Back in 1999 you could compare Shane Warne Cricket to any other sport game going around, including the FIFA, NHL, NBA, Golf, Madden and it stood up strongly in terms of features, graphics, gameplay, quality/lack of bugs and licenses. That's why I feel its the best game of cricket made.
DBC 14 compared to any sport game going around at the moment pales into insignificance when you look at graphics, features (the career mode is extremely shallow compared to most sporting games), AI and overall quality. Lets be honest, some of the bugs and glitches in this game reek of amateurism. Yet consumers are being asked to pay $100 for it, which is more than what they are asked to pay for superior games like NBA2k14 and FIFA 14.
Big Ant are taking full advantage of this monopolised market, (and why the hell wouldn't you - kudos to them) by grabbing the opportunity by the scruff of the neck - the world is desperate for a cricket game, particularly the sub-continent and Australia, and they are filling the void and making as much money as they possibly can doing it. They don't have the competition in the market that gives them any real incentive to prioritise quality assurance and value for money and it shows. Its smart business.
They didn't have to do anything to surpass Ashes 13. They didn't have to address the issues in the quality of their product to make it appealing to the market - it was done for them thanks to Ashes 13 self imploding. Anything would be better than that thing.
If cricket games were as popular as football and racing games, DBC 14 wouldn't see the light of day in its current form, bugs and all. That's pretty obvious. Or at least it wouldn't be $100. You say its a quality simulation of cricket, I think that for a cricket simulation it leaves a lot to be desired, that's why these threads are so long, but because its the only thing out there its all we can hold on to.
And in regards to your comments on ICC - its a management sim. It fulfils its purpose well. It has a very strong stat engine. It has stood the test of time. It has a fan base. And it is reasonably priced - the price of the game matches the quality and content. For a game made by uni students I reckon it goes ok. If DBC 14 (a game which costs five times as much) had the AI, stat engine and depth (eg: form, injuries, youth teams etc) as ICC then just imagine that!
Still, I know I sound negative - I'm grateful to have an interactive cricket game, as everyone else is around here. Im also grateful for the ongoing support by the developer. Here's hoping that the success of DBC 14 inspires some other developers to have a real crack at the market because competition in the market place is only a good thing for the consumer = increased quality and better value for money
Going to take some speed to keep up with your goalposts...
So what you're saying is that because it's not as good as other sports games out now, it's not good? I guess that chain of argument means that you're not going argue against it being a ray of hope in a lifeless market. But anyhow, let's break it down into categories against other sports games on the market.
Let's start with graphics:
- The graphics are solid, stylised for the type of game, and particularly with the replay features quite good
- Compared to other games on the same consoles it matches up quite well to be honest
- Other major game producers are still producing games solely for the same platforms and even neglecting PCs (for example FIFA World Cup 2014 which is only on the PS3 and Xbox 360)
- There are plenty of other sports games on the market, on the same hardware, that's graphics simply don't match up (i.e. games like AFL Lives, Rugby Challenges, and so forth), while the only games that really outdo it are on newer consoles
As such for those reasons I'd have to give it a pass mark there at the very worst.
Then there's features:
- The game features a long term career mode
- The game has all the various expected game modes
- It has a high degree of customisability in it's game modes
- Using FIFA as the usual example, it's career mode is actually pretty decent in comparison as well, although arguably that's because FIFA's career mode is quite frankly awful
- FIFA's does however all someone to manage a team rather than just a single player
- FIFA however lacks features that this game has, particularly in terms of customisability
- Compared to some career modes, like the one from Rugby Challenge where some players could play for multiple teams at once, this game has done very well
So there are things that could be added in the future, but for a first iteration it's actually done very well. In terms of the overall market though it should be considered a pass mark.
As for "amateurish bugs", have you ever actually played the NBA 2k series or FIFA. I remember having a half hour laughing fit at NBA 2k7 I think it was when players would dislocate their arms, then magically pop them back it to take certain passes and shots. FIFA is also hardly innocent, with recurring issues with career mode games simply corrupting and being unrecoverable. A remember years back scoring goals and them being given to the opposition as well. Nothing better than scoring the winning goal in a tournament final, only for the other team to start celebrating for some unknown reason. I'd also recommend just typing FIFA or PES bugs into youtube, particularly after the use of the Impact Engine, FIFA was full of hilarious bugs, some of them absolutely game breaking.
If we're going to talk about balance as well, spend a day on FIFA forums, the game is needing balance each and every year, they have a budget that dwarfs what BigAnt could dream of and still can't get it right.
As for price you need to consider that this is their first entry into the market, and most places are pricing it the same as the likes of FIFA 14, not more than. The World Cup edition is a bit cheaper, but it's cut down, rubbish and has little more than a Brazil coat of whitewash to justify it's existence (I am to be honest extremely disappointed with that one, a solid game, but a disappointment compared to the FIFA series as a whole).
Now you're backing away from comparing it to International Cricket Captain, good move. They've been milking that cow for too long and it needs a shake up. Compared to the other sports management games on the market it is comically poor. It has one role and performs it poorly in comparison to it's market, but I guess you'd say it would be unfair to compare it to it's football counter part, which is quite frankly a masterpiece (although even it still has it's bugs).
I like how you also mention the market for cricket games being smaller, which is the exact reason that makes it so impressive that Big Ant were brave enough to take the risks they have here, and they have paid off.
I applaud Big Ant and hope you see the numerous flaws in the hypocritical comparisons your making, which in and of themselves don't seem fair compared to other series' out currently.
and would have been the majority that would have tested a beta out if it had been available, i think that should be the case with the next iteration with PC getting early release as its easy to run a beta program through PC platform..
