Review: My DBC 14 review

[aditya123]

Background:
4 years and a bit is the time since the last cricket game for the consoles was launched. However, the wait for a good cricket game that captures the nitty gritties of the sport has been on for much longer that that. The last 12 months promised to change and give cricket gamers 'all that and more'! With two franchises lined up for release, one with all the licenses (Ashes Cricket 13) and the other with all the correct intentions (DBC 14), cricket gamers looked ahead to two titles which would possibly enrich the genre similar to FIFA and PES. However, the community got a taste of some old medicine (read EA) when Ashes 13 released what was inarguably the lowest point in cricket gaming history (not very glorious to say the least). This left all the hopes pinned onto the title which not only carried the hopes of the cricket gaming community but also the weight of the legend on the box cover. Thus the anticipation for the game was unlike anything ever witnessed for cricket games. Does it live up to the hype? It is in this light that I review this game.

Capturing the nuances of cricket
Cricket has traditionally been a notoriously difficult sport to simulate in a video game. Unlike the raw adrenaline rush of football, basketball or the restricted degrees of freedom in baseball which have been efficiently captured in sports video games, cricket has tactical layers far greater than any other sport. Older titles have thus ended up being a dumbed down version of the actual sport without feeling like it. How does one capture the feeling of the openers going out to bat after bowling out the opposition with 5 overs left in the day? How does one effectively simulate the joy of trapping a batsman LBW after setting him up over a course of many deliveries? This is where cricket games of the past have lost the plot. The narrative of cricket is`nt just a ball by ball event but a fluid set of events.
This is where DBC 14 immediately sets itself apart from the rest. I now review how the intricacies of batting and bowling have been captured by the game.

Batting:
Batting in previous games was just a matter of deciding the stroke to play once one knew where the pitching reticule was positioned. In short, it hardly involved any sense of involvement. DBC 14, in a brave new attempt tries to overhaul the system completely. With the analogue sticks controlling a) the feet positioning and b) stroke direction and the triggers controlling the a) intent of the stroke, attacking or defensive or b) the nature of the stroke, one has to put a lot of thought into each stroke. The level of involvement goes up a notch due to the absence of a reticule that points out the pitch of the ball before hand. The only assistance comes in the form of a 'halo' around the ball which indicates the line and length of the delivery, allowing you just enough time to decide your trigger movements and choice of stroke! The response times vary depending upon bowler to bowler. If you are a diehard cricket tragic like me, you would appreciate how elegantly this depicts the actual event of watching the ball closely and choosing the stroke to be played! Even in the video game version of batting (DBC 14), this requires immense powers of concentration and tests your reflexes enough to leave you stoked after a perfectly timed square cut!

Once you play this, you would never want to get back to the 'classic' reticule based batting controls ever again! Just for the level of challenge and the involvement it brings in, I rate the batting system in DBC 8/10. The 2 points lost were primarily due to the inability to place defensive shots (gentle nudges) to pick of singles.

Bowling:
As with batting, in fact even worse, the bowling had absolutely no involvement of the player in past cricket games. One could just poke the reticule to some part of the pitch and choose the type of delivery and the canned animations would do the rest. Unlike in real cricket, bowling that perfect yorker or a boomerang inswinger was just a matter of some muscle memory.

Like the overhaul in batting controls, the bowling controls in DBC are also nothing short of revolutionary. The analogue stick dominant controls again ensure that one cannot bowl the same deliveries again and again unless you are really good at it, just like in real cricket. Also, the slightest mistake and the deliveries are out there to be punished. For the first time in a cricket game, bowling has a cerebral feel to it. Spin and pace bowling feel really different as they are supposed to be! One can even control the extent of tweak you give to the ball. Truly revolutionary!
Rating: 9/10.

Fielding:
Fielding in DBC 14 is fun yet it is the most annoying aspect of the game. The fielders can be superhuman and tend to be more accurate than desired. Despite of this fact, the manual fielding offers you the control of the game like never before meaning you can no longer drop your guard once the ball is bowled. Catching and fielding in general is very intuitive and can be enjoyable if the superhuman fielders are fixed in a patch.
Rating:6.5/10

Physics
Previous games of the genre were frustrating due to the fact that the number of outcomes to any delivery was determined by canned animations. Unlike their other sporting cousins, cricket games have never had any 'realistic' physics to boast of. Yet again, DBC 14 manages to lay a solid platform in terms of game physics. No two deliveries feel exactly the same anymore. The trajectory of the ball, the pace of the delivery, the revolutions, the pitch conditions and even the player attributes (height!) play a vital role in determining the outcome of each delivery. This means that for the first time (again) in the history of cricket games, you even have thin edges to the keeper and the ball lobbing of the pad onto the stumps! I got David Warner to edge one to Dhoni against an off spinner and instantly jumped off my seat! Finally, here was a game that felt like cricket! The bat and ball physics for most part have been superbly implemented.

Some areas where the game does lag behind is in collision detection. The bowlers can sometimes pass through the stumps or even the umpires and you do see the occasionally sliding fielders on the surface. Although they do not hinder the gameplay, they can disrupt an otherwise aesthetically pleasing game.

Animations, Graphics and Player Models
Animations can ruin or enhance any gaming experience. While graphically DBC14 does look a little jaded even compared to other last-gen titles, overall they hold their own, especially coupled with some really fine gameplay. The stadia although limited look really pleasing. Player models for most part look crisp, especially some of the replays from the stump cam really look stunning. Lighting is something the game has really nailed, especially considering the limited budget. You can distinctly notice the difference in lighting during the morning, afternoon or evening sessions during a test match. The presentation is clean and looks like any modern TV broadcast. However there are some framerate issues that crop up from time to time coupled with jagged lines. The player shot animations are mostly smooth and generally hold their own even during slow motion replays. However, owing to the fact that much of the bowling and batting animations heavily depend on user input, they can sometimes lead to funny looking animations. Limited batting and bowling styles could be something the developers could consider adding to the next iteration if this one is well received.

Overall the graphics and animation get their job done without being extraordinarily good. The graphics and animations are definitely not detrimental to the overall gaming experience. Rating: 6.8/10

Sounds:
In the limited time that I played the game, commentary although uninspiring was generally spot on. Understandably, due to limited resources, this is one area where the game has compromised. Crowd sounds and ambient noises are however very good. There are phases in the game, especially when a bowler is on a roll, that the crowd chanting goes up adding to the tension in the air. I had a couple of spells yesterday when I took two wickets in two overs and the crowd seemed charged up. Same happened when I came out to bat and lost both openers cheaply. Crowd noises are generally well recreated in the game. Commentary can get repetitive but that is something which I can live with. No sports game except some by 2K and the FIFA series have had value additions coming from commentary.


Game Modes
One thing this game surely has is a variety of game modes and refreshingly so. From full length tours to a one off T20 international to even IPL-style tournaments, this game has it all. My personal favorite is the ability to build your own tour comprising of test matches and ODIs with warm up matches interspersed. There is enough to ensure that this game has a long shelf life. Customization is something that this game has perfected. For a community starved of a decent title, this game even allows you to build your own umpires! Hats off to the developers for having put so much thought into the game.

Summary
Overall, this game has laid a solid foundation and has achieved more than any of us had hoped for. The team at BigAnt have achieved what no cricket game developer had ever done before, build an engine which accurately captures the mechanics and emotions of cricket. Its a stellar accomplishment by developers who are rank underdogs in sports gaming world in terms of resources. What the team seems to have that no other cricket game developer of the past (big names like EA or Codemasters) had is an unbridled love for the sport! How else could someone think of those little things like manual appealing, DRS or for that matter the punch of the gloves when the openers walk into bat! For true lovers of the sport who like a challenge, DBC 14 is a 'must-buy' title. This is definitely Cricket like we have always wanted to see!

Overall Score:
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Graphics and Animation: 6.8/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Longevity: 9/10

 

[Terry Alderman]

Interesting views on the game compared to previous games. 8/10 for batting and 9/10 for bowling. Those stats are perfectly acceptable to me. Can't wait to start playing this game.

 

[Rhone]

I asked in another thread if it was possible to execute defensive nudges/prods for quick singles and I was told that it was possible if you 'half-pressed the defensive shot button'.

Maybe try this to get your batting score up to 10/10?

 

[fanirama]

actually EA made fantastic cricket games. Each iteration really evolved into more enjoyable gaming for it's time.

ea cricket 07 was a very good game imo.
IC 2010 is another great game as well.

 

[zombieian]

I asked in another thread if it was possible to execute defensive nudges/prods for quick singles and I was told that it was possible if you 'half-pressed the defensive shot button'.

Maybe try this to get your batting score up to 10/10?

Without actually having played the game, I have spent some time in the nets.
I think the use of the RS for powering and directing the shot might be a good idea. So a small nudge into a gap would involve a small deflection of the RS rather than it being a defensive shot. Bigger shots would involve a greater or faster deflection of the RS. Of course, shot modifier buttons could also be used for aerial and other types of shot.

 

[grkrama]

think the use of the RS for powering and directing the shot might be a good idea. So a small nudge into a gap would involve a small deflection of the RS rather than it being a defensive shot. Bigger shots would involve a greater or faster deflection of the RS. Of course, shot modifier buttons could also be used for aerial and other types of shot.

you have already talked about this, and it went for a while i guess.
it will be very very difficult to control shots fully with RS, this has been tried un successfully in MLB2k11, you have little control over the exact amount to push the stick with thumb and would end up not being to play what you want completely.

 

[zimrahil]

actually EA made fantastic cricket games. Each iteration really evolved into more enjoyable gaming for it's time.

ea cricket 07 was a very good game imo.

Not for me they didn't. Their games needed extensive modding/patching from users before they became even remotely acceptable experiences

Bugs/issues from one iteration were carried through to the next, it was only because they had so little competition I put up with them

 

[zombieian]

you have already talked about this, and it went for a while i guess.
it will be very very difficult to control shots fully with RS, this has been tried un successfully in MLB2k11, you have little control over the exact amount to push the stick with thumb and would end up not being to play what you want completely.

I have, but I still think it would be possible to use this method. I find it difficult to accurately depress the triggers for varying degrees of shot modification.

 

[Biggs]

@zimrahil gets it. C07 is only considered "Good" because of largely how this community has embraced it. Those of us who brought it "out of the box" seven years ago were left disappointed, it's only got better because of after-market changes and now resembles very little how the original game was released.

That being said, you can't compare DBC14 with C07 because they're 7 years apart and completely different beasts and a whole generation apart. It's like comparing Firefox with Netscape Navigator.

 

[grkrama]

has fonz got the game any chance of having his review

 

[nightprowler10]

Not for me they didn't. Their games needed extensive modding/patching from users before they became even remotely acceptable experiences

Bugs/issues from one iteration were carried through to the next, it was only because they had so little competition I put up with them

Yeah I think I skipped Cricket 07 altogether after I read about the same issues resurfacing from Cricket 05. I think I spent the most amount of time on Cricket 04 of any other game in memory and that was all thanks to PC as well. I remember some of the gameplay patches going around here were absolutely incredible.

 

[aditya123]

Yeah I think I skipped Cricket 07 altogether after I read about the same issues resurfacing from Cricket 05. I think I spent the most amount of time on Cricket 04 of any other game in memory and that was all thanks to PC as well. I remember some of the gameplay patches going around here were absolutely incredible.

Yeah, I remember that as well. Tutsi used to come up with some incredible gameplay patches. Cricket 04, for me was far ahead of Cricket 07 in terms of gameplay depth. It had more features than Cricket 07 and 05 and one would wonder why they regressed so much. C04 had more stadia, different player models, genuine edges unlike C05 and C07 where everyone was a clone of each other with different faces. There seemed to be a lot more genuineness to C04 than its sequels.

 

[nightprowler10]

Yeah, I remember that as well. Tutsi used to come up with some incredible gameplay patches. Cricket 04, for me was far ahead of Cricket 07 in terms of gameplay depth. It had more features than Cricket 07 and 05 and one would wonder why they regressed so much. C04 had more stadia, different player models, genuine edges unlike C05 and C07 where everyone was a clone of each other with different faces. There seemed to be a lot more genuineness to C04 than its sequels.

Yes! Tutsi's patches were awesome (actually made Tests playable) and Sam's breakthroughs saved the game. You're absolutely spot on with your assessment. Cricket 04 had a lot of depth to be explored by the community here on top of the fact that the players looked like actual cricketers and not rugby players (ex: the two sequels).

 

[Guybrush Threep]

Thought I'd put this in here in case anyone is after any other opinions. This is my review from Metacritic that I had to cut fairly short due to the character limit:

The best cricket game to date, without question. But just a few tweaks keeps it from being great.

This is a game for those who take cricket seriously, that want to spend time practicing the perfect back-foot hook shot or 150 km/h out-swing delivery. If you are prepared to be patient and learn the game you will be rewarded.

The attention to detail is everywhere - you can shine the ball, alter the position across the crease from where you bowl the ball, bowl swinging deliveries, cutters, seam, slower-balls and the game even does a good job of simulating the drift a spinner gets before the spinning ball pitches. In fact there are so many nuances to the game that recommending anyone start playing it on anything above "Amateur" difficulty is like asking a baby to get drunk and ride a unicycle. But once you practice, and practice some more you will start to learn the game and it's controls and that is when you can really start to enjoy and appreciate the game.

The difference (and frustration... and love) in this game compared to those before is in the controls. In batting you use both analogue sticks go play the ball. One for moving your feet, the other for choosing your shot. Sounds simple right?, but now understand that there are no magic circles on the pitch giving you a heads-up where the ball will land. You must do this in the split second it takes the ball to get from the bowlers hand to a few meters down the pitch. Now throw in up to 6 different modifiers for leaving the ball, playing defensive shots, aggressive shots and so on and you start to see where the difficulty lies.

Bowling is a little more forgiving by nature, as if you make a mistake you turn your attention to the next ball instead of the walk back to the pavilion. Bowling is represented again using the analogue sticks, with the difficulty for a fast bowler lying in timing the initial delivery stride jump so as not to bowl a "no-ball" and then the aiming and trajectory of the ball is determined by the accuracy and timing when flicking the analogue stick up. This again requires practice to get right but is very satisfying when you do. Spin bowling substitutes the timing of the delivery stride jump for spinning the left analogue stick to spin the ball.

So batting and bowling controls are well done. Bowling in particular is almost perfect - although bowlers seem to be able to bowl too many varieties well, when in real life just being able to bowl an out-swing delivery on demand at 145+ km/h would be devastating, most bowlers are adept at bowling seam, in/out swing and cutters. There is also a fatigue issue where bowlers will tire and bowl 15 or 20 km/h slower after only a few overs. Bowling does feel like something you are in complete control of though, and can learn the art over time.

Batting is a little more unforgiving. Because of the reaction time required to accurately select the correct shot and time the ball you will need a lot of practice, and even then the task of playing a 140+ km/h ball properly is more an exercise in guesstimation than playing the ball on its merits. To even think about using the correct shot modifier during a ball's flight is simply too much to ask, with most shot modifiers needing to be chosen before the ball is delivered. Batting is great when you get it right, but I feel there is just a little too much asked of the player to play it as should be intended.

Fielding is relatively straight forward - run, slide, tap and catching the ball are all in there. Although I will mention the long waits between when the keeper or fielder at the bowlers stumps collecting the ball from an incoming throw and then hitting the stumps.

The AI is something which can make or break any sports game, and with cricket - and all it's roles and nuances - it is especially true. This is something that passes, but that probably needs the most work in DBC. Bowlers have a super-natural ability to stop balls hit back at them with full force, fielders belong in the Seoul Olympics they run so fast and batsman slogging me over mid-on for six a couple of times in the first over of a test-match all make an appearance.

But those sorts of things can be forgiven, however there are two over-sights that are far more serious departures from the immersion the rest of the game offers. AI bowlers bowl on a middle to leg stump line more often than not which makes you wonder if the AI was coached by a dodge-ball champion. While you are bowling, edges, nicks, lbw and bowled just don't seem to happen nearly often enough compared to run-outs and being caught from a slog. In fact you never really feel like the AI batsman are having difficulty with the perfect delivery hitting the top of off. Tail-enders seem to have no trouble in smashing 150+km/h in-swinging yorkers out of the way. Bowling usually boils down to waiting for AI batsman to hit a catch than actually bowling them out with destructive deliveries, which in turn takes some of the excitement and impetus away from bowling good deliveries.

So the foundations of DBC14 are good. With a little more assistance when batting, ironing out some bugs, and some more realistic AI batting and bowling this game could contend with some of the very best sports games available.