Who rules the world?

THE annual installation of EA Sports Cricket is finally upon us in the form of Cricket 07 on the PlayStation 2. This game is especially for those who love cricket and don’t want to fail to see anytime. The game is no doubt the best but, unfortunately bowling is full of flaw, giving an uninteresting impression though batting is impressive and easy to be picked up.

One can notice the biggest change in Cricket 07 of new batting system called the Duo Stick Batting System. This is done by using both of the analogue sticks. The left controls foot movement and allows you to move left and right of the wicket, whereas the right analogue stick is treated as your bat. It executes different types of shots by moving in different direction. For example, to play a straight drive you have to move the stick downwards hit the ball. It depends on whether you want to play on the leg side or offside.

The game offers many shots to name a few: hook, pull, sweep, cover drive etc.

Besides moving left and right you can also come down the track by pressing the L1 and the R1 button together with right analogue stick. The ball can also be loft out of the ground for making sixes by pressing L1 button and right analogue stick. While batting 2 of the face buttons of the controller are used for running singles.

Changes have also been made to bowling in the game but unfortunately they aren’t exciting as those of batting. The deliveries are on choice to bowl either by using the face buttons or the shoulder buttons. The deliveries are, such as in swinger, out swinger, and straight etc., fast bowlers have more bowling options than spinners plus both types of bowlers have access to special deliveries such as bouncers, Yorkers, googlies etc.

After choosing the type of delivery it is up to you to decide where the delivery should land on the pitch. This is the time when the game gets frustrating. Your target is over sensitive and moves continuously all over the pitch for no apparent reason. So if you are about to bowl the perfect delivery and if you accidentally touch the left analogue stick only slightly your target will move away and you will end up being hit for a six or bowling a wide bowl.

This makes bowling a less enjoyable experience and most of the time the player who is batting have more fun than the one who is bowling. Plus the changes made in the batting suggest, if the game has more focus on batting than on bowling. Apart from the deliveries, there are many game modes. These include Knockout matches, 50 overs one-day matches, test matches, and world championship trophy etc.
The game also has dedicated Ashes mode which allows playing the infamous Ashes series between England and Australia with the team you like most. The mode offers scenarios and full Ashes series from the 2005, moreover, the complete 3 Ashes Series of 2006-07. It also allows playing scenarios and altering the results of last year’s series or reliving the same results again. The choice is up to you. For example the 1st scenario on offer puts you in the shoes of Kevin Pieterson on his debut, which he made in the 1st test at Lord’s when England was 21/5. If you choose to play as England, you have to save the game or if you choose to play as Australia you have to take the role of Michael Clarke and try and lead Australia to victory. A really nice touch is added to the Ashes mode is when the scenario starts it shows actual footage of the test match. For example, the game shows Glenn McGrath taking the 5 wickets in the actual match before Kevin Pieterson comes on the pitch and the game starts.

With so much attention given to the Ashes mode, the game is clearly designed to take advantage of the current Ashes series appeals to its fans.

EA Sports titles have always been known for their great presentation especially FIFA 07. But unfortunately it can’t be said about Cricket 07. The game falls short in almost every aspect whether it is the sound, graphics or game play. In the game Mark Nicholas and Richie Benaud are commentators but sadly enough it is of no match to Stellar’s commentary in FIFA 07. Because the commentators here have very few phrases to speak and therefore you will hear them repeating the same sentences. The excitement and thrill is also lacking which you even can’t notice.

The sound effects don’t have a kind of cracking quality which is felt in the real life game. Whether the ball is being hit for a six or the stumps there is no feeling of satisfaction. You are not content as it is not fulfilling the demand of actual sound effects.

Then there is the crowd noise which is constantly cheering, no matter whether the home side is winning or loosing. The kind of dynamic crowd atmosphere that you find in FIFA 07 just isn’t there in Cricket 07. You won’t hear any boos or cheers or team names being chanted. Just plain and simple cheering which ultimately disappoints.
Although all of the teams of Cricket are present in the game only four of them are licensed namely England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Therefore, only these four teams have the correct names of their players whereas other team member’s names aren’t accurate. The game gives the option to edit player names, so in this way you can take the name of your choice from Pakistani team.

Graphically, it doesn’t get any better. There are hardly any players in the game that resemble their real life counterparts so you won’t be able to recognise any of the players in a single glimpse. I think there is only one player, Australia’s Jason Gillespie who has some resembles to his actual self may be because of his unique hair and beard styles. Nor does the game feature any batsman’s or bowler’s signature batting or bowling styles. The movement of the players on the field is quite unnatural and you will often see them floating on the ground rather than running.

The crowd animation is simply horrible just like other EA Sports titles. And nothing good can be said about the umpires or their animations.

The AI on the default setting controls fielding in the game at least it does a fine job. Though you will see some over throws and miss-fielding in the game, it’s all there to add some realism to the game. There are five different difficult levels to choose from, so if you decide to play a match vs. the AI it will present you with a good challenge on the higher difficulty setting.

All in all EA Cricket 07 disappoints more than it pleases. Even though the game introduces improvements it leaves much to be desired such as better presentation. Unfortunately cricket fans don’t have much of a choice when it comes to play cricket on their consoles. There are only 2 companies that make cricket games namely EA and Codemasters. With Codemasters’ Brian Lara International 2007 not due until next year, gamers will have to be content with what Cricket 07 offers, all the while hoping that a better cricket game will soon save the day.
Dawn