It's In TeH GaMe !!!

A drought is certainly over. This one was for cricket games which lasted for whole 2 years. First came Ashes Cricket 09.Then came my very own much anticipated game - Cricket Revolution. But why was I anxious for it more than AC09? Here is the answer why -

Pakistan's First Cricket Game launches:
Yeah! You heard it right. A first for Pakistan in 3D gaming industry! Developed by Mindstorm Studios owned by two Pakistani brothers - Babar and Faraz Ahmed, this game was first supposed to release on 18th September on the fantastic game distributing platform - Steam. After a lot of demand for the boxed version as well from the fans, the release date was postponed to 30th October. Just before the game released, a closed beta test was conducted for a week or so. And I was part of it. That was the real turning point for my love and anticipation for this game increased. This game didn't really create much hype compared to Ashes Cricket 09 from Codies. Yet for me...this game is by far the best played so far.

The Real Turner -

There has been some criticism about other cricket games where they lack realism in their gameplay. But this is not the case with CR. You can't really hit every ball out of the ground like in other games. This is where CR has overpowered all others quite convincingly.

Though it doesn’t have the so-called complete 360° batting control or any analog keys(or whatever EA featured in Cricket 07), but hey, you have a vast variety of shots( a lot more than any cricket game so far). Total 34 in number! Right from defensive strokes, single key shots to combo shots and slogs and lofts. My personal favorite is the slog hit over Mid-wicket region.

Bowling is much like EA Cricket 07, other than the variety again. You have fast bowlers, swing bowlers, medium-fast bowlers and of course spinners. Another major difference is something you might find difficult to cope up with. That is the bowling marker. But with a bit of Practice you can master it.

What has really enhanced this game is the AI. Again, you can’t bowl them out cheaply. They are much intelligent than AI’s of other games. They will bowl you out with perfection. The margin for error is low but not zero. In a 10-10 over game you can score around 60-70 runs if you hit the ball in vacant areas. But timing and your positioning is everything. Unlike other games, where if the ball marker is a bit away from the batsman and still he manages to play his shots on the leg side, this is never going to happen here. If you’ll try this you are about to snick the ball to either the slips or the short-thirdman (AI always places a fielder in either of the places). As far as the timing is concerned, it is really important to be perfect here…if timed early, the ball will fly in the fielder’s hand and if timed late, a lofted or slog hit just rolls down the ground.

The only disappointment comes with the missing of Autoplay and replays.

Online Play –

Certainly it is another important aspect of the game. It can be a bit disappointing at times since P2P(peer to peer) online gaming means that gaming conditions are perfect only if you play somewhere in your country or somewhere around that. Anything above a ping of 300ms could result in bad lag. But it doesn’t really matter sometimes even if it goes above as long as you run your brain well. Sometimes the online matches are real fun. You have the option of playing either friendly or ranked ones. Ranked matches do affect your account ranking in the Leaderboard. In fact not only yours, but your country’s rank as well. Again, the point where it has edged out AC09 is the online quitters. You quit a game yourself, and your opponent is declared the winner. So there’s no place for losers.

But the problem is that you can’t beat cheaters…no matter if quitting games results in being counted as loss. They use dirty tricks to win games. They will ball you at a negative line well outside the off-stump. Sometimes they place the fielders at the boundaries straight down the ground, at the mid-wicket and the cover region. And they will flood you with over-pitched deliveries just to hit it straight to their throats. But if you are intelligent enough, you can easily beat them. Let them place their fielders anywhere…it’s you who have to place your shots.

Sound effects and Music –

The music track is pretty good. Even quite a lot of sound effects such as the sound of the bat while hitting the ball, the background sound such as police siren and such are realistic. The only disappointment there is the ball hitting the advertising boards just ahead of the ropes. They sound more like drums than regular wooden boards.

Oh and did I tell you that there is no commentary in the game at present?! For some it is sad, but I am pretty happy with it. The reason for my happiness is that I anyways mute the commentary after a few matches in other games.

Graphics –

They need a bit of improvement. Not a bit…in fact much. For instance the ball looks well above the fielder’s head yet he catches it at chest level. It gets funny at times as well as annoying when that freakish catch becomes the turning point of the game.

Formats and Tournaments in CR –

Currently only 10,20 and 50 over formats are available. Sad to see no test match mode. Test cricket is dying quite possibly. But the developers have said that they will most likely add it in the future.

In CR there are three types of tournaments – Exhibition mode, Fast-paced knock-out better known as Revolution Cup and a league known as Revolution League.

Other Features –

In online play, you will be able to create your own clubs soon. Another feature that will be available soon are the Awards and Achievements.

Meanwhile, in case you don’t want to play with a test-playing nation, there is a massive list of other countries you can choose for offline modes.

Conclusion -

A casual gamer might not be comfortable with Cricket Revolution. In my opinion this game is meant for real hardcore cricket gamers.

Total Score –

Gameplay – 8.5/10

Sound and Music – 7/10

Online Mode – 8/10

Graphics – 5/10

Customization – 9/10

Overall – 8/10

Visit the game website - www.cricketrevolution.com

See the review here as well - http://www.bukisa.com/articles/195136_cricket-revolution-the-perfect-cricket-game

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My first post after a long time!

It couldn't have gone any worse for the Indian team. They really seem to be out of colors ever since the IPL. Oh well...in a way ever since I wrote my last post. They seem to be lacking the self-confidence and form that they carried with them coming into the year 2009.

The 3rd day was totally dominated by the Lankans thanks to some over-defensive tactics by MSD. This is one kind of a situation where Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting found himself when his team came to India for a four match test series last year. All strange tactics, flat fielding and bowling resulted in zero-pressure on the Lankan batsmen. But you can't really steal the credit from their batsmen as well. They seemed to have batted India out of this game totally. The current lead is around 165 runs. Expect the lead to increase to at least 250 runs, and then the SL bowlers would have enough time to test the so-called experience batting order of Indians.

What really annoyed me was the fact that the singles kept coming on quite easily. I wouldn't have set such a field even in shorter formats of the game. MSD seems to be lacking his out-of-the-box thinking. Or if you would like...his stars are not shining, therefore his gambles not paying off well. But why blame him alone? Some non-sensical and lousy bowling also resulted in Jayawardene duo getting away. Mishra just kept bowling from around the wicket, outside the leg to both the batsmen expecting the ball to turn miles(which of course even Warnie would have been able to do). Bhajji still seamed to be confused and a bit insecure. And part time bowling of Yuvi was at its worse. Either he bowled short, or bowled non-turning half volleys with 5-6 fielders outside the 30 yard circle. Ishant and Zaheer too looked decent enough.

Indian Batting in the 1st Innings -

The first half or so of the game sent shockwaves throughout the dressing room. Right after the 6th ODI against Australia played earlier this November, this was another top-order collapse. I remember Viru once said how fatherhood has made him more responsible even in his game. It seemed true for quite a while. Sehwag injured...he came back and with him came back the showdows of his gameplay during his early days when he used to get out trying to hit every ball out of the park. As one senior batsman, one does not expect this out of him. And the collapse continued to follow...Sigh. But again, the SL have stolen the credit for utilizing the early conditions well, especially Welegedara. Yuvraj,Dhoni and Dravid played extremely well to help India reach a total which looked completely out of India's reach.

What Can really Happen Now?

For India, it's near to nothing. They failed to attack Lankans the way a top team is expected to do. As an Indian supporter, I do hope to see India coming back well and at least saving their skin by drawing the game.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka have got an excellent chance to register their first win on Indian soil. Tomorrow's day is going to be very interesting and important one!



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Alright so...after a long break we are back! I had a long chat with Shanav and Satya and finally we decided not to blog this blog even an inch anywhere outside Blogger.com. Even I was having a tough time developing on Wordpress(Ah! A long story...never mind 'bout that).

Let me inform you though, we are looking for a new refreshing template for Crick-O. Nevertheless...WE are really back this time around.

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So after a long...very long absence indeed, I am posting something here. But this doesn't really mean I am back.

I have learnt a lot during this period. And now I am busy with currently shifting the blog. So yes, I will be back soon along with Shanav and Satya. And So Crick-O will be in a new look and out refreshed with a new name!

Hope to see you guys soon. Will try to keep an update on how the things are going to proceed.

Anyways, thanks and see you all later.

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