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I loved bowling in Wii Sports from the first day I pulled my Wii out of the box and hooked it up. My parents bowled in leagues for years and years, and I bowled in leagues for several years myself. I can't tell you how excited I was to hear there was going to be an official Brunswick bowling game for the Wii. Unfortunately, for me at least, the game did not at all live up to its promise.

There are two modes of play. You can use a generic character and just bowl, or you can create a character and try to level up through league play. Since I had intended to be in this for the long haul, I chose the league play/story option.

You get to start with creating your character. You pick boy or girl (of course) and then, in theory, you can customize your avatar. There were different skin shades and a few hairstyles in a few different colors. Your body options are slender or curvy (and not a huge difference between the two). Initially, you have a very limited wardrobe selection, since unlocking better gear through play is supposed to be part of the game. I didn't really find any attractive avatar or clothes options. My characters were between ugly and bleh. The advertising verbiage implies a lot of customization — not when you start out there isn't. Honestly, my Mii looks more like me than what I could do with this avatar.

There is much made of the fact that Brunswick Pro Bowling has oil patterns on the alley which change over play and affect the way your ball moves. The idea of changing lane conditions for additional challenge would be more interesting if you actually had control over how you were throwing the ball to respond to these changes.

It was when I finally was ready to bowl that things went from mildly disappointing to somewhat enraging.

First, there's no real tutorial in game to tell you what to do — and there is nothing intuitive or obvious about how you're supposed to proceed. You have two settings you'll do with the ball: adjusting your placement and aim. And when it's time to throw the ball ... you don't really throw the ball. You have to bring the remote up to your chest and click the B trigger at exactly the right time to start your bowling. You swing your arm back and then ... just let go of the B. Now you watch the computer bowl. Sure, you can swing your arm forward, but as far as I can tell, it has no effect on what actually happens with the ball — and your timing will have nothing in common with what the avatar is doing.

It seems like the motion sensors in the Wii-mote were put to no use other than to point at things on the screen and to see if you have the ball in front of your chest or not. You can't throw softer or harder using your own skill. You can't throw curved or straight using your own skill. You see — I found this out after reading the manual (again) — your avatar has some initial stats like strength and ball control. You have to win at tournament games against much better computer components or earn money and buy better gear in order to increase these stats if you want to bowl better.

As I struggled through the two and a half games I played before growling at the TV and putting that miserable disk away in the box, my first thought was, "Where's the fun?" I was hoping this would be a better, more detailed version of Wii Sports Bowling. I was so very wrong. The experience was frustrating, and when I finally did get to "bowl," it felt nothing like bowling. I want to decide how hard to throw the ball. I want to swing my arm and have that follow-through count for something. I want my physical skills to actually have an impact on how I do.

You can keep your tournament mode and pro shop. You can keep your league play. You can keep you alley oil. I'm going to play Wii Sports Bowling with my family, and we are going to have an awesome amount of fun. Honestly, I would not even buy this game in the bargain bin.