sohum
Executive member
So I finally got the game for the legendary price of Rs. 999/- (Rs. 43 = $1) but didn't have to pay for it because of gift coupons! My first attempt at installation was on my desktop, which I knew would not work because it doesn't have a graphics card and even Cricket 2004 didn't work on it. I was not proven incorrect. I then went through the tedious process of transferring the installation files on to my laptop (which lacks a CD-ROM drive) and was able to install and run the game after requiring many different pieces of software. My laptop, too, did not meet the minimum requirements (only 16 MB of video memory) but the game loaded.
I was able to find a hapless family member who lended me their laptop (64 MB video memory) and I was finally able to get a taste of the game. Such was my excitement whilst playing it that I did not even get the chance to take any screenshots! Okay, so here's my review broken down into many different pieces.
Batting
The first time I batted, I was 1/4 (one run for four wickets). This was the result of trying to go for early slog shots over cover, mid off and mid wicket. This is on medium difficulty. I finally settled down and started scoring through singles and what not. After playing a few ODI's and one day of a test match I found that it is very difficult to score runs, without practice. The only places I was scoring runs was in the covers (a few spanking cover drives), the mid-wicket region through front foot and back foot shots and short third man, with the intended edge down to third man. Every shot I played down the ground was fielded.
Running between the wickets is also pretty different from Cricket 2004 because the fielders move much, much faster. I lost at least 3-4 of my wickets in each innings due to run-outs. That will probably be changed after getting a proper hang of the game.
One problem that I faced was that most of my runs were being scored off misfields. I do not know if this is solely a problem with the graphic card or a bug in the game, but at least 80% of my runs came off misfields. The fielder misfielding on the boundary resulted in a 4, etc. If this is indeed a bug, it is a pretty major one. But I'm not complaining because it's the only way I could get runs!
Bowling
It is much easier and less confusing to bowl certain deliveries. It is also great to ACTUALLY see swing in the game. One brilliant delivery I bowled with McGrath pitched outside off stump and swung back in, trapping the batsman right in front of the stumps. This really adds to the realistic cricket effect and also gives you chances to trick the batsmen into getting out through your skill and such. One thing I found while bowling was that the slower ball is a definite wicket-taker. Whenever I put a slower ball of moderate length, the computer tried to slog it off the back foot, resulting in an easy catch in the circle. This is also a problem... sort of.
The special deliveries seem pretty useless to me, but that may be because I have not been able to control them properly. It seems to me that you can bowl a yorker even without getting the bowling confidence meter up--which defeats the purpose of getting a yorker unlocked in the first place. Also, I did not see special deliveries such as reverse-swing--perhaps those are unlocked when the ball is older.
Fielding
I have not tried manual fielding as of yet, but as I said, there is a misfield problem. There is also no manual appeal button that was promised by EA Sports. These two in conjunction spoil the game a bit, especially if the CPU is tonking you at 15 runs per over. The fielders move much quicker than Cricket 2004--almost uncannily so. This prevents scoring of easy runs, but also of runs in general.
CPU Intelligence
Have not played long enough matches to judge this, but the CPU really went after me when I played 10 and 20 over matches. If I had allowed the CPU to bat the whole way it would have probably scored 250 odd runs in 20 overs! It does not seem like the computer thinks before batting--even at 80/6 it is trying to slog. Perhaps its working on pacing files, like in Cricket 2004. This would be a major negative, especially if the computer, chasing 60 for victory in 10 overs, gets all out for 40, in 4 overs. I have not played it long enough to judge that properly, though.
The bowling of the computer is also much more accurate--they give almost no room on any side of the stumps. This contributes to the already existing difficulty of batting and hence makes batting a bitch unless you are a patient sort of person. The computer also bowls all 4 overs of a particular bowler in a 20 over match, just like in the previous edition. This contributes to lack of realism and poor strategizing by the opposition captain!
Improvements from Cricket 2004
Most of the previous bugs, like the run out bug, the line-up bug, the byes bug, etc. have been fixed. The computer even counts the number of boundaries correctly! Graphics have improved obviously, as has the general appearance of the game. It seems much more professional (none of those disgusting shadows under the text). The kits are also correct and the player names and numbers on the back make for a good effect. It also seems like each player has their own face (?) so patching will be depthful. It's great to see the Aussie and England team - perfect faces - but not so nice to see every other wicket keeper seem like Marvan Atapattu.
What Needs To Be Changed?
COMMENTARY! The commentary is, as usual, boring and buggy. This is now three releases that EA have gone without changing the commentary. The commentator makes all sorts of stupid mistakes. When the ball goes straight to a fielder in the outfield, Richie goes, "______ is sprinting along the boundary." Once the player misfields it, Richie goes, "Oh that's a brilliant shot from _________." The confidence meter also discharges really easily, apart from the fact that playing a perfectly-timed shot to a fielder doesn't add much (if any) to your confidence.
The speed meter while bowling is also quite fast, but okay with practice. Apart from that, I'm disappointed by the cutting out of stadiums. Only 70 MB was used on Disc 2 of this game--thats 630 MB of space they have wasted/cheated us out of. They could have easily added many more stadiums instead of trying to compete with BLIC. A World Championship played in the West Indies sees every game played in Barbados, while a tour of India sees you play multiple test matches at Kolkata. Disappointing.
Rating
Graphics: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10 (difficult, I say)
'Finished-product'ness: 6/10
Audio: 5/10 (only for the EA Trax)
Longevity: 8/10 est.
Value-for-money: 7/10
Pretty good product, but I look forward to exposing the bugs, now. Now we wait for BLIC.
I was able to find a hapless family member who lended me their laptop (64 MB video memory) and I was finally able to get a taste of the game. Such was my excitement whilst playing it that I did not even get the chance to take any screenshots! Okay, so here's my review broken down into many different pieces.
Batting
The first time I batted, I was 1/4 (one run for four wickets). This was the result of trying to go for early slog shots over cover, mid off and mid wicket. This is on medium difficulty. I finally settled down and started scoring through singles and what not. After playing a few ODI's and one day of a test match I found that it is very difficult to score runs, without practice. The only places I was scoring runs was in the covers (a few spanking cover drives), the mid-wicket region through front foot and back foot shots and short third man, with the intended edge down to third man. Every shot I played down the ground was fielded.
Running between the wickets is also pretty different from Cricket 2004 because the fielders move much, much faster. I lost at least 3-4 of my wickets in each innings due to run-outs. That will probably be changed after getting a proper hang of the game.
One problem that I faced was that most of my runs were being scored off misfields. I do not know if this is solely a problem with the graphic card or a bug in the game, but at least 80% of my runs came off misfields. The fielder misfielding on the boundary resulted in a 4, etc. If this is indeed a bug, it is a pretty major one. But I'm not complaining because it's the only way I could get runs!
Bowling
It is much easier and less confusing to bowl certain deliveries. It is also great to ACTUALLY see swing in the game. One brilliant delivery I bowled with McGrath pitched outside off stump and swung back in, trapping the batsman right in front of the stumps. This really adds to the realistic cricket effect and also gives you chances to trick the batsmen into getting out through your skill and such. One thing I found while bowling was that the slower ball is a definite wicket-taker. Whenever I put a slower ball of moderate length, the computer tried to slog it off the back foot, resulting in an easy catch in the circle. This is also a problem... sort of.
The special deliveries seem pretty useless to me, but that may be because I have not been able to control them properly. It seems to me that you can bowl a yorker even without getting the bowling confidence meter up--which defeats the purpose of getting a yorker unlocked in the first place. Also, I did not see special deliveries such as reverse-swing--perhaps those are unlocked when the ball is older.
Fielding
I have not tried manual fielding as of yet, but as I said, there is a misfield problem. There is also no manual appeal button that was promised by EA Sports. These two in conjunction spoil the game a bit, especially if the CPU is tonking you at 15 runs per over. The fielders move much quicker than Cricket 2004--almost uncannily so. This prevents scoring of easy runs, but also of runs in general.
CPU Intelligence
Have not played long enough matches to judge this, but the CPU really went after me when I played 10 and 20 over matches. If I had allowed the CPU to bat the whole way it would have probably scored 250 odd runs in 20 overs! It does not seem like the computer thinks before batting--even at 80/6 it is trying to slog. Perhaps its working on pacing files, like in Cricket 2004. This would be a major negative, especially if the computer, chasing 60 for victory in 10 overs, gets all out for 40, in 4 overs. I have not played it long enough to judge that properly, though.
The bowling of the computer is also much more accurate--they give almost no room on any side of the stumps. This contributes to the already existing difficulty of batting and hence makes batting a bitch unless you are a patient sort of person. The computer also bowls all 4 overs of a particular bowler in a 20 over match, just like in the previous edition. This contributes to lack of realism and poor strategizing by the opposition captain!
Improvements from Cricket 2004
Most of the previous bugs, like the run out bug, the line-up bug, the byes bug, etc. have been fixed. The computer even counts the number of boundaries correctly! Graphics have improved obviously, as has the general appearance of the game. It seems much more professional (none of those disgusting shadows under the text). The kits are also correct and the player names and numbers on the back make for a good effect. It also seems like each player has their own face (?) so patching will be depthful. It's great to see the Aussie and England team - perfect faces - but not so nice to see every other wicket keeper seem like Marvan Atapattu.
What Needs To Be Changed?
COMMENTARY! The commentary is, as usual, boring and buggy. This is now three releases that EA have gone without changing the commentary. The commentator makes all sorts of stupid mistakes. When the ball goes straight to a fielder in the outfield, Richie goes, "______ is sprinting along the boundary." Once the player misfields it, Richie goes, "Oh that's a brilliant shot from _________." The confidence meter also discharges really easily, apart from the fact that playing a perfectly-timed shot to a fielder doesn't add much (if any) to your confidence.
The speed meter while bowling is also quite fast, but okay with practice. Apart from that, I'm disappointed by the cutting out of stadiums. Only 70 MB was used on Disc 2 of this game--thats 630 MB of space they have wasted/cheated us out of. They could have easily added many more stadiums instead of trying to compete with BLIC. A World Championship played in the West Indies sees every game played in Barbados, while a tour of India sees you play multiple test matches at Kolkata. Disappointing.
Rating
Graphics: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10 (difficult, I say)
'Finished-product'ness: 6/10
Audio: 5/10 (only for the EA Trax)
Longevity: 8/10 est.
Value-for-money: 7/10
Pretty good product, but I look forward to exposing the bugs, now. Now we wait for BLIC.
