As an aussie, I love my cricket. The recent World Cup was a great triumph for the aussie team and I was looking foward to re-creating the absolute domination by Australia in Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2007. I was a huge fan of the last game but felt it was a bit too simple. The mechanics were there and the fun factor kept you inteested. In the latest title, they have managed to keep this feel, somewhat. The graphics are not as crisp as the last game and i felt that it was a step backward in the gameplay too, it affected the flow of the game. The sound was also just brought in from the last game with almost the exact same lines as used 2 years ago. This was a total let down and really made the game feel like it was a re-hashed money maker. The actual gameplay of batting and bowling is very similar to 2005, with the batting getting a "cone" of sorts that directs where you want the ball to go. this works well. The bowling is pretty much the same though, which is a good thing, with all the deliveries at your disposal easily and the actions are true to life as well. The fielding though, is the biggest casuality. The catches are still there, where you have to time your catches and throws, but the physics just dont seem right. When you nick an edge, it loops up in the air and just dosent look real. The ability to decide which end to throw the balll is a nice feature but it just dosent feel as fluid as the last game. The AI is really improved though. If you play on the harder settings, they can really give you a challenge. They move their fields, put catching men in place, bowl good line and length and bat with some common scence regarding the run rate. They online feature was a big drawcard for buying the game for me, but have found the lack of players a real problem and a a result have only played against the computer so far.
Overall, I thought that it was a good game for the cricket fans but after the last game, they could have done so much better. Dont get me wrong, its WAY bette than ES's lame effort, but that really isn't hard to do. I just hope we dont have to wait another few years for the next game and hope that some real competion comes along to make both developers stand up and make a great cricket game. It is on the right track, just needs more refienment.
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