zimrahil
Retired Administrator
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2001
- Location
- Birmingham, England
- Online Cricket Games Owned
-
- Don Bradman Cricket 14 - Xbox 360
- Don Bradman Cricket 14 - Steam PC
Planetcricket has received a 95% complete review copy of BLIC and we would like to share our thoughts with our members prior to the full release version this week. Bear in mind this is primarily a game play review
Upon loading the game went straight away into a 50 over friendly, normal wicket, variable conditions between England (me) and India on the HARD level
England won the toss and elected to bowl -
Bowling
First thing I noticed that the CPU didn't leave a single delivery no matter how good a delivery (or how wide it was)
India was about 121-1 after 27 overs. Thought this was good but took regular wickets and suddenly they were 133-4. It appeared no account of the match situation was used and the CPU continued to hit out and soon India was 151-6. Two more aggressive shots made it 152-8. Up to this point 2 catches were in the slip cordon, one bowled and 5 catches in the outfield (all to big hitting shots)
The CPU still refused to leave deliveries alone and 2 more rash shots meant I bowled India out on my first ever attempt at the game on HARD for 159 off 40 overs.
It was observed that ALL catches in the infield are taken at ankle height. Only outfield catches has a chance of being taken above the waist.
The starting 2 commentators are used throughout the match
You still get the non-run to 3rd man/fine leg bug (i.e. The CPU hits the ball direct to 3rd man / fine leg, but as ball travels so fast the CPU turns down what would be in real life an easy single).
Ball in the 40th over was still swing/seaming as much as when new.
CPU will hit the ball into gaps for easy single in infield but will refuse the run
Still has bowling speed issue. I.e. the calibration is such that when stopping marker at bottom of meter, its still 40-50mph slower than stopping marker at top of meter
Still has bug where if let bowling marker reach the top of the meter, its not called as a no ball
No choice of batting / fielding camera angles
No manhattans, worm graphs etc. In fact no statistical graphs whatsoever.
Cannot call up Hawkeye on demand - only when program decides
Cannot pause game and view batsman stats to see things like how many balls faced, or how many 4's or 6's etc
Ball travels across outfield still too fast meaning even taking what would in real life be an easy single, can become risky
Pace of game a bit fast for me. Don't like the action cutting back to the bowler as soon as ball reaches WK hands. Would like the option to have some cut scenes after each delivery but with the ability to skip the cut scenes at any point if desired. Skipping the cut scenes would mean the game plays like it does now ? fast!
Variable weather conditions are good - went from sunny to overcast to sunny again and it did seem to have an effect on amount of swing that was available
Many Default fields are in my opinion unrealistic. Too easy to score runs with many of them with no mid on /off, etc
Spinners use same default fields as fast bowlers which looks unrealistic with 3 slips etc sometimes selected
Fields against each batsman not stored or saved so have to change fields each time change of batsman etc. Would be far better to store for each bowler the field the human selects against each batsman. Would really speed up the game in a positive fashion
Fielders still run around ball in outfield in circles
Batting in ODI (HARD level)
Well the good news is that if you go for it from the off, expect a lot of edges and playing and missing.
Doesn?t appear to be enough directional variation in strokes. Lost count of the number of cover drives I did not time correctly that went ALWAYS to the right of the cover fielder for him to move across and field the ball in the same place
Also well timed cover drives, mid wicket shots, and leg glances etc all appear (to me at least) to go in same direction each time
I noticed that when CPU had full bowling confidence, even scoring a 2 with a cover drive didn't diminish its confidence on occasion? However, when you bowl, any scoring shot guarantees you are not at full confidence next delivery. This might be intentional on behalf of the developer to even things up a bit?
I found it too easy on hard to score with a tail ender if you put your mind to it. Was in trouble in one match with 8 down, so played sensibly with Harmison (batting at 10) and easily scored 19 with little effort. The good timing markers (the black ones) next to the batsman confidence meter, need to be closer together for tail enders than for recognised batsman. This simple change would ensure it would be harder for tail enders to time the ball correctly. However it still wouldn?t be impossible to smack balls for 4, but would be realistically harder.
No stumping 'appear' to be in the game. Played many attacking and defensive style shots to spinners but got no stumpings. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean there are no stumpings, its just that I haven't seen any yet
Have to admit I really need full explanation as to what strokes you can be expected to play when pressing one of the 8 directions on the game pad, as at the moment I am pressing a direction with no real confidence as to what shot is going to be played
Test matches
Started about 6 tests now and on each occasion you will find when the AI is batting, they never EVER leave a delivery. I tried bowling wide of off and leg, and always an attempt at a shot is made, sometimes an attacking shot, and sometimes a ridiculous looking defensive shot to delivery heading towards 1st slip (bearing in mind first few overs on first morning of a test)
Also good balls outside off are never left, always an attempt at a shot, which imo looks unrealistic
In one match I was Australia, and Bangladeshi was batting. McGrath opened the bowling and the Bangladeshi openers were going after anything wide, with one square cut going for 4 off the fifth ball. I did wonder if this would happen in real life in the opening over?
In same match after 2.1 overs, Bangladesh (CPU) was 6-0 and the batsman on strike had FULL batting confidence. Only been 1 scoring shot so far. 1 four and 2 no balls making up the 6 runs. This looked arcadey to me?
I also noticed that at the start of each over, there was no clock telling you the time of day when playing. Was in my 8th over of the morning and no idea what time it is. No clock to be found in the pause menu either?
General
Started about 10 World cup matches and thus far all games have been played on a normal pitch, which got a bit boring. Reminds me of a bug in cricket 2002 which did the same thing. Of course conditions might have changed if I had continued to have played more games?
However was good to have real faces and names which added to the authenticity
Third Umpire. Still know straight away whether a batsman is in or not. No build up of anticipation or excitement
No auto play. I know this has been discussed to death but I feel this was a big mistake to have omitted it. I cannot see how anyone will find time to play World tours with the countless tests/odi involved.
For example, I wanted to do a review of a test match (i.e. see what pitches were like on 5th day etc) but didn't have time to play a potential 360 overs first to get there)
Just playing a 3 match test series could takes weeks to find the time (potentially 1350 overs to play!)
Summary
Positives
Easy to pick up and play
Good looking faces in licensed modes
Plenty of edges in right conditions on both tests and ODI
Plenty of playing and missing (by human at least) when batting in favourable bowling conditions
Attempting to catch the ball when fielding
Good variety of bowling animations ? in fact bowling is great fun, with plenty to think about each delivery
Some good batting animations also
Plenty of game modes
Choice of cricket ball, which presumably results in different bowling effects. I.e. more/less seam etc.
Games are very configurable. In exhibition mode, can configure absolutely everything, except which box the batsman wears.
Variable weather conditions looks and plays great. Can be cloudy for a while, then suddenly the sun shines through removing all that lovely swing your bowler had at his disposal.
Some good default fields
Negatives
Bowling speed meter calibration is too severe. The current 50mph difference between bottom and top of marker is too severe. Should be more like 15mph difference
Bowling no balls should not result in bowling speed dropping dramatically (and filling marker completely should result in no ball)
Spin bowlers can bowl deliveries they cannot in real life. E.g. Giles can spin the ball to the right (he is left arm finger spinner) every delivery in right conditions.
Limited directional variation for all strokes
Batting I find to be too simplistic after years of having choice of back or front foot shots. Also never have complete confidence when pressing a direction on your game pad what actual shot will be played
CPU never leaves any deliveries in tests or ODI?s.
No statistical graphs (manhattens, worms etc)
No choice of camera angles for batting or bowling
No on demand replays ? only when program decides
Camera changes to fielder far too quickly in the infield making it dis orientating for the user and makes it hard to judge a quick single
All catches in infield taken low down at ankle height
CPU from early impression does not take match situation into account when chasing totals
Too easy to hit sixes on hard level (especially to leg side)
Some poor default fields, which results in so many easy scoring opportunities
No auto play, which means might take a very long time to complete certain game modes
Third Umpire still gives decision straight away, which takes away the intended excitement of using a Third Umpire
Commentators selected at start of ODI are used throughout. Haven?t played a test long enough to know if it?s the same
Last word
This 95% complete review version in my opinion leans more towards an arcade style experience. However cannot discount the fact that this is a review copy and could have been made easier to allow reviewers to get into the game quicker?
The final version will hopefully be improved further, and we should be grateful for Swordfish/Codemasters in giving us this game (which is a very good first attempt by Swordfish), and in the process turn the heat up on EA to improve their franchise, which in turn should see us the consumer the real winner
Upon loading the game went straight away into a 50 over friendly, normal wicket, variable conditions between England (me) and India on the HARD level
England won the toss and elected to bowl -
Bowling
First thing I noticed that the CPU didn't leave a single delivery no matter how good a delivery (or how wide it was)
India was about 121-1 after 27 overs. Thought this was good but took regular wickets and suddenly they were 133-4. It appeared no account of the match situation was used and the CPU continued to hit out and soon India was 151-6. Two more aggressive shots made it 152-8. Up to this point 2 catches were in the slip cordon, one bowled and 5 catches in the outfield (all to big hitting shots)
The CPU still refused to leave deliveries alone and 2 more rash shots meant I bowled India out on my first ever attempt at the game on HARD for 159 off 40 overs.
It was observed that ALL catches in the infield are taken at ankle height. Only outfield catches has a chance of being taken above the waist.
The starting 2 commentators are used throughout the match
You still get the non-run to 3rd man/fine leg bug (i.e. The CPU hits the ball direct to 3rd man / fine leg, but as ball travels so fast the CPU turns down what would be in real life an easy single).
Ball in the 40th over was still swing/seaming as much as when new.
CPU will hit the ball into gaps for easy single in infield but will refuse the run
Still has bowling speed issue. I.e. the calibration is such that when stopping marker at bottom of meter, its still 40-50mph slower than stopping marker at top of meter
Still has bug where if let bowling marker reach the top of the meter, its not called as a no ball
No choice of batting / fielding camera angles
No manhattans, worm graphs etc. In fact no statistical graphs whatsoever.
Cannot call up Hawkeye on demand - only when program decides
Cannot pause game and view batsman stats to see things like how many balls faced, or how many 4's or 6's etc
Ball travels across outfield still too fast meaning even taking what would in real life be an easy single, can become risky
Pace of game a bit fast for me. Don't like the action cutting back to the bowler as soon as ball reaches WK hands. Would like the option to have some cut scenes after each delivery but with the ability to skip the cut scenes at any point if desired. Skipping the cut scenes would mean the game plays like it does now ? fast!
Variable weather conditions are good - went from sunny to overcast to sunny again and it did seem to have an effect on amount of swing that was available
Many Default fields are in my opinion unrealistic. Too easy to score runs with many of them with no mid on /off, etc
Spinners use same default fields as fast bowlers which looks unrealistic with 3 slips etc sometimes selected
Fields against each batsman not stored or saved so have to change fields each time change of batsman etc. Would be far better to store for each bowler the field the human selects against each batsman. Would really speed up the game in a positive fashion
Fielders still run around ball in outfield in circles
Batting in ODI (HARD level)
Well the good news is that if you go for it from the off, expect a lot of edges and playing and missing.
Doesn?t appear to be enough directional variation in strokes. Lost count of the number of cover drives I did not time correctly that went ALWAYS to the right of the cover fielder for him to move across and field the ball in the same place
Also well timed cover drives, mid wicket shots, and leg glances etc all appear (to me at least) to go in same direction each time
I noticed that when CPU had full bowling confidence, even scoring a 2 with a cover drive didn't diminish its confidence on occasion? However, when you bowl, any scoring shot guarantees you are not at full confidence next delivery. This might be intentional on behalf of the developer to even things up a bit?
I found it too easy on hard to score with a tail ender if you put your mind to it. Was in trouble in one match with 8 down, so played sensibly with Harmison (batting at 10) and easily scored 19 with little effort. The good timing markers (the black ones) next to the batsman confidence meter, need to be closer together for tail enders than for recognised batsman. This simple change would ensure it would be harder for tail enders to time the ball correctly. However it still wouldn?t be impossible to smack balls for 4, but would be realistically harder.
No stumping 'appear' to be in the game. Played many attacking and defensive style shots to spinners but got no stumpings. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean there are no stumpings, its just that I haven't seen any yet
Have to admit I really need full explanation as to what strokes you can be expected to play when pressing one of the 8 directions on the game pad, as at the moment I am pressing a direction with no real confidence as to what shot is going to be played
Test matches
Started about 6 tests now and on each occasion you will find when the AI is batting, they never EVER leave a delivery. I tried bowling wide of off and leg, and always an attempt at a shot is made, sometimes an attacking shot, and sometimes a ridiculous looking defensive shot to delivery heading towards 1st slip (bearing in mind first few overs on first morning of a test)
Also good balls outside off are never left, always an attempt at a shot, which imo looks unrealistic
In one match I was Australia, and Bangladeshi was batting. McGrath opened the bowling and the Bangladeshi openers were going after anything wide, with one square cut going for 4 off the fifth ball. I did wonder if this would happen in real life in the opening over?
In same match after 2.1 overs, Bangladesh (CPU) was 6-0 and the batsman on strike had FULL batting confidence. Only been 1 scoring shot so far. 1 four and 2 no balls making up the 6 runs. This looked arcadey to me?
I also noticed that at the start of each over, there was no clock telling you the time of day when playing. Was in my 8th over of the morning and no idea what time it is. No clock to be found in the pause menu either?
General
Started about 10 World cup matches and thus far all games have been played on a normal pitch, which got a bit boring. Reminds me of a bug in cricket 2002 which did the same thing. Of course conditions might have changed if I had continued to have played more games?
However was good to have real faces and names which added to the authenticity
Third Umpire. Still know straight away whether a batsman is in or not. No build up of anticipation or excitement
No auto play. I know this has been discussed to death but I feel this was a big mistake to have omitted it. I cannot see how anyone will find time to play World tours with the countless tests/odi involved.
For example, I wanted to do a review of a test match (i.e. see what pitches were like on 5th day etc) but didn't have time to play a potential 360 overs first to get there)
Just playing a 3 match test series could takes weeks to find the time (potentially 1350 overs to play!)
Summary
Positives
Easy to pick up and play
Good looking faces in licensed modes
Plenty of edges in right conditions on both tests and ODI
Plenty of playing and missing (by human at least) when batting in favourable bowling conditions
Attempting to catch the ball when fielding
Good variety of bowling animations ? in fact bowling is great fun, with plenty to think about each delivery
Some good batting animations also
Plenty of game modes
Choice of cricket ball, which presumably results in different bowling effects. I.e. more/less seam etc.
Games are very configurable. In exhibition mode, can configure absolutely everything, except which box the batsman wears.
Variable weather conditions looks and plays great. Can be cloudy for a while, then suddenly the sun shines through removing all that lovely swing your bowler had at his disposal.
Some good default fields
Negatives
Bowling speed meter calibration is too severe. The current 50mph difference between bottom and top of marker is too severe. Should be more like 15mph difference
Bowling no balls should not result in bowling speed dropping dramatically (and filling marker completely should result in no ball)
Spin bowlers can bowl deliveries they cannot in real life. E.g. Giles can spin the ball to the right (he is left arm finger spinner) every delivery in right conditions.
Limited directional variation for all strokes
Batting I find to be too simplistic after years of having choice of back or front foot shots. Also never have complete confidence when pressing a direction on your game pad what actual shot will be played
CPU never leaves any deliveries in tests or ODI?s.
No statistical graphs (manhattens, worms etc)
No choice of camera angles for batting or bowling
No on demand replays ? only when program decides
Camera changes to fielder far too quickly in the infield making it dis orientating for the user and makes it hard to judge a quick single
All catches in infield taken low down at ankle height
CPU from early impression does not take match situation into account when chasing totals
Too easy to hit sixes on hard level (especially to leg side)
Some poor default fields, which results in so many easy scoring opportunities
No auto play, which means might take a very long time to complete certain game modes
Third Umpire still gives decision straight away, which takes away the intended excitement of using a Third Umpire
Commentators selected at start of ODI are used throughout. Haven?t played a test long enough to know if it?s the same
Last word
This 95% complete review version in my opinion leans more towards an arcade style experience. However cannot discount the fact that this is a review copy and could have been made easier to allow reviewers to get into the game quicker?
The final version will hopefully be improved further, and we should be grateful for Swordfish/Codemasters in giving us this game (which is a very good first attempt by Swordfish), and in the process turn the heat up on EA to improve their franchise, which in turn should see us the consumer the real winner
