MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
Thanks. I guarantee you it's miles better than EA Cricket 07.
Review An indepth, honest review of the PC version. (Warning, this is long. Very long!)
- Thread starter MasterBlaster76
- Start date
Thanks. I guarantee you it's miles better than EA Cricket 07.
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
Yes, I have been running it under Win 7 (where my wireless adapter refuses to work), that's why I didn't comment about online play.
That is an absolutely fantastic review. Spot on in my opinion 
There is so much to improve on, if they take all of the advice going around in these forums then they could make a superb game. I particularly agree with the animation such as bowling wickets, they could add things like the wooden stumps breaking/splittin etc. Also, you should be able to save replays of your best bowls (obviously those which take wickets). Also i think sometimes you can bowl fantastically for a long period of time and take no wickets which is unrealistic, the bowling end of the game is good enough, but could still do with a lot of work to really make it great (i agree the yellow bar for spinners is too small, results in too many no balls - also there are two many no balls in general in the game, not just spinners) Tutorial is pretty good and you can learn a lot from it, particularly if you're like me and cricket is not your primary sport, or secondary haha If they really want to get the most out of this market they need to get a patch out quick whilst the ashes is still in everyones mind, the commentary could do with some work though, having silly conversations when you're running up to bowl (when in real life they're silent) and repeating the same thing 5x in as many overs is ridiculous and tedious/dull. I personally think they should work on this and release a new game which includes the ashes aswell as other series/tournaments etc in the Cricket calendar (i.e. Cricket World Cup or (ICC? Is that correct). The graphics are fairly good some animation could be improved as i mentioned earlier and the body shapes of different key players need more definition, they all look the same, all a bit block-shaped and the bowling animation is a bit sort of.. blocky.. if you know what i mean, not smooth (in terms of the arms moving etc.) Also it pisses me off how when fielding in real life you see the fielders dive to prevent the ball reaching the boundaries but in this game they're happy to let it go!
Just my 2 pence.
There is so much to improve on, if they take all of the advice going around in these forums then they could make a superb game. I particularly agree with the animation such as bowling wickets, they could add things like the wooden stumps breaking/splittin etc. Also, you should be able to save replays of your best bowls (obviously those which take wickets). Also i think sometimes you can bowl fantastically for a long period of time and take no wickets which is unrealistic, the bowling end of the game is good enough, but could still do with a lot of work to really make it great (i agree the yellow bar for spinners is too small, results in too many no balls - also there are two many no balls in general in the game, not just spinners) Tutorial is pretty good and you can learn a lot from it, particularly if you're like me and cricket is not your primary sport, or secondary haha If they really want to get the most out of this market they need to get a patch out quick whilst the ashes is still in everyones mind, the commentary could do with some work though, having silly conversations when you're running up to bowl (when in real life they're silent) and repeating the same thing 5x in as many overs is ridiculous and tedious/dull. I personally think they should work on this and release a new game which includes the ashes aswell as other series/tournaments etc in the Cricket calendar (i.e. Cricket World Cup or (ICC? Is that correct). The graphics are fairly good some animation could be improved as i mentioned earlier and the body shapes of different key players need more definition, they all look the same, all a bit block-shaped and the bowling animation is a bit sort of.. blocky.. if you know what i mean, not smooth (in terms of the arms moving etc.) Also it pisses me off how when fielding in real life you see the fielders dive to prevent the ball reaching the boundaries but in this game they're happy to let it go!
Just my 2 pence.
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
The problem is, the Ashes are now over! Everyone will want to play ODI series now (not just disconnected ODI matches), but can we do that? No.
I would urge the devs to include a custom tournament editor in the patch, otherwise we're all going to lose interest until the SA tour (or whenever anyone else's next test tour starts).
I would urge the devs to include a custom tournament editor in the patch, otherwise we're all going to lose interest until the SA tour (or whenever anyone else's next test tour starts).
locherbread
School Cricketer
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2009
- Online Cricket Games Owned
A fantastic and well written review, I to believe with some tweaking to the game mechanics and some extra content (more teams like Scotland, Netherlands, Canada etc) different competitions like ICC and expanded ODI series this game could be high 80's and fantastic, at the moment it's just adequate enough for my Cricketing needs 
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
Gracias, merci, grazie and thank you! :laugh
Hey man, great review. You said, it was very very long, gimmie a break; a review that interesting for ardent cricket lovers can never feel long and tedious. You are absolutely spot on about all the issues that are plaguing what promises to be a good beginning for the genre. For most of them, we have patch work going on, however the longevity of the game as you very well pointed out, sucks big time. I am from India, so ideally Ashes should not be bigger than an India Pakistan or India Australia aka Border Gavaskar trophy, however I was pleasantly surprised with the kind of excitement I had when I played those games. However, what the hack I am gonna do once I am done with those five test matches, nothing to really speak of. Can,t believe that they have dropped the tournaments for World Cup and Champions Trophy(the knockout cup) which were present in BLC 07. Why the hack, they can't go for a tour system that EA employs, no county games either!!! What in the world are we supposed to achieve with all the unlocked stadia if we can't tour the cricketing nations that posses them. Patch works can only improve already existing features but can't generate the same. I don't think that is going to happen. Codies and Transmission, if you are reading this, kudos for making the sim this attractive and awesome, however it still leaves a lot to be desired.
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
Thank you! If you haven't tried it yet, may I direct you to the Open beta 1 of the forthcoming patch (you can't miss it)? This review was written before said patch, so many of the issues discussed here are fixed, such as edges.
It's a shame that the game does fall down so badly when it comes to content, but it is a superb foundation now for the rest of the series.
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
Update for my score after Beta 2 - 85%.
Cricketdude
Chairman of Selectors
85% is too high. Is that 85% for a cricket game or 85%? Games such as FIFA, PES, COD get those sort of scores. Too high, even if the patch is good.
Are you going to expand on that? Why is it now 85%. Why such a dramatic boost? Has the game changed that much?
MasterBlaster76
ICC Chairman
Yes.
AI now bat more realistically - the highest RPO I've had in a test was 5.
Tests actually look like they could go the distance now.
Spinners now work properly - and don't spin the ball square like in Beta 1.
Edges now work properly.
Bowler's stamina works properly.
There are many more LBW/bowled wickets and not just with the batsman leaving the ball.
The AI runout bug is dead!
To sum up, it's now the best cricket game around - the only areas it really falls down in are sound and content.
Enough for you?
MasterBlaster76 added 1 Minutes and 19 Seconds later...
I don't think it's too high at all, not when you consider how difficult it is to convert cricket, with all it's subtleties, to the videogame format. Have you played the game with Beta 2 yet?
Edit: Revised it to 82% - there are still some things to be sorted out, maybe for the final patch.
Last edited:
