Subscribe to the Sports Gamer column:
RSS or Newsletter.

---

Why not try our Blog, Radio or TV shows. Click for samples...

---

Cricket 07 PS2

Format:
PS2

Genre:
Sporting

Buy/Support:
Support David, click to buy via us...

Although EA’s Cricket 07 didn’t get a current generation console release, a few short minutes back in its groove reminded me what an excellent experience it provided. The graphics and animation are a bit rocky by modern standards but the amount of match options, its accessibility and superb use of the Ashes licensing still made this an entertaining cricketing experience.

Diving straight into this game I was immediately taken back to Channel 4’s groundbreaking Test coverage. Not just because they wrestled it from the decaying hands of BBC sport but because of the funky, loud and downright cool way they presented the Ashes. Mark Nicholas’ tones took me through the games tutorial and although it’s a phoned-in performance, my Hampshire roots can’t help but swell with a little pride with our former captain.

He and Richie Benaud provide the commentary to the on-field action and it feels television-like enough to give me that anticipation I always had before going into bat myself. But just like Brian Lara’s Cricket the difficulty setting feels a little off. It was quite possible to thrash the ball over the fence five times out of six whenever I felt like it no matter what setting it was on. This led to some thrilling, if unbelievable, 20/20 matches and some stupidly short 5-day games.

On the flip-side, bowling and fielding were no fun at all unless I had the luxury of a whole day to play. The limited over matches felt too brutal to be fun and bowling during a 4-day match or in a Test series was a gruelling and pointless process. It felt great when my attacks and field placements came together - ousting Ricky Ponting never got old - but when it’s proceeded by another 30 over’s of boredom the authenticity started to become counter-productive.

This is 07’s highest compliment and biggest detraction for me. The game suffers from a variety of bugs but overall I got the feeling it captured the essence of cricket better than any game before or since. Unfortunately, playing anything more than a 20/20 match meant putting the bowling onto simulation mode and trying to bat sensibly as I would in real life. Taking up to two hours to craft a half-century is rewarding when it’s for my local team, but when it’s in the game? That’s just too much like hard work.

I had the option of creaming the ball unrealistically over the park like I previously stated. But doing this in a Test arena seemed like an insulting crime against the sport. The more I played the game the more I wanted to treat it like a proper simulation, even if it gave me all the tools to break it. It’s definitely a case of getting out what you put in. I remember at the time of its original release playing the Ashes from beginning to end with no simulations. It felt worth it at the time but these days I need something more gripping and instant.

Fortunately the game’s vast multitude of options covers this need and the 2005 Ashes scenario campaign is Cricket 07’s best feature. Playing as either England or Australia the game replicates vital moments from that famous series and sets various targets you have to beat. Like putting on an opening wicket partnership of 100 or getting Kevin Pieterson to 50 without running anyone out are good bite-sized chunks of gameplay.

Presented with real snippets of the live coverage I felt this was just the type of game to warm me up for this year’s Ashes and new cricket game. This isn’t a particularly new feature. Games in the past have taken historical matches and done the same, even going back to the game’s ancient roots. But modernising it with real footage gave me a feeling that I was participating in that magical, winning series.

My hope is that Ashes 2009 does something similar to EA’s scenarios. Dedicating 50 hours to bowling, even if I do get Ricky Ponting out, is going to be a hard sell no matter how much patriotic pride I have.

Written by David Kenson

You can support David by buying Cricket 07



Subscribe to this column:
RSS | Newsletter

Share this review:
Tweet

David Kenson writes the Sports Gamer column.

"I bring twenty or so years of enthusiasm for, and experience of, sports to bear on my reviews of all sorts of sporting games. I've usually got what John Virgo would call the 'commentators eye' because I've played in the real world."

Here are the games I've been playing recently:

• Skate 3
• Championship Jockey
• FIFA 12
• Virtua Tennis 4
• Home