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THE BATTLE OF THE consoles are about to heat up even more with Sony's PS3 set to go head to head with WII, with its recently announced High Velocity Bowling. Sony's latest addition makes use of its Sixaxis controller, which, since its release, has been used mainly in aerial gaming. To show us what this game has to offer, the folk at Sony have given us a demo, which shows off the game and its Sixaxis capabilities.

The demo, although short, shows enough of what High Velocity Bowling is going to be about. Initially you work through a few simple steps of first positioning yourself, then determining an angle and then finally mimicking the bowling action. It's relatively straight forward and once you get the first one underway, the rest becomes a breeze.

The demo had two playable characters, with both having different skill levels. To be honest, though, you couldn't really tell the difference as we managed to get the same results with both. The result really came down to the individual and a good eye. It was a great little play, but its fair to say that it is a bit awkward...

Instead of holding the controller as you would when playing any other game, you hold the controller vertically. It's not something you see every day and even after some game time it still doesn't feel natural. It's also not something you can get away from, either, as the way you hold the controller determines most facets of the game.

To determine your position and angle, you have to tilt the controller left to right, while holding it on its side. Once in position, you swing your arms as if you are bowling. If you don't hit a strike then you can look to use a spinning action, which spins the ball in the direction indicated. This is again a bit awkward, as you need to push the trigger, while again holding the control on its side. Eventually you'll get a feel for it, and once you do, you then just need to worry about someone letting go of the Sixaxis and sending it into the television.

The awkwardness aside, High Velocity Bowling, although still in its early days, has the potential to be not bad a game. It's not overly complicated and remains basic all the way through to its looks and characters you play, or at least the ones on the demo. Whether this will be enough to break into an already established Wii market, only time will tell.

High Velocity Bowling which is not due to be released for some time. For now, check out some of the screens and features on hand, and as more info gets released we hope to give you an update.

Key features:

· 1-4 Multiplayer - 8 unique characters with their own themed alley to unlock through game play.

· Sixaxis Wireless Controller - Fully controlled by the Sixaxis motion sensors to simulate a real bowling swing.

· Challenge Mode - Progress through a series of tournaments, matches, and trick shot showmanship to unlock hidden characters and lanes.

· Trophy Room – View all the trophies, rings, and patches you've accumulated.