Cricket 07

"A very solid sports game, which any fan of cricket should still be able to enjoy more than 2 years on."

Cricket is considered by some to be a forgotten sport. Not highly publicised outside its leading countries, the games are very similair, forgotten-but hardly worthless to those who love it. For cricketing fans, the frontrunner in cricket games, EA Sports 'Cricket 07' returns after a solid foundation built through the early days of the Playstation 2. The game, published during the 06-07 Ashes series, features the two flags on the cover with the urn, or alternatively, a cover featuring some of Australias stars in Johnson, Hussey & Gilchrist. So as this game makes its way to the Playstation 2 in such an exciting time for the sport, how does it live up? We'll find out.

Gameplay: How exactly does the game play? Without answering it to shortly, the controls have taken a turn since the last game-arguably providing a much cleaner experience. Instead of the use of the directional buttons to control the batsman, pressing the 'x' button to drive, the 'square' button to block and so forth, the analogue stick finally becomes the main control point from which the batsman plays shots. The left and right sticks work in conjunction with each other. The left stick is used to play a batsmans array of shots, (cuts, drives, pulls etc.) the player pulls down on the stick to play forward and drive it down the field, depending on the timing-or he may choose to appropriately flick it down to fine-leg. The choice is there, as the analogue stick completely controls how shots are played. The right stick is used to choose a back-foot or front-foot shot. This gives more freedom to the player, as the game has introduced a diffrent system of control-providing more shots and a new way to play. With a new camera angle introduced,(the 'behind-the-batsman' camera) the game becomes much more realistic, and to EA's credit-is relatively easy to pick up once you've had a solid session in the practice nets. It also has 5 difficulty levels, giving a large range of ways to challenge yourself and improve the timing of your batting. The controls respond well, though if shot played is to risky (repeatedly 'dancing' or 'slogging') or timed incorrectly, its back to the pavilion. The only criticism of the gameplay as a whole, is to see a wickets as the result of the control scheme. It can be fairly frustrating trying to drive the ball through the covers, only to play an arkward looking cut-shot. Overall however, little can be criticised in terms of the way the game plays, as most cricketing fans will lap this up, thoroughly providing a fun way to play and control the game
Score for Gameplay: 8

Graphics/Sound: After deciding Cricket 07 does infact play very well, how does the game look and sound? I'll fairly judge into consideration the time diffrence, and try decide how the game presents itself from there. The game looks good. Nothing special, or anything 'wow-ing' over, just good, solid graphics. The player models are done well and add an element of realism to the game. The batting movements run smoothly and the bowlers avoid looking arkward. (Although the spinners can at times) The fielders tend to slide automatically on occassions, though the wicket-keeper looks fantastic, and slip catches are a joy to watch. There isn't anything special here, but minus the ocassional jag of the batsmen, or unrealistic field movement-the game looks fine, and doesn't take anything away from playing.
Score for Graphics: 7

The games sound is up a notch up from the graphics. Traditionally, like most EA titles, the game has a well put together soundtrack while going through menu's. Not overly tiring, but something that can get repetitive quickly. In game however, the crowd sounds great. The 'Oohs' and 'Aahs' that players hear when a wicket is taken or a batsmen 'plays and misses' are wonderful to hear. The applause in the background at the right moment, or the gentle clap while going in for lunch, cannot go unoticed. The commentary on the other hand-is arguably dull. The same two commentators in Mark Nicholas and the ellusive Richie Benaud provide solid commentary throughout matches, but thats where it ends. It of course gets repeated-and on ocassions Benaud may choose to signal runs as leg byes upon smashing a four off the mete of the bat. (If you get my point) Overall though, the sound is good and the repeated commentary can be looked over, as its accompanied by wonderful in-game sound and a decent soundtrack.
Score for Sound: 7.5

Game Modes/Replay Value
The game gives players a wide variety of modes. We're spoilt with domestic competitions for England and Australia respectively, and 20/20 competitions throughout. We have the typical one-day and test match modes with plenty of teams. All the national sides appear, along with specially picked XI sides. A nice addition. The 'Ashes' mode is a great touch, providing players with the option to play out the entire series, or certain scenarios. This is a great part of the game, as focusing on the specific series is not taking away from the games main modes, and is something to do outside of trying to win the world cup. The batting and bowling nets give players the chance to improve their skills, where they can try to win out a variety of cricket based tournaments, including the ICC World Cup. This amount of modes and things to do within the game will keep players busy, especially if choosing to compete in a gruelling 5 match Ashes series. The game isn't overly long in overcoming boredom, but will keep you coming back to complete the domestic competitions and scenarios. Players can also create a player, and have loads of fun with that. Overall, alot of modes, but this game takes a while before the player gets everything out of it, and patience to try and complete everything is needed, much like cricket.
Score for Game Modes/Replay Value: 8

Overall I'd reccomend this game to any cricket fan. The games fun to play, with few flaws. Rough around some parts of the presentation, but plays very well. Fans of the sport are sure to be coming back for me, and I'd reccomend picking it up as a game to keep you busy over the summer.
Overall Score: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/09

Game Release: Cricket 07 (AU, 11/16/06)