Happy