Fast Lanes' shining feature is the graphics engine used to render the bowling balls.  They really do shine as they roll down the lane, reflecting the environment around them.  The balls hit the pins with a very satisfying smash, and the pins fly about in a pretty realistic way although you can detect a touch of jerkiness to it at times.  It's not nearly as bad as the robotic-like bowlers, but it is still perceptible.

Fast Lanes should be designed to at least appeal to fans of the sport, but it will probably not meet bowlers' expectations.  There's so little that affects the ball beyond the two mouse clicks that it leaves you feeling like you're simply going through an exercise in repetition.  The tournament mode will leave bowlers disappointed as well.  It consists entirely of simple one on one, single game matches against random computer opponents.  The computer bowlers won't provide much of a challenge either, as they tend to bowl poorly and exhibit psychotic behavior.  In one tournament match, my opponent managed only a 52 through the first five frames only to finish the game with five straight strikes. 

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 46%.  As challenging as bumper bowling and as much fun as a 7-10 split.

System Requirements:  Pentium II 400; 64 MB RAM;  32 MB Video RAM; 200MB Hard disk space; 4x CD-ROM;  Mouse.

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