Translating the complexity of cricket to the pace of a video game is difficult. The instant energy of football and basketball is a natural fit for arcade-style sports games like FIFA and NBA 2K, but the lazy fun of cricket doesn’t quite fit that mold. The usual approach to sports simulation is based on 12-minute workouts for instant gratification and fails to capture the athletic experience of being on your feet for most of a game. This is where Big Ant Studios’ cricket series takes a different route.
The Aussie developer’s deeply flawed but admirably detailed and oddly satisfying simulation of Gentleman’s Game has attempted to fizzle out the sport’s slow-burn drama over multiple iterations, with mixed results. The studio’s latest cricket simulation, Cricket 24 (out today on PC and consoles), continues in a similar vein. It inherited and built on the successes of its predecessors, but also copied many of their failures. During my three-hour hands-on preview of Cricket 24 at the recent PlayStation reveal, I had an experience that ranged from fun to frustrating, which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from the series.
During my preview of the game, I had the opportunity to explore the different game modes, check out the roster of licensed teams in the game, and play a few matches to get a feel for how Cricket 24 plays. Of course, to fully experience the game and get a feel for everything it has to offer with an in-depth review would require spending more time with the game, but from my hands-on preview experience, much of it seems to be familiar territory, and There’s some new bells and whistles. If you’ve been exposed to Big Ant’s Cricket series, and have played any of the studio’s recent cricket games, you won’t have much difficulty finding your footing in Cricket 24. The controls, gameplay systems, and even the user interface and menus maintain the status quo of the series. There are some improvements, too, most notably some facial likenesses for players, on-field animations, and overall highlights of the gameplay demo. This is certainly a more polished cricket simulation than its predecessors.
Cricket 24 launches globally; new India version PS5 bundle released
In actual gameplay, Cricket 24 also feels like a slightly slower, more deliberate experience. Of course, having two different control schemes allows for a unique gameplay feel and significantly changes your input and feedback. Arcade controls for batting and bowling, true to their name, allow for a more streamlined experience – a simpler button-press-based approach that relies on input timing, not too far removed from quick-time events. The Pro (Classic) control scheme, on the other hand, opts for a more precise stick-based approach. I tried both but stuck with the latter since I’ve played games with the same scheme before. However, both control systems suffer from player feedback issues, especially in the bowling department, resulting in unpredictable and imprecise responses to your inputs. During seam bowling, a kick wheel is displayed on the HUD, allowing the user to set the ball for themselves after locking the line, length and ball type (in swing, out swing, off or leg cut, bounce ball) Add subtle changes to the pitching, or yorking. But you can never be sure of the level of input required to produce the desired results. The heavy input often resulted in me hitting the ball horribly wide, and I found that not interfering with the trailing wheel was the safer option.
Bowling sensitivity generally lacks consistency and balance, and the ball often behaves like a wild beast that needs to be tamed. On the other hand, whether intentional or not, it provides a more realistic cricket experience, bowling is never an exact science and truly perfect delivery depends on dozens of factors, not all of which are within your control. below. The batting, on the other hand, definitely feels more responsive and controlled, allowing for a more consistent and precise expression of your input. The animations are also better suited to the batting side of the game, with fancy footwork, contorted bodies and flicks of the wrist that resemble a batsman’s real-life movements. Bowling animations, meanwhile, blend into a single template for fast, medium and slow/spin bowlers, rarely adding a unique touch to a specific player or bowl type. Your shot will also produce better player feedback than your shot. When you hit the sweet spot of ideal timing, shot selection, and footwork, your shots will fly off the bat with decisive crunch. You know you’ve hit the boundary before the ball goes over the rope. This never gets old and brings ASMR-like satisfaction to Cricket 24’s willow swings.
My New Zealand batsmen performed well.
Photo credit: Screenshot/Manas Mitul
The cricket peripherals also received a new coat of paint and polish. There are new and improved highlight packs, commentary and statistics screens. The usual stuff is all there, from detailed shot charts, eagle eyes, and hotspots to scorecards, slow-motion replays, and rituals. These not only add to the gaming experience, but also bring a layer of immersion and believability to the simulation. The HUD, menus and UI elements are visually optimized, but menu navigation is still tricky, just like in the old cricket games. The graphical fidelity in the game has also been improved, bringing players closer to life, pitches rich in detail and team jerseys looking more natural. But these are not without inconsistencies. For example, Australia’s player faces received extra attention. Most players on licensed teams like New Zealand and England also resemble real-life players, but others receive generic treatment. The lighting for daytime games also feels bland, and the stadium detail leaves a lot to be desired.
Then, there are errors. No cricket match is complete without some clunk, and Cricket 24 is no exception. During my playthrough, I encountered a variety of bugs and glitches that ranged from charming to jarring, depending on your tolerance level. The worst part was when I used off-spin to gain an advantage from the batsman, the ball was quickly caught by my wicketkeeper. To my dismay, despite my appeal, the batsman was not dismissed. Delivery is fair and reviewers confirm the strengths. Immediately after the game, the batsman should have walked back to the dressing room, but instead he stayed at the crease. In another rather amusing example, my outfielder ran for a mistimed shot, darted to catch the ball, and completely missed it, causing the ball to comically bounce to his head. When it’s my turn to bat, my driver passes like an invisible ghost across the sight screen and onto the field. I have to admit, though, that Cricket 24’s bugs did more to make me laugh than make me want to throw away the controller. They never delve into game-breaking territory, instead their silliness evokes a Bethesda-esque goofball charm. I’ve experienced all kinds of glitches in previous cricket matches, from silly overthrows to passed out wicketkeepers, but that never stopped me from having fun.
Adam Zampa considers his next pitch
Photo credit: Screenshot/Manas Mitul
The pinnacle of Cricket 24 is its ability to capture the entropy of the game of cricket. Big Ant Cricket Simulator, despite its many flaws and hiccups, somehow remains true to the way a cricket game unfolds and unravels. Its unwavering commitment to the fundamentals of cricket, its almost obsessive and indulgent insistence on the ideals of the game, and its unabashed rendition of cricket’s most trivial details are worthy of admiration. These same promises deliver a new level of immersion and are a big part of Cricket 24’s appeal and fun.
There’s something special about all the games in the series: they all require equal amounts of intention and commitment on the part of the player to maintain immersion. If you’re really good at these games, you’ll probably crush every ball and score six points. But is it fun? The cricket game pushes you to play through the cricket narrative in a way that reacts with you and your efforts, allowing the game to ground itself without breaking the immersion. You can go for big hits in the early powerplay, and then the game will naturally slow you down in the middle overs through changes in bowling pace and strict field placement. The final act can be a desperate blitzkrieg in pursuit of your target, where the game forces you to take risks. Isn’t that how most cricket matches unfold? It’s rare that Big Ant’s cricket simulation does this by building a transactional relationship with its players.
Cricket 24 has a firm grip on the rhythm of cricket matches
Photo credit: Screenshot/Manas Mitul
Cricket 24 also brings familiar patterns. Play Now to quickly jump into a custom match; Career Mode lets you create a player or pick one from an existing roster to compete in club cricket and make a name for yourself on the international stage; Ashes Mode will take Your detailed simulation of the iconic Test series between Australia and England; an online mode to challenge other players and friends; and a World Championship mode with World Cup double. Of course, you have the option to create and start custom tournaments and tours. Like its predecessor, Cricket 24 also features a Cricket Academy where you can create and edit players, teams, stadiums, umpires and more, and take advantage of a vast online library of user-created content to replace unofficial content with accurate and updated content. Licensed roster players.
In terms of licensing, Cricket 24 has had a ton of official content right from the start. Of the major teams, England, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies are fully licensed, with updated squads, player portraits and names, team jerseys and logos. The rest of the teams, including India, have an unsanctioned roster of players who can be replaced with newer players through the Cricket Academy. In addition to men’s and women’s international teams, there are a variety of leagues and domestic competitions to choose from, including the Big Bash League, WBBL, The Hundred, Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League and the Indian T20 League. The league is designed to replace the Indian Premier League ( IPL). While IPL brands are lacking due to the complexities involved in licensing, the Indian T20 league includes Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans, Lucknow Supergiants, Licensed teams, players and logos for Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. However, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore were strangely missing.
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Suzie Bates’ performance in WBBL matches
Image source: Big Ant Studio
I think cricket fans, especially from the subcontinent, will have a lot of fun with Big Ant’s latest release. The inclusion of official IPL teams in the Indian version of the competition does help, and the fact that the competition is launched on the same day as the World Cup starts (definitely not a coincidence) doesn’t hurt cricket’s 24 chances either. The game is also getting a sizeable marketing push in India this time around, with PlayStation launching the Cricket 24 PS5 bundle at a discounted price of Rs. Starting on October 8, there were 47,990 players. While the three-hour hands-on preview does allow you to experience a sizable cross-section of the game, it doesn’t measure up to its full scope and ambition. Based on my experience with the game, Cricket 24 doesn’t turn out to be a perfect sequel that brings new ideas to the table, but it does serve as a flawed new game that builds on the foundations of the series.
Like its predecessor, the game oscillates between a special kind of satisfaction and a special kind of frustration, both of which are hard to find in other sports games. Cricket 24 faithfully recreates the intricacies of the spirit of cricket, and it somehow manages to trap lightning in a bottle, but at the same time, quite literally, it falls short of the basics you’d expect any game to tick. On the technical box. In the end, like a bugged batsman, Big Ant’s latest clunky sports simulation cousin remains at the crease rather than out.
Disclosure: Sony sponsored flights for journalists to a preview and console bundle launch event in New Delhi.
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