Review: DBC14 Career Mode: Batsman

[Biggs]

DBC 14 Batsman Career Mode Review

Note: For purposes of this review I have no interest in going into the details of the other game modes because I simply haven?t spent enough time playing them, this review focuses solely on the Career mode format. Thanks to @MattW for allowing me a bit of prose to get a few thoughts off my mind.

?Watch the ball, watch the ball? wait??

That?s my mantra, I repeat this often. There?s usually a tense feeling in my shoulders when I do and at least on two occasions in recent memory I?ve had a little bead of sweat forming on my brow as I repeat this?

??right, push forward? waiting? YES?

?I connect, it?s good? the ball runs quickly, but not too fast out in between mid-wicket and mid on. That?s the gap I?ve been eying up for two balls now and I clear both the fielders it?s gas to the peddle and I?m away. It?s just a cheeky two into a gap and nothing spectacular, my partner at the other end is set and he?s on his way for a 50, I?m just playing the supporting role and that?s fine by me. It?s the second innings of a four day test and my team is well in the lead so there?s no pressure?

?Just another single, make it 20 and go from there??

Don Bradman Cricket 14 is a Cricket experience. It?s about what it feels like to be outside playing with a team and the real pressures and equal frustrations of the game we love. It?s about elation when you play a key role in a match, or get a milestone. It?s about feeling a part of a team and contributing. It?s worthwhile mentioning in DBC14 that you?re not always the ?Star? of the show. Often times you?re simply a cog in the wheel and your role is to support the AI at the other end.

I?ve been playing the career mode, one of a multitude of modes and formats of the game of cricket on the disc, but the one that?s the most rewarding by a long way. My career player is a middle order number 5 batsman who?s not the superstar of the team, but he?s always there chipping away at a total or supporting an international quality AI player at the other end by getting him on strike. Being on 17, that?s about the loftiest goal I have right now, getting my player down the other end of the pitch safely and often times with the AI opposition fielding, that run is a long one to make.

But you forgive the little niggles like the over-heavy abilities of the fielders because it feels like cricket. It feels like the frustration you genuinely experience when you play the real game, or spend time in the stands watching it.

Most importantly, like so many quality sporting titles, it?s a challenge to beat.

You?re never going to be clearing the boundary every over nor are you going to be always there at the end of the match to save the day, like has happened in past cricket games experiences because you?re operating every batsman and getting multiple ?chances?.

In fact, the genius of career mode is there is no ?Undo? button. There?s no ?go back and fix that? option. It?s pure and simple practice and finesse as you navigate your way through a created players career. You get one chance to make an impact (two in a Test) and that?s it. If you fail, you?re left either watching your team win or lose or consoling yourself in the field waiting for an opportunity to contribute there.

With this challenge, obviously come frustrations that are out of your control. The AI fielding is the biggest weakness in the career mode as the game is unbeatable, in its current format. Every catch sticks and every run-out hits. So there?s absolutely no room for error. Often you?ll get comfortable pushing to a particular fielder in the deep only to accidentally play a fraction early and lob it within their reach and by ?within reach? I mean, start walking to the pavilion. Often you?ll feel like you?ve cleared a huge gap in the field only for a second slip to race to deep midwicket and take the catch, which is incredibly frustrating and takes away a lot of the ?power? shots available in the game, but as in cricket it?s calculated risk and reward and until there?s a patch it?s simply another layer of challenge that?s worth embracing?

?and embrace it you should, because there?s so many layers of fun. The statistic collection alone is a goldmine for data-focused players. You can see your career numbers go up and down, you?ll get rewards experience points and a nice replay to watch over and over again based on perfect execution of shots along with tracking every minute level of your players career. You?ll see whether or not you?re likely of getting selected for other domestic and international teams and see what areas of your game you should look to improve, be it strike rate, average or even the amount of boundaries you?re hitting.

Although I?d like to see things like player-image being able to be changed as you progress through time (whether it be manual or automatically generated by the user-making choices) everything that should fit in a ?Career? box, is nestled right in this plastic disc in DBC14 giving you hours of opportunities and experiences.

?Watch the ball, watch the ball? wait??

It?s time for the next delivery, so I?m back to getting in line and waiting for it. I have no idea where the ball is going nor do I know whether I?m hitting a boundary or pushing for a single, but what I do know is I?ll be saying that same mantra over and over again for the next few hours.

- @Biggs

 

[ethybubs]

My Mantra is: "Head down, I'm sure nobody saw that"

 

[madman981]

Great review, Love it

As ive saidpreviously, its not a good thing to admit, But i still havent played another mode of the game bar career mode

every time i think to do it i also think to myself, why waste the time, this could be my 100 innings....

mates are keen to come around and have a go, but i keep putting them off because i want to play single player career....

 

[sami ullah khan]

Hey Biggs
How do you block. One of my biggest gripes is that we have to premeditate to block. There is noway I can be quick enough to push forward or back, then Press R2 and Push the right stick for block. Block should have been made a wee bit simpler. I don't mean it should be a simple button press but stick should have been enough for the block. Leave could have been done using a button rather than through pressing down R Stick.

 

[Snowy]

Even outside of career mode, my immediate advice would be stop playing limited over matches, and go play a longer format match. Just block, block and block. Just working on blocking will improve your ability to pick up line and length.

During this process, if you get a wide one, then go for the drive. But then go back to blocking. It really is a matter of working in to your innings, as perfectly described in the OP by Biggs. I personally like aiming for a goal like not losing a wicket for the next 5 overs. It really does feel like people are being impatient, and expecting to score off every ball. It doesn't work like that, you do actually have to block a lot of the time.

 

[Biggs]

Even outside of career mode, my immediate advice would be stop playing limited over matches, and go play a longer format match. Just block, block and block. Just working on blocking will improve your ability to pick up line and length.

Yup, 100% agree. Don't even bother with anything less than 50 overs. As someone else said in another thread, don't bother with "on field practice" or "net practice" because it's a waste of time, you need time in the middle with field changes and the AI quirks as well as the batting timing window. Stick it on Pro, pick a batsman-heavy side and just practice.

It really does feel like people are being impatient, and expecting to score off every ball. It doesn't work like that, you do actually have to block a lot of the time.

Absolutely, the sooner you get past the "I'm going to be the best player in the team" mentality and accept you'll fail more than you'll succeed, you'll start to improve slowly. Best advice I can give is when you're given a four-day match use that to lock down an end and face regular overs from one bowler, get used the pace, the timing and so on. It makes you feel a bit shit turning down easy singles from the AI but it works.

Hey Biggs
How do you block. One of my biggest gripes is that we have to premeditate to block. There is noway I can be quick enough to push forward or back, then Press R2 and Push the right stick for block. Block should have been made a wee bit simpler. I don't mean it should be a simple button press but stick should have been enough for the block. Leave could have been done using a button rather than through pressing down R Stick.

I kinda agree, and disagree. You get into a habit of blocking early on (anything below 15 runs) and just picking which deliveries to "take a break" on. I never bother leaving balls because blocking is easy. The only place you get caught out is premeditating a block off the front foot to a short ball, again, just pull or cut those. For a FULL length ball they're always stump-line. In that scenario I always keep my middle finger hovering over L2 most of the match, the minute I see the ball colour go yellow I bang it down and push straight forward, since the only reason you would bowl a short-yorker length delivery at the stumps is to bowl you out, as long as you keep the L trigger straight as possible (practice) you're right as rain. As you work slowly through career it does honestly get easier and the game gives you more leeway on defensive strokes. I've not been out edged-caught keeper off a spinner or a fast bowler defending for a while because I think my skill level on the "straight bat" XP points is slowly overcoming the difficulty setting.

Does that help? Bit of a stream-of-consciousness post.

But basically, block early on in your innings, if only to get the three-in-a-row xp bonus.

 

[handsome]

Nice Post. 2 things are clear

1. This game is only for a true cricket fan
2. You need to be patient to score runs

 

[Bracks]

It really does feel so much like real cricket. I haven't played for a few years but it almost takes me back to those nervous first few balls, hoping a spinner will come on so I might be able to get a few away and get my timing right. Even the way the pressure builds on you after a few low scores feels authentic.

Career mode in this game is everything 12-year old me wanted in a sports game. I do think bowling is slightly too easy, and as has been mentioned the fielding is over-powered, but they have really done so much right it's hard to be overly critical. Really hope this game is at least somewhat of a financial success (or a break-even), career mode 2.0 has the potential to be ridiculously good.

 

[NoLeName]

It's funny. The few times I've gotten to 20 I relax and think "Don't worry, you're in now." As soon as I have one of these lapses in concentration I get out. You need to be focussed 100%, because the ball you relax on is the ball you time wrong and lob up. Or the ball you play the wrong shot to. The ball that isn't really there for the big slog but you go for it anyway. The ball where you don't see the fielder and get run out. The ball of your wicket. Boy does it get frustrating, which is exactly why the mode is so damn good. I don't think it would be as addictive if you could just smash a century without thinking. It makes your thirst for a big score that much more, and no doubt when you finally get to raise the bat, there isn't a moment sweeter(I can't say from experience though ). Hell, I think it does cricket better than cricket!

 

[surendar]

Completely agree with this,

?Watch the ball, watch the ball? wait??

That is what actually we do in real life too. Like mentioned in review, I have felt many nervous moments.

It actually made me to feel frustrated so many times with the way I played a shot. It made me to feel guilty when I push certain singles and make my partner run out. Fantastic game & am sure that we would never get bored with this game unless you get bored with cricket itself.

 

[outbreak]

My Mantra is: "Head down, I'm sure nobody saw that"

mine is "blocking is harder then playing a shot and every run will come off my legs"

 

[CallyT]

If you are struggling to block its most likely a timing issue. If you are missing and getting out LBW I would say prob 80% chance you are playing the block to early.

 

[madman981]

mine is "blocking is harder then playing a shot and every run will come off my legs"

This is my mantra also

yet ive started blocking more lately and it seems to be working, yet i still love those easy runs through square leg!!

 

[Biggs]

If you are struggling to block its most likely a timing issue. If you are missing and getting out LBW I would say prob 80% chance you are playing the block to early.

Absolutely, this. Especially against spinners, you have to play it late if you're defending... like, really late. Which is a challenge when they throw in the "quicker one" and it rightly should be...

But it just clicked a while ago that I was coming forward too early. Also, I would never defend off the back foot against faster bowlers, you'll get bowled or edge it. If its there to hit, hit it... the only reason I go on the backfoot now is to pull or hook the shorter deliveries and since you get a bit more reaction time to play those shots, it's easy enough with practice.

I'm playing 80% of everything in career mode off the front foot now and defending/attacking is vastly easier. I find backfoot shots are executed easier in the arcade mode when your batsman are upskilled more than your career player is.

 

[bigsix]

And watch out for that yellow ball which is a yorker or a full delivery straight from a fast bowler. I have lost count how many times I have got out to that particular delivery playing the wrong shot, bowled or lbw. Bowlers bowl here dead straight.
Then I realized I am premeditating a lot of shot and trying to think too far ahead. Now I am getting a little better at this.
Geez Ross!! R u guys competing with the Dark Souls franchise somehow....
Absolutely loving it!!!