• Help Support The Rugby Forum :

Brian Lara cricket 2005 (Full version) review

Originally posted by Los Lover@Aug 4 2005, 03:06 PM
The game is very good....AK agrees.....NZL fan thinks it is a 7 out of 10.....you decide the following:

a/ who you think has played it more
b/ who plays exclusively sports ***les more often
c/ who likes cricket more
d/ who knows what the gamers/people want

I'm not saying this is easy, or even possible, but I implore you to not let this ***le go begging. It is too fun, and it gets even better whe you get better.....From certain comments, in such a short time, IMO, I have deduced that NZL fan may be approaching his tactics like it is an EA sports ***le...the game responds to genuine cricketing tactics, lines and lengths, and correct shot choices....there are sweeps... there are misfields, there are runs (albeit seldom) to anally placed double third mans and fine legs......Just HOW anyone thinks that is a regular cricket field to set is so beyond me
<
<
...I mean do you play number 8s at centre in rugby? That is not cricket (don't excuse the pun)

I suggest you play cricket and you might discover the games within the game that you may or may not have been missing. Or when you get sick of it, you could maybe send it to chiro or something....he'd friggin' love it.

<
Never assume anything about anybody on a forum - unless you know a person personally how would you know who is a "true cricket fan", "played more real cricket", "has played more sports games" and whose opinion is better informed or more valid.........

At the end of the day the review is one persons opinion, it can be shared by others and disgreed with by some - don't get so hung up on it, if you don't value my opinion it shouldn't worry you anyhow.

Fine leg and third man would be normal field settings for the start of a one dayer, so what are you talking about?? The fielding sides job in any cricket game is to dismiss the opposition - if that means placing a fielder directly behind/touching the umpire to do so then so be it. If you can pick up regular wickets with a long leg/third man so be it as well.......

Mind you I can't expect too much from a Blues supporter who thought Luke McAllister was availiable for the Auckland NPC side........
<
 
Originally posted by NZL fan+Aug 4 2005, 04:29 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NZL fan @ Aug 4 2005, 04:29 PM)</div>
<!--QuoteBegin-Los Lover
@Aug 4 2005, 03:06 PM

The game is very good....AK agrees.....NZL fan thinks it is a 7 out of 10.....you decide the following:

a/ who you think has played it more
b/ who plays exclusively sports ***les more often
c/ who likes cricket more
d/ who knows what the gamers/people want

I'm not saying this is easy, or even possible, but I implore you to not let this ***le go begging. It is too fun, and it gets even better whe you get better.....From certain comments, in such a short time, IMO, I have deduced that NZL fan may be approaching his tactics like it is an EA sports ***le...the game responds to genuine cricketing tactics, lines and lengths, and correct shot choices....there are sweeps... there are misfields, there are runs (albeit seldom) to anally placed double third mans and fine legs......Just HOW anyone thinks that is a regular cricket field to set is so beyond me   
<
 
<
...I mean do you play number 8s at centre in rugby? That is not cricket (don't excuse the pun)

I suggest you play cricket and you might discover the games within the game that you may or may not have been missing. Or when you get sick of it, you could maybe send it to chiro or something....he'd friggin' love it.

<
Never assume anything about anybody on a forum - unless you know a person personally how would you know who is a "true cricket fan", "played more real cricket", "has played more sports games" and whose opinion is better informed or more valid.........

At the end of the day the review is one persons opinion, it can be shared by others and disgreed with by some - don't get so hung up on it, if you don't value my opinion it shouldn't worry you anyhow.

Fine leg and third man would be normal field settings for the start of a one dayer, so what are you talking about?? The fielding sides job in any cricket game is to dismiss the opposition - if that means placing a fielder directly behind/touching the umpire to do so then so be it. If you can pick up regular wickets with a long leg/third man so be it as well.......

Mind you I can't expect too much from a Blues supporter who thought Luke McAllister was availiable for the Auckland NPC side........
<
[/b]
don't be defensive bro!!! come now....

<


fine leg AND third man, at the same time? both back?

That is normal is it?

For a ojne dayer when you have to have all but two in the circle and in tests when you attack at the start..?...
<
....yeah, no, good one bro.

<


that is just silly...and that is not my opinion either.

I said, people could decide for THEMSELVES....whether ak and I liked cricket more etc etc etc...

stop reacting so fast and so often to me NZL fan.....you left and we said "come back"...but you don't behave like a mod when you react like that all the time. We are part of the forum members discussing and firing stuff around....the mod is the overseer? yeah? Cos that is not how I feel about the post you IMMEDIATELY posted above. It reads like a member post both in its tone and the spped of its response i.e. not thought out.

Are you watching the ashes tonight? did you watch the ashes throught he night for the five days of the first test as a person who is neither English (although have citizenship) nor Australian. Do you like cricket that much? I'm just trying to resolve for others who likes cricket more, seeing as you have questioned that, and I think from AK's dreamy post above (which I like), it is obvious who really craves it more...isn't it?

<


IMO..

Yes.
 
I'll stay up for the first session of the ashes (got an early start in the morning)........

......doesn't take too much to get a bite from you eh?
<


Remember a "mod" isn't like some alien being, we can still have strong opinions on subjects (after all thats why we all come on this site initially for in the first place right). Hell nobody probably noticed I was a Mod till last week.......
<


Go and say something against St helens RFLCs league and soccer teams - then you'll see a Mod expressing his opinion
<


......as for my response I am just pointing out that you are assuming too much about people on a forum you know little about.

You could be some skitzo left over from the days of Kingseat hospital for I know
<
 
Originally posted by Los Lover@Aug 4 2005, 03:27 PM
and as keen as I am to watch the test start tonight (yes I watch the ashes though I am a kiwi, and yes, I support england - it is an underdog thing AK, I have no probs with the aussies, well....sort of...but it cuts both ways as you know bro!!
<
where's ur ANZAC spirit u little whore
<
j/k

just coz we taught u the underarm

I always go for the AB's against Lions/Poms - i'd expect the same across the Tasman River

Although - the last 5 or 6 years of watching the aussies demolition of world cricket, i can feel ur pain, and understand!

I must admit myself - i was getting over these 3-4 day test matches, of follow ons and ****....that 1st day of the 1st test was the grestest spectical in TEST cricket i have ever seen

Watching the aussies on the back foot, under pressue was a joy to watch
As it really emphasised just how damn good we bloody are
ok patriot rant over

No i wont a close series
the natwest was great - love seeing the bangars lift
would prefer if england won one the of next tests, but u wont hear me whinging if we win them

Some great value on the bets

Aussies - 1.65 to win 2nd test
Highest 1st wicket partnership - aussies 1.67 poms 2.20 - easy $$ on the aussies again

the close natwest series is making my wallet grow - i'm lovin all of it - the odds for australia are the best in a decade
 
anyhow back to the subject at hand..........

Anybody else got an opinion on the game?? Some fresh input would be most appreciated (I promise to hold back Ak and Los if you wish to table some thoughts
<
).........
 
As one of the Swordfish Clan, aits cool to see the game going down so well. I was only on the artside but I think if you talked to the development heads or designer they would tell you that we wanted it to be an "everyman" cricket game. Something in it for hardcore cricket fans and inquisitive punters with cash to spare on a new sports game. I'm pretty sure that if any future versions are forthcoming, they will include more of the features that people would like to see.

BLIC's is a very solid base to work from.

Finally, to even be mentioned in the same sentences as ProEvo is something that we are pretty chuffed with, its a HELL of a compliment.
 
Well from all my reading etc about the game I think blic is defintely more suited to the tests. Why because in the test the ai seems to behave differenlty to play better shots do unexecpted things like using the specail delievery when its not enabled and generally does things a lot better and is more clever.

Compared to odis where it takes the ai at least 10 overs or more to start smashing and playing some shots. I think this is a good thing though because the casual gamer will always have the chance to win in the odis while the more hardcore type can play tests where the true battle of man v machine takes place. like in real cricket the true battle of batter v bowler is in the test arena where more pressure is applied and its a contest over 5 days instead of just one

I haven't played the full version of the game yet but i have played the demo multiplayer and it was very enjoyable. My mate and I at first couldn't hit a thing but then after some games we started working out the timing and the right shots to play depending on where the ball was ptiched and the length of it. admittedly we were trying to just smash it to the fenece but isn't that the aim in the six overs.

bowling was a whole new challenge and we initially started out just doing standard deliveries but then we both discovered swing and drift. It added a whole new dimeson to the game and suddenly shots that could play couldn't and the late swing made some ball unplayable and was unintially uncontrollable as we would swing it way to far. Once the swing was mastered though bowling became a joy and we both starting taking wickets regularly and had to come up with new shots to hit the boundaries. needless to say we played about 10 games straight of the six over demo before we moved onto a different game and we were both smashing it with my mate always just getting a few more runs and bowling just a bit better than me.

overall I would say the casual gamer may not get the full enjoyment out of it as they proabbly wouldn't play a test match where I think the true game begins. but for the hardcore and those with bit more time and want to see more of the game test matches will be awesome and keep people playing for a long time I think. Also the casual gamer proabbly won't take advantage of creating a player -like themselves to use in the game and take the time to improve him. but once again the hardcore and others would and would take the time to play the created player in a test and slowly build the stats up for him like los and ak 47 have done. This is what makes blics so great there is something for everyone the quick smash and game for the casual gamer and the deeper game for the hardcore and other via the tests and create a player.
 
You're right about test matches - thats where this game is spot on and A LOT of fun.........

However I stand by my initial review (even after far more play).

You have to remember that that most of the game modes in this game are based on one day play (Champions trophy, world cup) and it is in the one dayers that the very poor computer AI unfortunitely shines through (if you don't believe me then check out comments on the official codeys Brian Lara website). A majority of gamers would probably play one dayers then tests as well - and this game doesn't cater for them (mind you neither does EAs pathetic effort).

Based on test match mode only this game would be 8.5-9, but because of the insanely easy (and ultimely boring) one day matches the score is dragged back to 7/10.

I'm more then happy with what is shown in this version though (and the tests are keeping me thoroughly entertained), and with further tweaking the next version could be a real humdinger.
 
yeah defintely the ai is bit of a problem in the odis because they don't pace the innings properly and yes odis will proabbly be what most people play. defintely those that play the tests can get the full benefit of the game. this was the first version so i think the next one will be much better
 
I played a 6 over demo yesterday and I found it fairly enjoyable.

I doubt I could stand playing a full test match though.
 
Depends - What id probably do is take it slow - Maybe play a session or 2 each day.
 
I think thats what los does he only plays 3-4 hours a day. which would be about 2 sessions a day.
 
Originally posted by esoj@Aug 8 2005, 05:33 PM
I think thats what los does he only plays 3-4 hours a day. which would be about 2 sessions a day.
hell no!!!

I don't play every day now!! But about 2 out of every 3 only!! lol!!

But a whole day (90 overs) would take about an hour and a half.

I tend to go an innings a sitting....howveer long...

This game still rocks IMO despite any shortcomings...

EG:

I came back and beat Aussie in that 2nd test.....so how am I going in the third? Assuming that I am only getting better and better....right? Right!?

Well then they are too.

I got rolled for 155 and now aussie are 455 for one....

yep....for ONE.

With hayden on 234*

No game the same........

Missed a genuine (and I mean GENUINE) run out chance.......in the test.....Hayden on about 120, blasted a straight drive that was dropped by the bowler and the batters took off, fielder lopped round from mid-on and picked up the rebound..they didn't turn back though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Threw it horribly and they still went upstairs..........

I could have been the first.
<
.........................S%#t!!!!!!!!!

However for NZ versus Zimbabwe last night - My lowly created player struck a patient and watchful 149 (Nooooooooooooooooooooo)!! His/My average is now 25!!

hey! that's almost respectable!! lol!!!!!!!!!!

PS - Have started taking some catches too! They are so cool and nerve racking...especially cos the bar comes up at different times depending on the shot and the placement of the fielder.........freaky deaky!!
 
yeah well and hour and a half for 90 overs isn't to bad. a test could easily be played in a week if you played 3 hours each day. there some poor guy on codemasters forum that has been playing the same test since release day and hes still bowling in the first innings.

your third test is sounding very interesting los with the ai giving you a good smashing with the bat. thats whats great about this game even in the same series each test is different. I can't wait until my copy arrives
 
I played it at my mates house today on PS2 and to be honest I was slightly suprised at the outcome. After weeks of build-up, I actually thought the finished product was total naff.

I have not played Cricket 2005 which I want to, so I cannot compare, but it doesn't compare to Brian Lara on the PS1 no-way.

The overall gameplay was average in my view with the animation slightly dodgy, but the lifespan from what I have seen would keep me going.

6/10
 
Introduction - My compareview (Because I compare this with EA cricket as I review!) is based on the single-player and multi-player games that I've played in COUNTY difficulty on XBOX. I have made comparisons with EA very often and this is inevitable. I'm not a EA fanboy and I prefer PES over FIFA and I'm not a Codies fanboy either and I didnt like Club Football. I'm just a fanboy of good games rather than that of any developer. I'm in my late twenties and I've been a hardcore cricket fan for the last 15-20 years (this declaration has become very important in this context). I was playing casual cricket till few years back. I spend around 5-10 hours a week on playing games.

Presentation - 7/10 : The presentation was very good and nothing much to compain about. But sometimes the menus were not that user-friendly when you wanted to swap to players in a squad where it took more time than you would expect. Certainly EA's presentation was more attractive, colourful and eye-catching than BLIC. But as well all know the presentation does not hold a major weightage in judging a game.

Gameplay - 8/10 : All in all, gameplay gets 8/10 for the gripping ODI feeling that BLIC gives and the complete control over the game that you can feel. Let me comment on the gameplay in a detailed manner.

Batting - 7/10 : Batting is fun in BLIC. With the range of shots available and a relatively easy timing for the shots, batting is real fun. There are no front/backfoot option but I did not miss that at all. In EA, all shots that we play are pre-meditated shots because we know the line and length of the ball few seconds before you play the shot and you cant move the pitching marker once it has been set. In BLIC, the bowler can always move the marker even after setting it and interestingly even until the shot is played. This is very interesting because, I cannot afford to have one pre-meditated shot for a ball because, the oppponent can move the marker anytime. I need to think of few possibilities and I need to have some more shots ready to play if the ball is moved. For me, this is more like real cricket.

One more good thing is, in grounds like MCG, I ran 4 runs which I dont think is possible in EA (you get 2 or four, even 3 is rare in EA). If your opponent sets the right field and bowls the right line and length, batting is not as easy as many people here think. I do miss the sweep shot but I'm happy that I'm not sweeping Shoaib Akhtar for a six. Atleast the advance shot should have been included. And finally, the tailenders bat like tailenders. I love the way they swing and miss. This fact makes us protect the wicket of one good batsman if you want some good score on the board. May be, EA does not make this distinction in the batting capabilties and you can socre a 50 or 100 even with Glen McGrath.

Probably in RPIC, they should include sweep shot and advance shot and make the timing a little more difficult and then you would go crazy with BLIC batting.

Bowling - 9/10 : With no autoplay option, I was more or less forced to bowl and I was pleasantly surprised. Initially, it took time for me to understand the controls and once ot hang of it, man, it was more fun than batting. As I mentioned before, the option of moving the ball marker at any point before the shot, really really gives a lot of strength to the bowlers. As we all know, the bowling speed is a big disappointment and this should be fixed atleast in RPIC. Though it is painful to see Brett Lee bowling at 70kph, it did not affect my game big time. I still went head and enjoyed the game with this limitation and got adjusted to the timing. It is possible to bowl at the same spot throughout the over. This needs to be fixed as not all bowlers can do that and not certainly possible to bowl with that discipline when you're being belted around. The ump was a little lenient with the wides. I saw some deliveries which are clearly wide as per ODI standards let off by the umpire.

Fielding - 9/10 : The change of the fielding set-up is very very user-friendly. In EA, to have a custom field you would need to go to the menu and it is very frustraing to set a custom field of your choice. BLIC custom field set up is very quick and easy. The drag and drop of fieldsmen in the field setup screen is a nice idea. And I was impressed by that little notification saying "fielding restrictions have been lifted". That's as a very useful info to have, in the middle of the match.

The 'mandatory' manual fielding is joy as well. This makes things under our complete control and we take the blame for not running out or spilling catches. Might also be good to have a button press which should make the fielder closer to the ball, run faster. Sometimes, I've noticed indifferent style of running by the outfielders. There are no desparate dives to save a boundary. The catching animations could have been better. Many non-slip catches are taken below knee-level. Also, I find that the catching by the bowler,keeper and the slip cordon is not controlled by the user. This has been excluded may be because the reflex time is less and you need to respond instantly after you bowl. May be even this can be brought under our control i.e matrix style, once the ball is nicked, the travel to the keeper is slower than normal for the user to time the catch. Third umpire decisions are not a real thrill or suspense in BLIC as in the real game.

Artificial Intelligence (?) - 3/10 : The major let down of BLIC is not the sweep shot or advance shot or the bowling speed. It is the incompetent and poor AI. Having scored 94 runs in 10 overs as India, I dont expect the AI to complete 10 overs with 30 runs for 5 wickets as Austalia. That's what happened and AI didnt even give a fight. I would been somewhat okay with 30 allout but to stay at 30-5 after 10 overs with Symonds and Clarke at
the crease is not really good. When the AI is so poor you cant take pride in winning matches against AI. And if you dont take pride in winning, you may not play. The incompetency of AI also includes the easy singles bug where AI denies a single when easily available. Add to this AI, not taking wasy single and this way its score is less by 30 - 40 runs in a 50-over match which can be very crucial. In EA, the AI is much better, it will make you sweat for your victory. With a better AI, this would make a great game and this would really widen the gap between BLIC and EA.

Multiplayer - 9.5/10 : All those who are not happy with AI of BLIC, should definitely try the multiplayer game in BLIC. The multiplayer experience was wholesome and fantastic. I played a 30-over match with my friend yesterday where he was playing as India and was bowled out for 128. When I chased I collpased initially and recovered but fell short by 3 runs.

This match had all the ingrediants of an ideal ODI. It had clean bowleds, run outs, very good catches, drops etc. Even the run rate was very realistic around 5.00 to 5.25 which is more like inernational cricket. We were really creative with our field setup and bowling changes. It felt like we were playing a real match or something.

The drawback in multiplayer is that the bowler being able to bowl at the same spot thoughout the over. AI will bowl at random spots but we cant resist humans from exploiting this. We do have a gentlemen's agreement of bowling a maximum of 2 yorkers per over when field restrictions are on and a maximum of 3 per over otherwise. In co-op, the concept of once player doing the bowling and the other taking charge if the fielding is very refreshing and very interesting. As someone mentioned, in co-op play, the striker makes a call and makes both the batsman run. In EA, co-op allows the striker and non-striker to run independently of the other, which is more like real cricket.

One caveat - Dont play in TEST difficulty in multiplayer games. My human opponent couldnt play the Akhtar deliveries I was bowling (I couldnt play his Lee deliveries either). If you play in TEST difficulty, it will soon become a pointless match with unrealistic scores. PLAY IN COUNTY difficulty in multiplayer games, and I'm sure it would be a cracker of a game.

Audio - 5/10 : The audio in BLIC is so-so. Good commentary team. In the absence of the player licenses, they are not able to say the players' names in the commentary which is very unfortunate. To fill this gap, they comment on various things about cricket which sometimes overlaps the occurrences on the field. Crowd reactions are very good. The in-game sound effects of ball hitting bat and stumps are also fine. I dont know whether many people noticed this, In EA Cricket, when a player fields a ball or receives a throw, the audio you hear is that of ball shattering the stumps. No such goof-up in BLIC.

In-game presentations - 6/10 : The graphics and player animations are excellent. I would say much better animated than EA. The game can be slowed a little (only a little) to appreciate the codies hardwork and intelligent strokeplay. That is, when AI square cut a ball, and even before I could see the shot to my satisfacton and realise whether it was well timed or ill-timed, the next screen is the third person view of fielder trying to catch the ball. Sometimes, I've held catches without knowing whether I caught with the mid-on fielder or mid-off fielder.

The 'LOADING' screen before every over is not much of a problem but could have been avoided. You get to see the scoreboard everytime you lose a wicket. And also whenever a bowler starts his over, the bowling figures of that bowler are displayed. I liked these small things which are very nice to have. But generally, I like the speed of the game. It is now possible to play a 50-over match and complete it in good time.

The lack of player license is not really an issue but for the commentary. Because there is a 'edit player names' option where you can edit all the names or if you have a PC version you can upload the names. Each squad has 16 players and thats it. Some squads are not updated and hence either you need to rename some unwanted player with the player name you want, provided they have the same kind of profile (Right Arm Fast etc). The other option is to create a player and include him in the squad. EA's squad list is incredibly comprehensive and exhaustive.

The day/night matches in BLIC is a welcome feature as EA does not have day/night matches. The variable weather feature is also something that is missing in EA. With variable weather, conditions during the match keeps changing you need to be good captain to take advantage if this. And you can save at the beginning of each over. This save option was such a relief after EA missed out on this in the Xbox version. Hawkeye is a BLIC special but does not add any special value to the game. But it is nice have though. EA has much better post-game stats and graphs.

How it compares with EA - 70:30 - On the whole, if you want a wholesome and entertaining cricketing experience, BLIC wins hands down. BLIC is not the best simulation of cricket but this comes closer to real cricket than EA Cricket. EA Cricket is good but you may not really enjoy due to the slowness, limitiations and bugs. Whereas in BLIC you would certainly enjoy all departments of the game and you may be bored with AI opponent but never with the human opponent.

Final Conclusion 8/10 : Very good first attempt by Swordfish and a good comeback by Codemasters. Before the release of BLIC, I had rated EA Cricket 8/10 but now with BLIC in the picture, EA should be downgraded to 6/10. You certainly would not regret buying this game. The best cricket game in all respects has not arrived yet. But when it arrives it would surely be from Codemasters and not from EA.
________________________________________________________________

Chat, discuss & argue on Cricket - http://willow.ezforum.org/
Chat, discuss & argue on Cricket - http://willow.ezforum.org/
Chat, discuss & argue on Cricket - http://willow.ezforum.org/
 

Latest posts

Top