Title: Don Bradman Cricket 14
Publisher: Tru Blu Entertainment
Developer: Big Ant Studios
Genre: Cricket/Sports
Platform(s): PlayStation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360, PC (June 2014)
Price: Rs. 3,999 (PS3, Xbox 360)
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During the day I’m your regular Rishi. Dealing with an expanding waistline, annoying pet cats (or am I their pet? Can’t tell…) and yearning from escape from this dreadfull spell of weather while writing this (long overdue) piece for iLLGaming.
However, at 7 P.M. each night, all of that changes.
For once the felines have been fed, exercise regimen adhered to and writing done I transform into a spry, medium pace bowler who is quite handy with the bat as well. Negotiating with the tiresome schedule of the domestice cricket season all while having my eye on the prize. Being the cricket captain of my country.
The secret to getting there? My Xbox 360 controller. While I’m over the hill and quite probably lack the inclination to bother with cricket in real life, Don Bradman Cricket 14 and its stellar career mode just go to show how far the genre can evolve when the right people go ahead and make a game on a sport they love.
Developed by the nice people at Big Ant, a studio based out of Australia, Don Bradman Cricket 14 gets more addictive as you keep playing. Unlike other games in the genre that fall in an all too predictable pattern in the first few hours, DBC 14 never gets stale. You can never quite guess the outcome of your actions.
This is partly due to the fact that the control scheme varies tremendously from what we’re all accustomed to. Gone is the rampant use of buttons to do everything from timing a shot to bowling a googly. Instead you’ll find yourself making full use of the analog sticks to do everything from hitting the ball out of the stadium to bowling in-swinging yorkers. Going with this control scheme allows for a sense of control blended with just enough randomness to allow for a game that never gets stale.
Furthermore, there’s a slew of game modes that put your average cricket game to shame. From net practice to a fully blown up career mode that puts you in the role of a sixteen year old newbie harbouring dreams of national captaincy, there’s a lot to keep you interested in. The career mode mimics what we’ve seen and loved in FIFA’s Be a Pro mode. You play matches and can even fastforward to the point that’s most pertinent for your advancement in the game. The AI that manages your scenarios is quite sweet. From bowling at the death to being propped up the batting order as a pinch hitter, you’ll be faced with a ton of different situations that help you grow your player into the hero you want him to be all while garnering attention from other, more lucrative teams. Needless to say, it’s the most fun we’ve had in a cricket game ever.
In addition to this, there’s a fantastic variety of options. At the press of a few buttons I can create my own custom team, download existing rosters (from the awesome community that decided to recreate international and domestic teams as they were in reality) or simply play with every player having a big head. Not too shabby at all.
Intuitive controls and choices galore aside, DBC 14 isn’t without some issues. For one, it lacks the shine and polish we’ve come to expect from sports games (in our defense: EA’s attention to production values has spoiled us). There’s no licensed playlist or jawdroppingly sexy UI. Rather you have a functional interface and far from memorable music. The visuals are a step down from what is expected from a current sports game and the animations do tend to go awry what with players ice skating across the pitch rather than running or banging into wickets at the slightest excuse.
Oh, and the price doesn’t help matters either. At INR 3,999 this isn’t exactly the cheapest of games on the shelf. One can’t help but feel that the advantage is being taken of the fact that there simply are no cricket games available on the shelf.
All said and done, if you can stomach the exhorbitant price, just about servicable graphics and dodgy animations, you’ll be treated to a game that’s done more for cricket than anything in the last decade has. IPL included.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cricketing career to build.
