iPhone app review: iBowl and iGolf

When I’m not surfing the web or listening to my favorite songs on my iPhone, I usually use it to play games such as iBowl and iGolf. Both games are created by a company called SGN, and are on top of my personal list of favorite games for the iPhone.

The premise of iBowl for iPhone is fairly simple, as is iGolf. In iBowl, you control a red bowling ball and try to hit the pins that are arranged at the other end of the bowling alley. It’s actually a very simple game, with even simpler sound effects, but it’s the way the red bowling ball is controlled that makes it so interesting.

To bowl in iBowl, you have to hold down the red “BOWL” sign in the middle of the screen. By holding it down, the bowling ball will be virtually placed in your hand. Of course, you can move the bowling ball to your preferred position first by dragging it towards either the left or right side.

To make the bowling ball roll down towards the pins, you have to act as if you were really bowling with your iPhone and swing it softly, then releasing the BOWL sign at the right time. You can then watch the bowling ball roll down towards the pins and eventually you’ll be able to strike.

As for iGolf, the concept and gameplay is basically the same. You can choose from three differrent clubs before swinging, and can slightly change the golf ball’s aim by holding a finger on the screen and panning from left to right or vice versa.

Unlike iBowl, however, you don’t have to hold the screen in order to swing in iGolf. All you’ll have to do to make the golf ball leave the ground is press the SET button and quickly do a tossing move with your iPhone in hand. I think the makers of iGolf would have preferred that you do a more golf swing-like move with your iPhone, but that feels kind of awkward, and I’m not sure if you’d prefer that over the method I’ve said above. :)

Collectively, iBowl and iGolf will give you hours of fun, whether you play it alone or with a friend. And what’s more, both games are available from the App store for free. It kind of makes you wish there were more companies like SGN, so that more innovative and fun games will be made available on the App store, and for free, no less.

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Posted on 26 Oct 08 - Filed in Apple, Software&Services, Wireless - Comments - Written by David Gonzales

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