angad
Chairman of Consent
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2004
- Online Cricket Games Owned
-
I know its kinda late for a review, but i feel after playing the game thoroughly for a week i am in a position to give a fair review to the game.
I must admit, when i first got the game, i was playing it like Cricket 2004 and got really frustrated as i couldnt score more than 30-40 runs. Infact I had made posts on this forum on how difficult the batting is and that this game is crap etc etc. But I must admit, the more i play the game the more am i liking it. It seems to be like Real Cricket now. Bowling is fun, Batting is challenging and realistic.
Anyways, more in the review:
Graphics: Graphics are awesome. Most of the players (From NZL, AUS, ENG and SAF) look exactly like themselves. The stadium graphics are also amazing. However, the players look too bulky. Some of them actually look like Wrestlers. This is one of the major drawbacks of this game. Cricket 2004 had different heights, physique etc for different players, so why couldnt they adopt the same for this game? Some of the players really look aweful (Look at Sachin, Look at Chaminda Vaas). Apart from this, when the stump cam is used to show a replay, the keeper seems to jump in front of the camera and loks like a ghost. I mean, his body seems to have vanished, only his hair is visible and that too looks like a player model from Cricket 2002. Overall, I would give the graphics a 7, which is Good but more work required in certain areas.
Gameplay: This, As all of you would agree with me, makes or breaks a game and thus i would pay more attention to this aspect of the game. Initially when I Played this game, i was very impressed with the new bowling gameplay introduced in this game. Bowling was indeed a lot of fun. However it was the batting which i didnt like as i found it too hard with the fielders moving like super sonic jets. All the shots seem to go in one direction only. However, the more and more i Play this game the more and more am i enjoying this game. Bowling is still as much fun and batting seems to be so much realistic and thus making it so much fun as well. The confidence meter has been applied very well in this game. As you increase in confidence as a batsman, the shots go in more directions than one, the shots are hit with more power with correct timing, and 'IF You Keep On Concentrating Hard' you can end up with big big (Realistic) total. No more can you hit 800 runs off 50 overs. Even 300 seems to be a big total in a 50 Over game. Sounds Realistic? Wait there is more to go. At no point can you relax while batting. Stop concentrating and you end up losing 3-4 wickets due to wrong shot selection and timing. This is what i liked the most. No matter how good you are at playing the game, You could be cruising at 100-0 when suddenly you lose concentration, play some rash shots and end up at 105-5. This is what makes the game so exciting and challenging and REALISTIC!!
However, I would have liked it if in easy mode we were allowed to hit sixes almost at will (Like batting in Cricket 2004). That would have made the game more exciting as even the average gamers (Who like to play slam and bang cricket from the first ball itself) could have enjoyed the game more. Even hardcore gamers would have liked the option of such a Easy Mode just for the change.
Anyways, Finally to the Fieldng. Its correct the fielders do move like s***. But as you kepp playihng the game more and more, it doesnt bother you as much. Infact it adds to making batting more challenging and realistic, as you can hit 6's and 4's at will. Once the batsman's confidence is high, the gaps can be found more frequently and the ball easliy beats the fielders. Thus the more you find the gaps the more you hit the boundaries, you realise that the fielders movement speed is not so bad. However, i deo not like the fact that the fielders, including the keeper, mis-field a stationary ball. I mean what the hell. The fielder runs to pick the stationary ball, can not pick it at the first go, the commentator says its a mis-field. Such silly things take away the realism of the game.
Over all i would give the gameplay a 6.5, Which is quite good but a lot of improvement required in many areas.
Sound: The new Juke Box (Trax thing) seems to be a nice addition. However, its the on-field sound that i care more about. Yes, i mean the commentary. The commentary has been updated but thats it. Yes, quite a few lines have been added but why couldnt they revamp the whole commentary. I mean we have been listening to the same commentary for more than 3 years now and really you feel like switching it off all the time. A person playing the EA series for the first time might like it but for us regular gamers, its a major put-off. I would give it a 3 (That is Very Poor and needs a ' Major ' Overhaul), that too due to the addition of the Sound Trax else i would have given it a 1.
Over-all Presentation: The over-all presentation seems to be quite nice and much better as compared to the previous games. The menus, Menu Music, Cut-Scenes, Animations etc all have been done beautifully. Though there are a few glitches here and there, i would give it a 8, which is very good and can be made better.
Life-Span: I would say that this game is quite addicting and has a huge learning curve (& Life Span). Everyday i seem to be learning something new. I dont think it would be easy to master this game to an extent that one could go slam-bang from the first ball to the last ball and end up scoring a huge total. I think if you stop concentarting you will still end up losing from a winning position thus making it more and more enjoyable and relistic. I would give it a 9, which is very very good.
So there it is:
Graphics: 7
Gameplay: 6.5
Sound: 3
Over-All Presentation: 8
Life-Span: 9
Overall: 6.7
I must admit, when i first got the game, i was playing it like Cricket 2004 and got really frustrated as i couldnt score more than 30-40 runs. Infact I had made posts on this forum on how difficult the batting is and that this game is crap etc etc. But I must admit, the more i play the game the more am i liking it. It seems to be like Real Cricket now. Bowling is fun, Batting is challenging and realistic.
Anyways, more in the review:
Graphics: Graphics are awesome. Most of the players (From NZL, AUS, ENG and SAF) look exactly like themselves. The stadium graphics are also amazing. However, the players look too bulky. Some of them actually look like Wrestlers. This is one of the major drawbacks of this game. Cricket 2004 had different heights, physique etc for different players, so why couldnt they adopt the same for this game? Some of the players really look aweful (Look at Sachin, Look at Chaminda Vaas). Apart from this, when the stump cam is used to show a replay, the keeper seems to jump in front of the camera and loks like a ghost. I mean, his body seems to have vanished, only his hair is visible and that too looks like a player model from Cricket 2002. Overall, I would give the graphics a 7, which is Good but more work required in certain areas.
Gameplay: This, As all of you would agree with me, makes or breaks a game and thus i would pay more attention to this aspect of the game. Initially when I Played this game, i was very impressed with the new bowling gameplay introduced in this game. Bowling was indeed a lot of fun. However it was the batting which i didnt like as i found it too hard with the fielders moving like super sonic jets. All the shots seem to go in one direction only. However, the more and more i Play this game the more and more am i enjoying this game. Bowling is still as much fun and batting seems to be so much realistic and thus making it so much fun as well. The confidence meter has been applied very well in this game. As you increase in confidence as a batsman, the shots go in more directions than one, the shots are hit with more power with correct timing, and 'IF You Keep On Concentrating Hard' you can end up with big big (Realistic) total. No more can you hit 800 runs off 50 overs. Even 300 seems to be a big total in a 50 Over game. Sounds Realistic? Wait there is more to go. At no point can you relax while batting. Stop concentrating and you end up losing 3-4 wickets due to wrong shot selection and timing. This is what i liked the most. No matter how good you are at playing the game, You could be cruising at 100-0 when suddenly you lose concentration, play some rash shots and end up at 105-5. This is what makes the game so exciting and challenging and REALISTIC!!
However, I would have liked it if in easy mode we were allowed to hit sixes almost at will (Like batting in Cricket 2004). That would have made the game more exciting as even the average gamers (Who like to play slam and bang cricket from the first ball itself) could have enjoyed the game more. Even hardcore gamers would have liked the option of such a Easy Mode just for the change.
Anyways, Finally to the Fieldng. Its correct the fielders do move like s***. But as you kepp playihng the game more and more, it doesnt bother you as much. Infact it adds to making batting more challenging and realistic, as you can hit 6's and 4's at will. Once the batsman's confidence is high, the gaps can be found more frequently and the ball easliy beats the fielders. Thus the more you find the gaps the more you hit the boundaries, you realise that the fielders movement speed is not so bad. However, i deo not like the fact that the fielders, including the keeper, mis-field a stationary ball. I mean what the hell. The fielder runs to pick the stationary ball, can not pick it at the first go, the commentator says its a mis-field. Such silly things take away the realism of the game.
Over all i would give the gameplay a 6.5, Which is quite good but a lot of improvement required in many areas.
Sound: The new Juke Box (Trax thing) seems to be a nice addition. However, its the on-field sound that i care more about. Yes, i mean the commentary. The commentary has been updated but thats it. Yes, quite a few lines have been added but why couldnt they revamp the whole commentary. I mean we have been listening to the same commentary for more than 3 years now and really you feel like switching it off all the time. A person playing the EA series for the first time might like it but for us regular gamers, its a major put-off. I would give it a 3 (That is Very Poor and needs a ' Major ' Overhaul), that too due to the addition of the Sound Trax else i would have given it a 1.
Over-all Presentation: The over-all presentation seems to be quite nice and much better as compared to the previous games. The menus, Menu Music, Cut-Scenes, Animations etc all have been done beautifully. Though there are a few glitches here and there, i would give it a 8, which is very good and can be made better.
Life-Span: I would say that this game is quite addicting and has a huge learning curve (& Life Span). Everyday i seem to be learning something new. I dont think it would be easy to master this game to an extent that one could go slam-bang from the first ball to the last ball and end up scoring a huge total. I think if you stop concentarting you will still end up losing from a winning position thus making it more and more enjoyable and relistic. I would give it a 9, which is very very good.
So there it is:
Graphics: 7
Gameplay: 6.5
Sound: 3
Over-All Presentation: 8
Life-Span: 9
Overall: 6.7
