Developer: NextWave Multimedia Inc
Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4S
In a happy wizard world live the Bowlons and the Pines. The Bowlons, ruled over by the Bright Lord are bowling balls that play happily with the Pines, who are bowling pins that are ruled over by the Evil Wiz. When the Evil Wiz hypnotizes the Pines and enslaves the Bowlons and the Bright Lord, the world turns into an unhappy place. Players must help the Bowlons fight against the Evil Wiz by knocking down hypnotized Pines in this new puzzle game.
I really like the idea behind this game. It combines elements from both bowling and puzzle games together. The purpose of the game is to knock down as many hypnotized Pines using the least amount of Bowlons possible. This sounds like a simple enough task, but the Pines split up into different groups on the board and hide around corners which makes it difficult to hit them all down in one try. To help the Bowlons get around corners, Bowlaids are used to change the direction of the Bowlons and even split them in two to be able to attack multiple groups of Pines at once. Players need to strategically place the Bowlaids on the board in order to get all the Pines knocked down to free them from the clutches of the Evil Wiz.
There are five wizard islands within the game and each island has its own levels. Currently only the first two islands are available but more will be released in future updates. Although the app is free, an in-app purchase of $1.99 is required to move past the first six levels within the first island. This seems like a fair price to pay, given the unique gameplay and the 50 levels with the promise of additional levels.
The controls of the game are very basic and there are directions during the first few levels describing how to pay. The only thing that some players may find difficult is getting the Bowlaids positioned where they want them in a timely manner to maximize points. With some practice I was able to get better at knowing where each Bowlaid needed to go and I was able to get them positioned relatively quickly.
Overall I think Bowling Wizards is an entertaining little puzzle game. It involves enough strategy and challenge to keep players thinking and entertained for a decent price. I enjoyed the graphics, the style of the game and the game elements that it employs. I would recommend giving it a whirl and playing all 6 free levels before purchasing the full version.