Review Playtest Review/Preview(Review Links, Updated in First Post)

[Skater]

Sounds great, but what was bowling against the AI like?

Edit: @Reviewers, would you say that this is shaping up to be better than BLIC 99? If so, then the wait is over!

Dean said 'it is the best cricket game'.

 

[TRF]

TRF presents exclusive Ashes Cricket 2009 preview - The Rugby Forum

Apart from lending TRF a dictionary to check up the word "exclusive" here is a fantastically detailed review of the day from St Helens RLFC (TRF member who went).

That won't be needed as I have since realised that "exclusive" ended up there and has since been removed and the monkey who posted it has had his knuckles rapped... ouch!

And again, a massive thanks to Planet Cricket for extending this invitation to TRF.

 

[lazy_chesnut]

It might probably is but it's hard to tell as I've only played it for a couple of hours, and only about half an hour against the AI. There are a lot of things which are definitely better.

If you think about BLC99 was missing a lot of stuff. Think about what you can do now that you couldn't in BLC99:
- swing the ball with pace bowlers
- do your own catching
- do your own throwing
- set your own fields
- choose to play front- and back-foot shots
- defend the ball in a certain direction
- notice bowler and batsman confidence and stamina


There are probably more. The reason BLC99 is so highly regarded is that it was tremendously well balanced. What I mean by that is, the competition between bat and ball was very fair and scores and run rates seemed to be about right in both ODI and Test matches.

Also, a lot of the core things were just 'right', like the bounce of the ball, the speed of the ball, the amount of spin, and even the way the various environmental factors would affect the gameplay. I remember that a green pitch was always a real struggle to bat on, and felt genuinely difficult, and batting on hard pitches required faster reactions but was ultimately easier to score on.

Once a new game gets close to getting these core things right, it will be absolutely miles ahead of BLC99.

 

[exprezzo]

tnx barmyarmy...loved reading the TRF review

 

[k p 24]

Wasn't the bounce of the ball just about right in BLIC05?....I remember playing a few games, a few years ago and thought the bounce of the ball was just ok. I might be wrong but it was way better than BLIC 07, I thought.

 

[max_dillon2007]

Great review by TRF guy... I loving the way everyone is emphasizing the fact that Test cricket at Hard difficulty is a very very tough challenge. I think the day has come when a AI would finally manage to beat us like bangladesh is test cricket.

*Lazy you have been praising the engine's physics quality in recent posts. So is it possible to get some uneven bounce or spin if we manage to land the ball on cracks of a 5th day pitch? Or the cracks are just cosmetic.

*Is there any tension during 3rd umpire decisions or they give out instantly?

*What is the risk/reward in catching?? I didnt understand. TRF reviewer said that when a catch would come you can press X when ball is green or wait for the ball to come to you... When we can catch it during green period then why should we wait further which would result in dropped catch.. It would be great if anyone can explain the Risk/Reward in catching thoroughly.

*Are those impossible direct hits to stumps from deep extra cover boundary still in the game??

Some more questions:
*how many ball types are there in the game? i guess dukes,kukaboora,white and pink.

*Is there Realistic/Balanced option like BLIC 07? If yes then can we change the conditions in realistic mode?

*Which shot is the best looking shot in the game so far you have played?

*If collision detection is really good this time around, then is it possible to hit non-striker with a straight drive or non-striker would try to avoid? If he does try to avoid then this would be epic in cricket game's history.

*How many squads are there in the game?? I guess 12. Are there any special squads like world XI or Codemasters XI in the game?

*Can we create Custom Squads?

Can mods try to get the system requirements for PC?? It is dam n close to release, they should have given system requirements. I expect game to take almost 8 Gb as previous game took 4 gb.

P.S: I wont have any problems with system requirement but just wanna know for my friends. here is my system

Intel P-35 mobo
E8400 3.0ghz
ATI 4870
4gb RAM
Vista X64
:banana2:banana2:banana2


P.S.S: To the mod who is reviewing my posts- You can see now that i have started posting in a well structured manner. So please remove this mod que??

 

[GilchristRulz]

Blic2007 has one more problem even if the runners have made it to the crease keeper will still hit the wickets lol i mean that does not happen in real world and will never happen!

 

[graham]

Another thing I remembered, is that there is wind, and this apparently makes it harder to swing the ball against it, and easier with it, and also makes shots go further downwind.

Well i find this a great addition , if it works it must be very hard to put into a game but small things like this make all the differance to a game ,
god so excited about this game cant wait till ??/07/09 for release ,
or the demo for pc which will come first i bet , got 360 and ps3 so got all bases covered :happy

 

[MasterBlaster76]

It might probably is but it's hard to tell as I've only played it for a couple of hours, and only about half an hour against the AI. There are a lot of things which are definitely better.

If you think about BLC99 was missing a lot of stuff. Think about what you can do now that you couldn't in BLC99:
- swing the ball with pace bowlers
- do your own catching
- do your own throwing
- set your own fields
- choose to play front- and back-foot shots
- defend the ball in a certain direction
- notice bowler and batsman confidence and stamina


There are probably more. The reason BLC99 is so highly regarded is that it was tremendously well balanced. What I mean by that is, the competition between bat and ball was very fair and scores and run rates seemed to be about right in both ODI and Test matches.

Also, a lot of the core things were just 'right', like the bounce of the ball, the speed of the ball, the amount of spin, and even the way the various environmental factors would affect the gameplay. I remember that a green pitch was always a real struggle to bat on, and felt genuinely difficult, and batting on hard pitches required faster reactions but was ultimately easier to score on.

Once a new game gets close to getting these core things right, it will be absolutely miles ahead of BLC99.

You're right. BLIC 99, while a fun game and well balanced as you said, was lacking in depth. There has never been a better replication of the sound of leather on willow than in that game however.

MasterBlaster76 added 3 Minutes and 47 Seconds later...

Have they balanced out the spinners, which have always been too easy to get wickets with in pretty much every cricket game I've ever played. Want a wicket? Wheel out your spinner and surround the batsman. It'd be great if you get punished for such tactics (if the batsman's confidence was high, for example), rather than it being an easy way to get wickets.

Also, did any of you reviewers see any 'death balls', deliveries that are guaranteed wicket takers? I appreciate you haven't had that much time with the game, so such things might not have come to light, but you know the ones that usually work: did they eliminate those this time round?

 

[Skater]

You're right. BLIC 99, while a fun game and well balanced as you said, was lacking in depth. There has never been a better replication of the sound of leather on willow than in that game however.

There was something about the atmosphere and feel of BLC 99 that made it an outstanding game.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

There was something about the atmosphere and feel of BLC 99 that made it an outstanding game.

You're right, it just felt like cricket, didn't it? The sound, the ambience and the pacing were spot on. Now, ten years on, is Ashes 2009 going to take it's crown? We haven't got too long to wait, but it looks promising!

20/Twenty Cup highlights just started on Sky: cool!

 

[lazy_chesnut]

That's exactly it. It just felt like cricket.

There are some bits in AC2009 that do 'just feel like cricket' and it's really satisfying.

 

[Simbazz]

That TRF review was pretty darn mouth-wateringly good!

Can't wait for this game now, I mean, even if it does have its flaws i'll still enjoy it! BLIC07 had many a flaw and I still enjoy the odd game on that!

 

[Eon]

Yea it felt very nice, i still remember playing that game till like midnight, 1am and then going to bed just to sleep in and be late for school lol.

and the wind effecting the amount of swing sounds awesome... but im assuming if you are using some one that can get lots of swing they can still swing it against the wind. either way that has got me really jonesing for this game lol.

btw great reviews guys two thumbs up

 

[isrararrafi]

true. that TRF review sounded great. specially that description of run out.

thanks lazy and kamy for the excellent reviews.