Ten Pin Alley
Encyclopedia
Ten Pin Alley is a ten-pin bowling
simulation game released by American Softworks in 1996 and developed internally at Adrenalin Entertainment.
The game was released on November 30, 1996 in North America, and eventually released in February 1998 in the United Kingdom. Just before its North American release, Sony selected the game's demo to be included on its PS1 sampler disc.
A sequel to the game entitled Ten Pin Alley 2
, developed by an unknown developer, was mooted for a release on the PlayStation 2
, but for unknown reasons was shelved. Despite this, the sequel, developed by Pronto Games and published by XS Games was released on the Game Boy Advance
to dismal reviews.
Ten Pin Alley should not be confused with an audio game
with the same title made by PCS Games.
Each shot was controlled in a similar fashion to many of the golf
games of the era with an accuracy based pendulum system. With this the player decided the power, accuracy and hook for each shot.
The game found originality in the comedic slant it added to each character. For example, hitting a turkey (three strikes in a row) with one particular character would force him to flex his muscles uncontrollably. Scoring a perfect game of 300, a rare occurrence in real bowling, resulted in another character growing wings and taking flight around the entire bowling alley. Failing to release the ball in time would cause the default character to do a back-flip with ball in hand. This added much needed comic relief to the game and gave it the character which made it memorable and accounted to its unexpectedly high sales figures.
While in Multi Player mode, holding down all four shoulder buttons of the Playstation controller while pressing one of the four main buttons, would allow a player to scream a barrage of insults at his or her opponent. for example "You Suck" or the alley favourite "Miss".
Two of the Tournament Mode teams are named after the companies who made the game—Team ASC (after American Softworks Corporation) and Adrenalin Rush (after the developer, Adrenalin Entertainment, and a play on the phrase "adrenaline rush
").
Ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...
simulation game released by American Softworks in 1996 and developed internally at Adrenalin Entertainment.
The game was released on November 30, 1996 in North America, and eventually released in February 1998 in the United Kingdom. Just before its North American release, Sony selected the game's demo to be included on its PS1 sampler disc.
A sequel to the game entitled Ten Pin Alley 2
Ten Pin Alley 2
Ten Pin Alley 2 is a ten-pin bowling simulation game, published by XS Games and released on the Game Boy Advance platform and later for the Wii...
, developed by an unknown developer, was mooted for a release on the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, but for unknown reasons was shelved. Despite this, the sequel, developed by Pronto Games and published by XS Games was released on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
to dismal reviews.
Ten Pin Alley should not be confused with an audio game
Audio game
An audio game is an electronic game played on a device such as a personal computer. It is similar to a video game save that the only feedback device is audible rather than visual....
with the same title made by PCS Games.
Gameplay
The game contained considerable depth and allowed the player to participate in a number of various game play modes, including single player, multi player, tournament and a practice mode. The original game, which put the series on the map, was perhaps best remembered for being the first bowling game to offer real ball and pin physics, combined with a memorable loungy style achieved through its original score and goofy characters and corresponding animations.Each shot was controlled in a similar fashion to many of the golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
games of the era with an accuracy based pendulum system. With this the player decided the power, accuracy and hook for each shot.
The game found originality in the comedic slant it added to each character. For example, hitting a turkey (three strikes in a row) with one particular character would force him to flex his muscles uncontrollably. Scoring a perfect game of 300, a rare occurrence in real bowling, resulted in another character growing wings and taking flight around the entire bowling alley. Failing to release the ball in time would cause the default character to do a back-flip with ball in hand. This added much needed comic relief to the game and gave it the character which made it memorable and accounted to its unexpectedly high sales figures.
While in Multi Player mode, holding down all four shoulder buttons of the Playstation controller while pressing one of the four main buttons, would allow a player to scream a barrage of insults at his or her opponent. for example "You Suck" or the alley favourite "Miss".
Two of the Tournament Mode teams are named after the companies who made the game—Team ASC (after American Softworks Corporation) and Adrenalin Rush (after the developer, Adrenalin Entertainment, and a play on the phrase "adrenaline rush
Adrenaline Rush
An adrenaline rush is the fight or flight response of the adrenal gland, in which it releases adrenaline . When releasing adrenaline, one's body releases dopamine which can act as a natural pain killer. An adrenaline rush causes the muscles to perform respiration at an increased rate improving...
").