14 DAY TRIAL // One of the first games to support Microsoft's Project Natal has been announced by Crave Games. Brunswick Pro Bowling for the Xbox 360 will use Natal as the main form of control and will be adapted from the PlayStation 3 version that employs PlayStation Move. There are three other versions of the game currently available, one for the Nintendo Wii, one for the PlayStation Portable and one for the iPhone.
The Wii version of the title features a career mode that allows players to become professional bowlers, and a multiplayer component that lets four people compete in a bowling match. Critics have praised it for the realistic physics, as many factors are taken into account, like the bowler’s arm strength, oil patterns, fatigue and hook, among others. On the other hand, the controls have been called sloppy and the difficulty curve steep. The bowler customization options have also been criticized as predictable and bland.
This is one of the very few Xbox 360 motion-control titles that have been known up until now. Fable III will use some of the features of Microsoft's device, according to Peter Molyneux. A river-rafting game and EA Sports' Grand Slam Tennis will also include Natal functionality. A demo of Natal use has been shown employing Burnout Paradise, Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. Kudo Tsunoda, creative director at Microsoft, has declared that software updates that would include support for the button-less controller for older games are unlikely because of the significant necessary code rewrites.
More information about Project Natal will be made available at this year’s E3, as an event called “World Premiere 'Project Natal' for the Xbox 360 Experience” has recently been announced by Microsoft. Many gamers hope that they will finally find out some official details, the pricing and the release date of the device, and clear out the various rumors that have circulated.