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| EA GAMES - Cricket '07 |
| Monday, March 05, 2007 |
Cricket, cricket, and more cricket; we, as Indians, live for cricket. Our national passion and the driving force for most of our youth. I say most because there is a growing number of people who have developed this new cool attitude as "Cricket-Haters", which greatly displeases me, but let's not go there.
But what's even more irritating are games based on this popular sport. My favorite was Brian Lara's Cricket and EA Cricket 97. This time around EA has released Cricket 2007, a refined version apparently. So how is the game? Well, let's find out.
A Good Length Delivery
I will keep it simple and straight; Cricket games are awful, and I mean they are awful; they are full of bugs and glitches. The Batsmen all look the same; the only difference between a Sachin and a Harbhajan is a tiny moustache, and don't get me started on the skin tone, apparently all Indian players are shades of Balaji.
Agreed, Cricket is no football, the popularity difference is way too much. But in India itself you have 600 million teenagers, if you consider 1% of them having a gaming console or a PC, and another 0.5% into cricket; we still have 3 million cricket playing teenagers. So at the right price and availability, a cricket franchise can make a huge amount of money for those greedy suits in the Boardroom. Well, enough of my personal thought on the downgraded and low quality cricket games; let me discuss Cricket 2007.
The major difference this time around is the Century Stick, the analog Batting system. This new improvement has its pros and cons as well. Batting with an analog stick does give you 360 degrees freedom, but it can act otherwise as well. What I mean is that at times the game just can't understand your command and can lead to an early wicket. The game modes are all the same with a few good exceptions, you have licensed versions of Ashes and 20-20 mode.
But back to the century stick, which is one good innovation if you get used to it. All you have to do is to play your shot after reading the ball's pitch. Just point the analog stick in the direction and you have a beautiful cover drive for a boundary. But as I said it is a little buggy, with a little improvement, this can be a major sensation in the coming years.
Bad Deliveries
The graphics are good, pretty at times, but disappointing at some occasions. The sound is decent, especially a good blow from the willow to the leather. The AI can act quite dumb at times, especially in fielding, which can be controlled manually.
I wouldn't suggest manual fielding as it can be more of a hassle than anything else.
Extras
There is a new mode called Quick Play, here one can choose the game's pace and difficulty. The new 20-20 mode can be good fun as it gets over quickly and is a slogging paradise. You will also see a few new kit improvements in the Create a player setting. These are about it, nothing revolutionary.
I still believe there can be a major improvement in every aspect of the game. But this is the best cricket option out for this year, so go grab a copy.
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posted by Scorpio @ 3:07 AM  |
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