The Review

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Cricket Revolution: The Review

Every year or so as a cricket fan you get the buzz surrounding a new release be it EA's latest rehash or Codemaster's frustratingly close release and with each game comes more dissapointment, until now. Cricket Revolution is very likely to go under the radar of your average gamer who would purchase the aforementioned games, however this is not to say its a bad game at all. Cricket Revolution has the making of a cult classic.

Batting

The batting system isn't as tarted up as EA and Codemaster's efforts. It doesn't offer gamepad settings nor does it claim to make it possible for the ball to touch every blade of grass on the pitch, instead it offers a solid fun batting experience. There's 32 preset shots and they pretty much cover everything you'd need. The game lacks a timing bar that is featured in Cricket 07 and Ashes 2009 and despite my initial concerns this is the game's strong point. The lack of any timing bar makes you think and you have to play each shot carefully, there are however guides to how quick the ball will be in the colour of the bowling cursor. The batting placement system confused me greatly to begin with by now i've realised how it works it greatly enhances the game. The controls are hard to get used to at first and take alot of memorising to get right but once you've got a hold of them they are very rewarding.

Bowling

The game follows a very similar bowling format to EA's efforts in that there is a cursor which moves around the screen you have to stop on your target destination. However instead of using different button to swing the ball there is a swing dial you select the amount of swing on and once this is done you select the speed of the delivery, too much though and you'll bowl a no ball. The bowling animations are by no means brilliant and feel a bit sluggish but i've found this easy to ignore when you take into account the quality of the game itself. Special deliveries are possible when you have full bowling confidence these are chosen by selecting 1 or 2 on the keyboard and each special delivery and its corresponding number can be seen by pressing tab before the bowlers run up. Bowling is both fun and rewarding.

Gameplay

This is where the game easily beats its rivals. I have spent almost all my time on the game playing offline mode and in the 3 or so weeks ive played the game only now am I starting to master Easy mode. Now this speaks great volumes for the game ive found on other cricket games i can score at 20 an over on the hardest level from the off. The confidence system feels great and once a batsman is batted in its going to be hard to get them out. The game is simply a joy to play and the lack of an autoplay feature makes the game feel so much more rewarding. Another point to note is that prior to getting my hands on the game i feared it would be a slogfest, it really isnt and you'll struggle to put the AI away.

Online

The game's main selling point is the online mode and it feels pretty good. There's a nice little online chat feature and games are easy to set up once you've sorted out your Firewall settings, but for me this proved to be a massive hurdle! Online it feels good and if you're the host it will feel just like playing offline, however if you are the other player it can feel laggy and you have to adjust your shot timing to the ever changing lag which can be both confusing and difficult. But again online it isnt a slog fest and really feels like cricket!

Graphics

I wont lie to you all the graphics arent brilliant, but then again this is why i think it will prove to be a cult classic. Everyone seems to say they take gameplay over graphics and for me this is the ultimate test for those people. The game feels great and the graphics are ok, probably around the level of the PS2 so not too outdated. They may put off the casual gamer but again there is so much more to the game that the graphics.

Summary

For me its the best cricket game I have played. It feels good and you can get quite carried away playing it. It sounds beautiful and the lack of commentary is somewhat enjoyable as you dont have to hear the same lines over and over. For me this is the game the PC community has been crying out for. This really feels like BLC99 enhanced which is what everyone has been asking for.

Batting 8/10
Bowling 8/10
Gameplay 9/10
Online 7/10
Graphics 5/10
Replayability 9/10

Enjoy, ill see you all online!
 
wow dutch i was waiting for some reviews before i buy the game. your word is as good as anything for me on this.. i am totally buying it now :happy
 
A good review and I would tend to agree, I actually got to beta test it but due to work and other commitments probably only managed about 8 hours gameplay and boy is it hard against the AI. Played one game online in which both myself and my opponent agreed to cut short due to lag and also this point which is my only gripe, it takes an age to get through overs, 5 overs literally took about 20 minutes, maybe it was due to us chatting about the game during it but i get the feeling that you will need to have a few hours spare and a lot of patience if you want to compete with others.
That said I will definately purchase this game and would say to all, dont be put off that it is so hard to begin with as practice will definately be rewarded and as mentioned i would rather have this than picking up a game first time and smashing 15/20 an over on the hardeset level.
One and a half thumbs up:D
 
Good review! many of the sentiments I echo. As a beta tester I have had the privilege of playing this game extensively and am really enjoying it. I would particularly echo the statement about gameplay which is excellent and engrossing. With any other cricket game you can step on the bitch and be a world class batsmen or bowler within seconds: not here, not here. You will have to earn that right! I shall see if I can write a mini-review soonish. Must dash though: music to make!
 
Cheers for the review duded, sounds very promising especially the gameplay which I was worried about due to the lack of tournaments.
 
Cheers for the review duded, sounds very promising especially the gameplay which I was worried about due to the lack of tournaments.
There are tournaments as per CR Official site

6.3.1 Revolution League:The Revolution League is the primary single player challenge that pits you against 9 other computer teams in a league battle to qualify for the semi-finals and battle your way to ultimate victory. There are three modes of difficulty in league mode: Division A (where teams are less talented), International (where teams are very competitive), and Superstars (where you?re in for a mega challenge!). You must achieve success in the lower divisions before unlocking the higher challenges.

6.3.2 Revolution Cup: This mode offers a fast paced single player knock out tournament against the other world teams. With varying team difficulty, a best of 3 final, and challenging match conditions along the way, winning the Revolution Cup poses a significant challenge to the uninitiated.
 
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I was really privileged to try the beta out. Online play is much fun than Ashes Cricket 09. Still though, they need to handle the lag better. AI is good at bowling. I can most of the times get them out in bowling quite easily.

The only area that disappoints me is that people take advantage of bowling full tosses and over-pitched deliveries. They keep flooding you with these deliveries having their fielders stand at boundaries at cover, straight down the ground and the deep midwicket area.

The game still has a lot of potential to outplay all upcoming and already released games. let's see what they do in upcoming patches of CR.
 
Just downloaded and played the single player version of this game . The game-play is superb . Not easy to hit boundaries unlike all other cricket games . Timing and placement is key to getting runs . The great part is that there are actual genuine edges of incorrect or poorly timed shots .

I was never a big fan of commentaries in cricket so I wouldn't complain about that . Only thing they could have done better was have less delay facing next bowl . It takes a while for the bowler to actually start and then bowl deliveries . Graphics and ball physic is average . It doesn't feel like ball is rolling on the ground after a lofted shot is played .

All in all great effort for first game .
 
There are tournaments as per CR Official site

I know there are tournaments but compared to what Cricket 07 had it dwarf in comparison. If Cricket 07 didn't have all its bugs and AI problems it would have been a game that you could play for ages just in single player. AC09 and CR don't have that but they do make up for it with online play, just a matter of how long before you get bored of playing people online.
 
Good review! many of the sentiments I echo. As a beta tester I have had the privilege of playing this game extensively and am really enjoying it. I would particularly echo the statement about gameplay which is excellent and engrossing. With any other cricket game you can step on the bitch and be a world class batsmen or bowler within seconds: not here, not here. You will have to earn that right! I shall see if I can write a mini-review soonish. Must dash though: music to make!

check out the bolded section :eek:
 

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