OK hired this sucker out today, took a deep breath (tried to get "anti EA" thoughts out of my head), and played a 20 over game with NZL (me) vrs Canada (comp)on normal.
Before the first ball: The good - Up to date squads, overall pretty good player likenesses, nice cut scenes. The bad - players look like they are on steroids (Vetori looks like "the rock"!), some players look odd (Shane Bond?)........
I lost the toss (which you still don't see)and Canada decided to bat on a pretty lifeless pitch.
Bowling:The good - much more fun then in cricket 2004 with good bowling rewarded with "special" deliveries. Ball seems to move around more off the pitch and appears to beat the bat more. The bad: Bowling is rea...ll..y sl......o......w. Bowlers seem to take an age to run in and regardless of the speed radar bowl at a horrible loopy pace. Ball seems to move in the opposite direction to what you are trying to move it. Ball physics are poor (takes off on unbelievable angles, especially off the pads). Same tricks for bowling out the opposition in cricket 2004 are still evident here (for more info on this read below in "Computer batting AI".
Overall bowling is an improvement on cricket 2004 (though that isn't too hard is it?)
Computer fielding AI: the good - Can't think of anything off hand. The bad - where to start!?? fielders run around like they are 100m sprinters on fire (cutting off most possible singles) and throw like the bionic man. There are far too many dropped catches and misfields. In two overs I had 4 (yes 4!) easy skied catches dropped inside the inner circle (2 conseq. balls off Vetori) and 7 catches dropped by the NZL fielders during the 20 overs. Outfielders seem to run in a big circle instead of running directly to the ball (thus conceding unnecessary boundaries). When the bowler runs to the bowlers ends wicket he stills face down the ground even though the ball has gone square of the keepers wicket.........
Computer batting AI: the good: It hits the ball occasionally. The bad: The sweet spot is still there for the left hand spinner (a slow turner just outside leg stump). Vetori bowled three batmen like this and would have bowled more but for me giving the opposition a chance to score. Bowling short pitched slow balls (by any bowler) results every time in either a wicket, play and miss, or a body blow for the batsman. If you pitch the ball short of a length just outside off stump 9 times out of ten the batsman will get caught at deep extra cover (I got four wickets in this way). Like cricket 2004 the "confidence meter" doesn't seem to apply to computer controlled players as they can sweetly time 6's off the first ball faced, and can get increases in the confidence meter for just spending time at the crease (unlike when you bat). Ball seems to sometimes warp from a good delivery to a position where the batsmen can smack it, and the batsmen sometimes starts to play a shot before warping into another shot animation (again so the ball is smacked to the boundary). Batsmen seem to only score in ones (not many) 4's and sixes, due to the bionic fielders and RIDICULOUSLY SMALL grounds. Batters have no concept of overs gone/to come, blocking balls in the last over even though they have wickets up their sleeve.
Canada scored 130 all out, but I didn't change my field at any stage and stopped using the easy dismissals method. If I hadn't done this I could have got them out easily for less then double figures.
Batting: The good: VERY DIFFICULT. The bad: VERY DIFFICULT. Catch 22: The confidence meter only goes up for the human player (unlike the computer player) when you score boundarys - however boundarys are hard to come by because without much confidence you can get no shot power to pierce the inner ring, and if you try a big shot (to go over the inner ring)it always balloons up for possible catches regardless of how well you hit it. Shots are exactly the same as cricket 2004 but seem less responsive to execute. Batsmen is frozen very quickly and the bowling circle only appears at the very last moment so positioning is a real lottery.
Batsmen when running do not slide their bats (I lost one batsman due to this even though his front foot was almost on the line - if he slid his bat he would have been easily in).
Computer bowling AI: The good: The ball eventually makes it from one end of the pitch to the other. Some "no balls" The bad: No different to cricket 2004. No variation, a tight line, and basically every 3-4 balls an over are pitched at your crease line. Unlike BLC2 no individual bowling animations. "special deliverys" have no bowling circle for computer controlled teams, so when one is activated you can have a wild swing (9 times out of ten the delivery is a yorker though) or front foot block - rendering the special ball useless.
Getting frustrated by unable to pierce the field along the ground (the players may look like wrestlers but they hit the ball early on in their innings like primary school children), and only able to very occasionally go over the top, I got all out for 30.
Overall impression
Though there have been some improvements in the bowling side of things, the computer controlled fielders are laughable (worse then cricket 2004)and the batting has been made too hard for most players (re: a chore rather then a pleasure). It is no coincidence that the people rating this game highly are predominantly the people that play 50 over a side one dayers and full test matches in the game. With that much time you can build an innings and get the confidence meter up over time (say 10-15 overs). However most normal people (those that have a life outside of gaming) want to play realistic 10/20 over a side type cricket but because the confidence meter doesn't fill quicker to reflect the shorter nature of the game you just become frustrated and bored batting. All HB studios have done is stop you timing any big shots until your meter reaches a certain level (regardless of how well you time the shot) thus taking control away from the player. The pitch conditions/timing/power of your shot/players attributes in combination with the confidence meter should dictate how well you can hit the ball from the outset of your innings. The numerous (and obvious) bugs also become unbearable (even after one game) which also ruins any possible enjoyment. The commentary is the same old rubbish (with the very odd new piece) that again talks of things unrelated with the current play ("that was off the pads" when it comes off the helmet, and "thats his first boundary" when your outfielder once again drops a sitter and concedes a single.
The game looks as rushed and unfinished as previous versions, but if watching paint dry is one of your hobbies, you have the patience of a saint, and like playing one day cricket computer games that take hours to complete one 20 over game, this may be your ticket - 4/10
Before the first ball: The good - Up to date squads, overall pretty good player likenesses, nice cut scenes. The bad - players look like they are on steroids (Vetori looks like "the rock"!), some players look odd (Shane Bond?)........
I lost the toss (which you still don't see)and Canada decided to bat on a pretty lifeless pitch.
Bowling:The good - much more fun then in cricket 2004 with good bowling rewarded with "special" deliveries. Ball seems to move around more off the pitch and appears to beat the bat more. The bad: Bowling is rea...ll..y sl......o......w. Bowlers seem to take an age to run in and regardless of the speed radar bowl at a horrible loopy pace. Ball seems to move in the opposite direction to what you are trying to move it. Ball physics are poor (takes off on unbelievable angles, especially off the pads). Same tricks for bowling out the opposition in cricket 2004 are still evident here (for more info on this read below in "Computer batting AI".
Overall bowling is an improvement on cricket 2004 (though that isn't too hard is it?)
Computer fielding AI: the good - Can't think of anything off hand. The bad - where to start!?? fielders run around like they are 100m sprinters on fire (cutting off most possible singles) and throw like the bionic man. There are far too many dropped catches and misfields. In two overs I had 4 (yes 4!) easy skied catches dropped inside the inner circle (2 conseq. balls off Vetori) and 7 catches dropped by the NZL fielders during the 20 overs. Outfielders seem to run in a big circle instead of running directly to the ball (thus conceding unnecessary boundaries). When the bowler runs to the bowlers ends wicket he stills face down the ground even though the ball has gone square of the keepers wicket.........
Computer batting AI: the good: It hits the ball occasionally. The bad: The sweet spot is still there for the left hand spinner (a slow turner just outside leg stump). Vetori bowled three batmen like this and would have bowled more but for me giving the opposition a chance to score. Bowling short pitched slow balls (by any bowler) results every time in either a wicket, play and miss, or a body blow for the batsman. If you pitch the ball short of a length just outside off stump 9 times out of ten the batsman will get caught at deep extra cover (I got four wickets in this way). Like cricket 2004 the "confidence meter" doesn't seem to apply to computer controlled players as they can sweetly time 6's off the first ball faced, and can get increases in the confidence meter for just spending time at the crease (unlike when you bat). Ball seems to sometimes warp from a good delivery to a position where the batsmen can smack it, and the batsmen sometimes starts to play a shot before warping into another shot animation (again so the ball is smacked to the boundary). Batsmen seem to only score in ones (not many) 4's and sixes, due to the bionic fielders and RIDICULOUSLY SMALL grounds. Batters have no concept of overs gone/to come, blocking balls in the last over even though they have wickets up their sleeve.
Canada scored 130 all out, but I didn't change my field at any stage and stopped using the easy dismissals method. If I hadn't done this I could have got them out easily for less then double figures.
Batting: The good: VERY DIFFICULT. The bad: VERY DIFFICULT. Catch 22: The confidence meter only goes up for the human player (unlike the computer player) when you score boundarys - however boundarys are hard to come by because without much confidence you can get no shot power to pierce the inner ring, and if you try a big shot (to go over the inner ring)it always balloons up for possible catches regardless of how well you hit it. Shots are exactly the same as cricket 2004 but seem less responsive to execute. Batsmen is frozen very quickly and the bowling circle only appears at the very last moment so positioning is a real lottery.
Batsmen when running do not slide their bats (I lost one batsman due to this even though his front foot was almost on the line - if he slid his bat he would have been easily in).
Computer bowling AI: The good: The ball eventually makes it from one end of the pitch to the other. Some "no balls" The bad: No different to cricket 2004. No variation, a tight line, and basically every 3-4 balls an over are pitched at your crease line. Unlike BLC2 no individual bowling animations. "special deliverys" have no bowling circle for computer controlled teams, so when one is activated you can have a wild swing (9 times out of ten the delivery is a yorker though) or front foot block - rendering the special ball useless.
Getting frustrated by unable to pierce the field along the ground (the players may look like wrestlers but they hit the ball early on in their innings like primary school children), and only able to very occasionally go over the top, I got all out for 30.
Overall impression
Though there have been some improvements in the bowling side of things, the computer controlled fielders are laughable (worse then cricket 2004)and the batting has been made too hard for most players (re: a chore rather then a pleasure). It is no coincidence that the people rating this game highly are predominantly the people that play 50 over a side one dayers and full test matches in the game. With that much time you can build an innings and get the confidence meter up over time (say 10-15 overs). However most normal people (those that have a life outside of gaming) want to play realistic 10/20 over a side type cricket but because the confidence meter doesn't fill quicker to reflect the shorter nature of the game you just become frustrated and bored batting. All HB studios have done is stop you timing any big shots until your meter reaches a certain level (regardless of how well you time the shot) thus taking control away from the player. The pitch conditions/timing/power of your shot/players attributes in combination with the confidence meter should dictate how well you can hit the ball from the outset of your innings. The numerous (and obvious) bugs also become unbearable (even after one game) which also ruins any possible enjoyment. The commentary is the same old rubbish (with the very odd new piece) that again talks of things unrelated with the current play ("that was off the pads" when it comes off the helmet, and "thats his first boundary" when your outfielder once again drops a sitter and concedes a single.
The game looks as rushed and unfinished as previous versions, but if watching paint dry is one of your hobbies, you have the patience of a saint, and like playing one day cricket computer games that take hours to complete one 20 over game, this may be your ticket - 4/10
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