Ashes Cricket 2009

Visuals and presentation need improvement



As a kid I was hooked onto Brian Lara's Cricket and it still remains my favorite cricket game on any platform. Codemasters did what EA couldn't; it captured the fun and excitement of cricket, even though the game was riddled with bugs. Codemasters next release in 2007 was also fairly successful. Fast-forward to 2009 and we have the latest cricket iteration called Ashes 2009.

I got some time with the game recently and to be honest, I was rather disappointed. The game was playable on the Xbox 360 and featured a completely new control scheme. This is the Ashes edition, which features all modes found in the previous game plus the Ashes Tour, which is clearly targeted at the European market. In case you are a 20-20 fanatic, the game also features a 20-20 mode, for some quick cricketing action.


The first thing I noticed was that the game's visuals are not up to the mark; they lack detail and are not on par with today's high standards. I was ready to ignore the visuals as it's the gameplay that I am interested in and I don't care if Irfan Pathan looks like Ajit Agarkar or if they call him Irkan (copyright issues). Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn't garner much praise either. The new control scheme breaks up shots into a very easy attack, defend and lob. Its common sense that you choose your shot depending on the line and length of the delivery, it is also very important to time your shot perfectly.


The HUD displays your current posture while batting. You can choose to go on your front foot or back foot or let the game decide on auto. The batting posture is very critical; it can make or break a shot. I noticed that leaving the batting posture on auto does work well, but it also makes batting a little easy. A player's performance while batting/bowling depends on the confidence bar, which is displayed right below every player's name. If as a batsman you strike the ball cleanly, get a few boundaries you will become more confident and reach the fearless stage.


As the name suggests, when you are fearless, even complicated shots will not be that difficult to connect. On the other hand if you miss a few shots and are low on confidence, it will become increasingly hard to get back your rhythm. This particular aspect makes every ball important, so you can't play unorthodox shots early on. Bowling is fairly simple, with every delivery broken into (for fast bowlers) in-swinger, out-swinger, slower-one and so on. You need to make the batsman work, make him think, and keep changing the line and length.


I played a few matches and was able to master (read survive) the harder difficulty in a very brief period. It was a fun experience but as with all cricket games, it's still a little buggy. I have high hopes from the game if the developers can work on the visuals and presentation. The game that I played was a preview copy, so I am hoping they make some major changes before the game is out this month. Keep watching this space for a review very soon

Games for Windows Live 3.0 Released

New features include in-game marketplace, account management and anti-piracy.
Microsoft has quietly launched its new version of Games for Windows Live. Features included in the new Games for Windows Live 3.0 are In-game Marketplace, new account management tools, piracy protection, and a new theme.
In-game marketplace will let users purchase items in-game. Once purchased, the Game for Windows Interface will download and install the Game Add-ons - all while the game is still running. Previously purchased items can be downloaded again.


Users can also manage their accounts within the game environment to purchase Microsoft Points, Edit Credit Card information, add new Credit Card, redeem codes for purchases etc.

The third version also features anti-piracy protection feature that uses two methods to check if the game copy is pirated. Server Side Authentication links the game's license to the user's Gamertag and thus can be installed in any number of machines, albeit, this method doesn't work in offline play. Also, the Zero Day Piracy Protection that restricts games from launching before the publisher set date.

The Games for Windows Live 3.0 is an automatic update

Yuvraj Singh's Cricket (Xbox 360 Review)

A majority of us (read men) love sports and can't do without our daily dose of it in some form. Most of us Indians follow several sports, but worship only two: Female Beach Volley Ball and Cricket. I will concentrate on the latter today, as that is what this article is all about.



Cricket is the definition of passion, a religion to some, a lifeline; it is just too good to be true. But these days all Indian Cricket fans are sulking, we are unhappy as our team didn't do well in the World Cup, well they need to stick around a bit to even try! Millions of cricket fans were in shock, in pain after India's early exit. We wait 4 years for the World Cup, and there our dreams went shattered. However, life goes on and you need to find alternatives to keep your spirits high. And if you are an avid gamer, here is some news for you. Codemasters studios have been brave enough to release a cricket game called Yuvraj Singh's Cricket. A game that released in better times may have grabbed more attention. Anyway, let us see what the game has to offer.



Bad Timing

As I said before, this isn't the best time to release a game based on cricket, especially in a nation that is still scarred by its early exit from the World Cup. Cricket games have always been low budget which are released in select nations. A major reason for that has to be the fact that Cricket is not as popular as Football or Motor sports in the international bazaar. So cricket games are always buggy and irritating. Codemasters Brian Lara's Cricket did score with gamers worldwide and it's back this time in India under a different brand name. Yes, this is the same game with a different title, internationally it is called Brain Lara's Cricket.

So let's talk about the gameplay. Is this game the best cricket game ever? I would have to say Yes and No. Yes because I don't remember any other game doing so much justice to the game and No because it's still not perfect. There are more than a few notable features, but then there are the same number of flaws. Now let us see the game in detail.
Game Modes

There are quite a number of game modes that include the usual ODI matches along with the ICC World Cup and ICC champion's trophy. The game modes and rules are accurate and offer you quite a few options, you can just slog around for a few minutes with a 6 over warm up or you can indulge in hours of cricket with the World Cup.

Presentation

The game is well presented, but at times you feel as if you are being rushed. The game starts well with a view of the ground, some commentary, a look at the crowd and then the toss. Then you can quickly jump right where the action is. What greatly disappointed me was the fact that there are very limited numbers of presentation videos.



What I mean is that you will see players in a particular action mode over and over again. Like for example: every time you win a game, the same video or interlude recurs where the batsmen jump with joy, the fielding side forms a small group and acts depressed and they go out of the ground. I expected that may be the world cup games or bigger matches would have different presentation, but that did not happen. Therefore, it is somewhat boring to see the same reaction repeatedly from the players. Here they could have had more presentation videos to keep it interesting.

Batting

The batting is balanced and becomes more intense with increasing difficulty levels. The shot placement and timing is accurate and you need to practice a lot to perfect it to play at highest level of difficulty. The batsman's body language is good while playing most shots. There is a batsman confidence gauge that affects the way your batsman plays. If you are on 100% confidence level, you can step out and play a shot, what they call dancing down the pitch.



This is an interesting idea and very well executed. You need to keep playing your shots and taking singles to keep your confidence up. This isn't a batsman's game, if you play casually you'll probably lose wickets at regular intervals, like India did against Bangladesh, but if you get you timing right you will blast the opponents, like India did against Bermuda.

Bowling

Honestly I never liked bowling in any cricket game, but in YS Cricket, it's a different ball game altogether. Bowling is fun and quite engaging, this again has a confidence gauge. You start with deciding where to pitch the ball, after that decide the pace and the Swing/Spin, add to that aerial movement and you have a wicket.



Bowling is easy and once your confidence is high you can decide to bowl a perfect Yorker or a Bouncer. These are called special deliveries, for spinners you can bowl the Googly or the Doosra. If you learn to bowl well, you can easily beat the opponents at a low score, like Bangladesh did against India.

Fielding

This game is a mix of auto/manual fielding. The running around, sliding and jumping is done automatically, but you decide where to throw the ball by pressing the right buttons. You need to manually catch the ball where a gauge appears over the fielder when the ball is in air and near a fielder. You have to press the 'A' button at the right time or you miss the catch and then goes for stumping and run outs. This keeps you busy and in the game.



Graphics and Sound

The game look good but that is about it. There is nothing exceptional about Yuvraj Singh's Cricket, but it looks better than all the cricket games ever made. The players look like first cousin to their real life counter parts, but then you can see a wee bit of similarity in them. Everyone but Sachin looks nothing like him. The ground and the crowd sound effects are good, with the right set of speakers you may get the feel of sitting at the North Stand, hmm let me revise that the East Stand (for the Not-So-Bright, I mean the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai). The sound will pump you up but will not be a driving force in your victory.

Final Verdict

This is a good cricketing package, with a few perks and a few bugs. It will give you a good feel but it has a short self-life, which means that you can play it for a few weeks and after that wait for a new game. I would recommend playing the game at a higher difficulty level to enjoy it. Don't let my words confuse you, it definitely is the best cricket game that you will get in the market, it's just that it's not the most perfect one. It's the best of the lot, a lot that comprises of mediocre games. Happy playing!
Screenshots