Game: Brian Lara Cricket
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Codemasters
Release Date: December 1998
The earliest cricket game I own is Brian Lara Cricket '99, seemingly the only cricket game on the original Playstation. It features nine international teams which are available to play as in every mode, and a further six which can only be played as in the world cup mode. The squads are all licensed and correct for the time, although in true sports game fashion this makes the game seem incredibly dated, but there's a good selection of 8 game modes including Classic Match and Test Season, the latter of which allows players to guide an international team through 1-7 years of test match cricket.
The most fun part of a cricket game for most fans is going to be the batting; with an intuitive and simple control system, players would be able to position and time their shots to perfection, racking up the kind of scores that they dream of seeing on the television. Unfortunately, the batting in this game is anything but intuitive as you're given absolutely no feedback on whether you're hitting too early or late. Most of the time, the ball won't travel very far due to how shots have been timed, and many lofted shots will be caught by fielders.
Running between wickets is difficult to judge in game, and cancelling runs once they've been dialled in is also difficult and has the potential to put batmen in even further danger of being run out. When the AI bats, however it'll always take a run whenever it's impossible for their batsman to be run out, resulting in far too many sneaky runs being added to the opponent's total. Bowling against the AI also gets dull very quickly, despite the fairly innovative aiming system for the pitch of deliveries, I found it very hard to get any of the opposing batsmen out. Fielding can be either automatic or manual, though I'd suggest putting it on automatic, as manual fielding is the equivalent of giving runs to the other side; it's very harsh on which button should be pressed, and when.
Graphically the game is pretty unimpressive, even for the original Playstation. In 1998, we weren't too far away from the release of the Playstation 2, and the blocky, undetailed visuals really let the game down. Overall when you consider the atrocious loading times, frame rate issues, glitches and gameplay issues, in addition to the fact that neither bowling or batting is particularly special, it doesn't matter how many gameplay modes Brian Lara Cricket has, because it's just not that fun.
Rating: 45/100
Grade: D
Game: EA Sports Cricket 2002
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: EA
Release Date: 1st February 2002
EA Sports first cricketing entry on the Playstation 2 was Cricket 2002, featuring the present day and historic international sides, as well as a variety or tournaments and play modes. The controls are quite a bit like that of Brian Lara Cricket in a lot of ways although there are a few improvements, including the decision to change the run button from X to O, thus eliminating a lot of accidental run outs.
The batting in this game is extremely harsh on timing and won't allow you to hit a lot of fours or sixes, which is semi-realistic, but not exactly what you'd want from a video game. Even after four or five matches and some practice sessions, I was finding batting to be extremely difficult to master, and managing only around 30 runs in 10 over games. Perhaps with much more practice I'd have been able to play better, but a lot of sports games have a pick up and play quality which engages the player from the outset.
Bowling too is incredibly difficult, if not even more difficult than batting. Players are given a little green guideline as to where they're aiming the ball, but moving it to a sensible position is almost impossible. It pings around the pitch like it's got a mind of its own, resulting in lots of wides given away to the other team, and the system for no balls is also pretty harsh. Once this is taken into account alongside the batting it's almost impossible to win games without putting in a good 10 hours of practice or so, which I'm not willing to do.
Graphically the game is poor for the PS2 with the grounds, players and faces all lacking detail. The commentary is pretty standard, with a lot of repetitive phrases and quotes. Overall there's not a whole lot to enjoy here, and I pity cricket fans in 2002 who were subjected to this, as it's only slightly better than Brian Lara Cricket from 1999.
Rating: 46/100
Grade: D
Game: International Cricket Captain 2002
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Empire Interactive
Release Date: 24th May 2002
Just as there are Football Manager games, there are also Cricket Captain games, allowing players to take control of their favourite teams from the dressing room, setting their aggression levels and fields, and sitting back to watch it all unfold. Depending on your view of managerial games, this may already sound pretty boring, but there are a few redeeming qualities to the game.
Players can choose to captain International, County or both types of sides in their various schedules, with the skill level of the team being the main deciding factor on the game's difficulty. Once a team has been chosen you're allowed to manage its squad and draft new players in from the academy before embarking on the first game on the calendar.
The picture above is the view that players get when there are highlights of the game to show, but most of the time you'll be looking at the overall stats screen, on which the aggression of the bowlers/batsman can be changed, along with a few other options such as field placings and keeping the strike (for batsmen). Once the settings are satisfactory, play advances on an over-by-over basis, controlled by the square button, with the option to change any settings after each over.
While there's not a lot of "action" to the gameplay, fans of simulation and strategy games may prefer this type of progression. I'm not entirely sure how the aggression options affect the chances of being out/taking a wicket, but I'm sure there are sums going on somewhere. It can be a little frustrating when your batsmen keep getting out, or you can't seem to take a wicket, but winning games can be equally rewarding.
Graphically the game isn't bad for the most part, with accurate pictures of the grounds at which games are being played, and other interesting visuals, however it's let down by the stick figures of players in highlights. The commentary is minimal and within a game or two you'll have heard all there is to hear. Overall the game is incredibly slow paced, and often it can feel as if you're not having much impact on the game. The target audience of a cricket game is already fairly small, but ICC2002 will appeal to only the most hardened cricket strategy fans.
Rating: 39/100
Grade: E
Game: EA Sports Cricket 2004
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: EA
Release Date: 5th March 2004
There's not a whole lot to say about Cricket 2004 that I haven't said about Cricket 2002. The bowling in this game has been slightly improved from the frankly uncontrollable system of the previous game, while the batting remains much the same, and relies on very strict and subtle timings and shot choices. One of the best additions to the game is the county sides from the English domestic league, and the option to play the full county schedule as one of the sides.
Graphically the game is better, but still not super impressive, and the commentary is still the same boring and cliched phrases from before. Overall due to the fact that the gameplay hasn't significantly improved, and the only major addition is county sides, I can only give the game slightly more than Cricket 2002.
Rating: 48/100
Grade: D
Game: Brian Lara International Cricket 2005
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Codemasters
Release Date: 21st July 2005
One of three games I picked up alongside my PS2 back in 2005, Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 was the first cricket game I played, and still remains one of my favourites. Differing from the earlier games in the Brian Lara series, and EA's efforts, this game has more of a relaxed feel to all of its elements while still keeping a good amount of realism and the feel of cricket.
While many international sides are featured in the game, none of the players are licensed unless they're playing in licensed tournaments, which means that intentional misspellings such as "A. Streass", "M. Vorner" and "B. Leap". The only players who avoid this fate are those from the classic era such as W.G. Grace, and Fred Spofforth. It's not a huge issue with the game, but it'd have been nice to see players names licensed and spelt correctly, as they are in the EA titles.
Batting is a lot easier than in the above games; while good timing is still required, players are given a larger window of opportunity in which to hit the ball with good timing, and getting a good hit seems to be far more intuitive also. The confidence meter on the left plays a small part in how well players perform, and also features a timing feedback system for the batsman. Scoring boundaries in the game proves to be a little too easy most of the time, leading to scoring rates of 20-30 runs per over on easy difficulty modes.
Bowling is also simplified with the 4 different types of delivery set to each face button, swing controlled by L1 and R1, and the pitch of the ball controlled by the analog stick. The player moves the aiming area until it is in a suitable place, and then a random location within the circle is chosen as the actual pitch of the ball. The more skill a player has, the smaller the circle and thus the better their accuracy. Fielding is controlled via gauges which the player must stop at halfway for maximum accuracy.
Graphically the game fairly good for its time, with recognisable faces, good player models and stadia. The commentary is still fairly mundane and is the game's weakest point overall. There's a good amount of play modes including classic match scenarios, tournaments and exhibition matches, as well as Create-a-Player and classic team unlockables.
Overall Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 is one of the most fun cricket games in this series of reviews, due to its ease of play and more relaxed control scheme. While this can lead to some unrealistic scores and situations, the difficulty modes provided almost manage to combat this when playing against the AI. With a host of unlockables and things to do, it's just a shame there's no county options to flesh out the game a little more.
Rating: 72/100
Grade: C
Game: EA Sports Cricket 2005
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: EA
Release Date: 1st July 2005
While Cricket 2004 was a small step in the right direction for the series, this game is an embarrassment to the cricket games as a whole. Batting is just as difficult and strict as usual, with most attempts at hitting ball resulting in wickets falling. Bowling has been made a little easier, but this also means that it's possible to get teams out for very low scores, thus resulting in matches where you're chasing 30-50 runs in 10 overs and still not managing to get them because the batting controls are so poor. Even when the computer plays itself it struggles to score runs, and against human bowling is quite content to score 0 runs an over until the last few, in which it'll start scoring exclusively in boundaries, destroying any small sense of realism that remained in the game.
The graphics are nowhere near as good as those in Brian Lara's cricket game for 2005, and the only redeeming factor for the game is the inclusion of county teams once again, although it's not too much of a bonus if playing with them is just as impossible. The soundtrack is dire and takes away from any cricketing mood that the game might have had, but overall there's very little to enjoy.
Rating: 30/100
Grade: E
Game: EA Sports Cricket 07
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: EA
Release Date: 24th November 2006
Bearing in mind EA's effort from the previous year, it'd have been easy to ignore the final effort in the series as "probably just as bad", however someone at the company managed to pull off a spectacular turnaround. The game introduces the new 'Century Stick' batting system, which uses the right analog stick to control the bat and determine shot selection and timing. This not only makes it easier to bat however you'd like within the game, but finally allows players to easily score runs.
The number of game modes included is one again impressive with English and Australian Domestic season/tournament modes, International tournaments and exhibition games, and an Ashes mode which includes classic match objectives set over 3 different series. Overall when combined with the new batting system this makes for a great deal of gameplay to experience and enjoy for cricket fans.
Bowling has been improved slightly, keeping much the same system as in previous games. While things can get a little tedious, it's possible for the player to make much more of a difference to the game from bowling than before. The pitch types included vary in their effect on the ball and different types of bowling and my only real complaint is that skill levels don't seem to matter particularly for bowlers. The fielding in the game can be set to a manual mode, but it works nicely set to automatic too.
Graphically the game finally looks almost passable; I'd say that its graphics are the worst feature besides the commentary. Although it'd be difficult to record a larger variety of phrases and commentators, I think it'd help the game a lot, since you'll be hearing the same thing over and over otherwise. Overall this is the closest thing so far to actual cricket, despite its tendancy to be a little slog heavy on easier difficulties. The wide range of modes and new batting system really help to make this a good cricket game.
Rating: 74/100
Grade: B
Game: Brian Lara International Cricket 2007
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Codemasters
Release Date: 23rd March 2007
While largely based on the previous game in it's series, Brian Lara International Cricket made some rather unpleasant changes to its gameplay and options which render the game a whole lot less fun to play. The batting has been tightened up from a slog-happy boundary fest, into a little more of a timing and skill based task. It's still possible to hit most balls for a boundary, but being caught is much more of a possibility when balls are mistimed. On the whole though I'm not really sure whether this amounts to a good or bad change; if it had made the game more realistic then I'd be all for it, but players are left with a game where it's hard to score realistically or in a fun way.
Running between the wickets can be done very quickly, and when combined with new slower fielding animations this gives the opportunity for many quick runs that shouldn't be possible. When the ball finally does reach the wicketkeeper/bowler from a throw, they'll always take the bails off, no matter whether the batsman is in, leading to further breaks in realism.
In addition to these gameplay changes, there are significantly less gameplay modes included in the game than there were previously. Players can choose to play in the World Cup, Champions Trophy, or a single Test, ODI, or T20. There's no classic match mode or challenge series, which leaves everything feeling like a variation on the same gameplay.
Graphically, BLIC2007 is slightly better than the previous instalment but the commentary remains the same once again, with some soundclips even recycled from 2005. Licensed music has been added to the menu screens, but I'd much rather it wasn't there, and overall the game comes off as rushed out the door to compete with EA's 2007 effort, to which it hardly even compares.
Rating: 51/100
Grade: D
Game: International Cricket Captain III
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Empire Interactive
Release Date: 16th November 2007
The second and final game I'm going to be reviewing in the International Cricket Captain series suffers from many of the same defects as the 2002 version. This isn't surprising once you consider that all that seems to have been updated are the teams, competitions and graphics engine for the highlights. The maths portion of the game, and the options available to players remain largely the same, if a little clunkier (while results are being calculated, the game visibly drops frames).
My main issue with the series as a whole is that players seem to be able to make very little difference to matches, only really able to hope the correct random numbers are generated to see their team through to victory. While there are training modes and aggression bars to set, fiddling too much with them only seems to make the team perform worse; the most fun I had out of the game was skipping to a close finish in a game where I hardly touched the aggression sliders.
Graphically the game is average in its menu presentation and poor when it comes to the highlights. Despite a new system, the level of detail is very low compared to other cricket games of the era. Overall while fancy graphs and 3D highlights have been added, the game hasn't really moved past ICC2002 in terms of complexity. The modes and problems remain the same, with only updated teams and competitions to show any promise.
Rating: 42/100
Grade: E
Game: Ashes Cricket 2009
Console: Sony Playstation 3
Developer: Codemasters
Release Date: 7th August 2009
For the final game in this roundup, I headed to the PS3, hoping for a truly next gen cricketing experience. The first thing I noticed about the game was that the graphics weren't significantly better than those of Brian Lara Cricket 07. Perhaps the resolution was a little better and there was slightly more detail, but it wasn't the type of quality I expected from the PS3. An important thing to note about this game is that its by Codemasters, who also made the Brian Lara series and seems to run on the same game engine.
Just like the Brian Lara series, most of the teams are unlicensed and so have only allusions to the names of players. The only teams to be fully licensed seem to be England and Australia due to the 'Ashes' title of the game. Once again there's only international teams to play as, with a few "best of" teams thrown in. Game modes include Ashes, Test, ODI and 20 over games and tournaments, but that's about it; there's no challenge matches or season modes.
Gameplay is roughly the same as that of the Brian Lara 05 and 07 games, although there's far more options in the way of bowling such as swing, cutters and reverse swing. The timing for batting has been tightened up for faster bowlers, although its still fairly easy to hit anything medium pace and below. This is one of the biggest problems with the game, in my view; even though the game is based on the Ashes, a test series, the AI bats as if it's a 20 over game, and it's hard not to go at 10+ runs per over in any format if you're good at batting.
There are also some issues with the fielding in this game; throws are either amazingly accurate and run batsmen out from miles away, or will go for 4 overthrows. Both of these occur far too often, and when the AI is batting, there's a glitch that leads to it being run out at least once an innings from a poor call, after being safely in. Due to these glitches, some fairly poor commentary and the overall mediocrity of the game, especially considering it's on the PS3, overall it's probably worth a play if you're a cricket fan, but doesn't surpass Cricket 07.
Rating: 73/100
Grade: C
So, what have I learnt after playing and reviewing 10 cricket games, from 1998-2009? Well, firstly that it's hard to make an enjoyable game that realistically simulates cricket; after all I doubt many people want to bat for the entire length of a test innings at 3 to 4 runs per over. Secondly while bowling is fairly easy to model in-game, it's difficult to make that half of the game particularly interesting to players; I was guilty of skipping the other team's innings in many games just to bat.
Finally and most importantly batting is a difficult thing to put into a cricket game; too easy and players can chase down any total, and set hugely unrealistic scores for AI to chase, which are programmed to score at 4-5 an over. Too hard though, and it becomes like Cricket 05 where players can't score off 90% of balls, and get bowled out for under 10 runs. Neither of these are particularly enjoyable in the long term, and the only game to strike a real balance between the two was Cricket 07.
Cricket Captain games also have a long way to go since being forced to watch cricket you're not even playing, while feeling as if you have no control over the outcome is more like watching real cricket than playing a game. At best they felt like watching someone roll dice to determine outcomes, and I don't think there was ever a huge market for them anyway. So, if you're looking for a good cricket game (and you'd probably be in the minority there), go for Cricket 07, everything else is flawed in one way or another.
Good to see your post. your contant is old and information is very less.I really appreciate it. please update more live cricket game. Online betting game
ReplyDelete