Cricket 2005

Cricket 2005

Ameya Dalvi, Aug 13, 2005 1010 hrs IST

EA, a sincere request: Please give Richie Benaud a new script.

Best looking cricket game till date, updated teams and tournament types

Poor game-play, limited range of shots, hardly any novelty, out of context and repetitive commentary, no option to change video settings and controls, needs you uninstall other software

Expert Rating :

Expert Review

Off the Mark

After all the installation and uninstallation, I finally managed to get the game working and reached the main menu and was greeted by a background score which was pretty neat but somewhat out of place for a cricket game. The menu displayed various types of game modes ranging from a quick limited overs match to a Test series and from a domestic league tournament to the all prestigious World Cup and even the new 20-20 format. To be honest, a 20 over match was always present in most of the cricket games. It is just its current popularity that allows EA to hype it in their promos. Nothing wrong in making hay while the sun shines though. However there was something missing. Generally when I am about to start a new game, the first thing I do is adjust the audio and video settings along with the controls. I guess most of you do the same. However in this game, I could not find that setting. There is no way you can change the resolution or detail level, or for that matter, even reconfigure the controls. Considering the fact that this game belongs to such a reputed developer like EA Sports, the absence of those settings is shocking, to say the least.

The Aesthetics

EA seldom get this aspect wrong and yes, this has to be the best looking cricket game till date. Having said that, I would like to add that the level of detail here, cannot be compared to other sports games developed by the same company. EA's FIFA, PGA and NBA series look a lot more refined in terms of aesthetics. However Cricket 2005 doesn't look too bad. The grounds, though not a replica of their real world counterparts, look good. Player models are well designed and are no more just a cluster of polygons. The players look a touch better than those in Cricket 2004. In fact, the faces of some players are designed to look like the real ones (something that we saw in FIFA and NBA over 2 years back). But that applies to only a few players from primarily 3 teams - Australia, England and New Zealand. Resemblance to any other player from any other team is purely coincidental. One would have thought that EA would at least consider making some of the cricket icons like Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara look real but no. As a matter of fact, it seems that the guy who designed Sachin Tendulkar has never seen the maestro in real life or on TV. With a prominent moustache, the model that is supposed to be him looks like anyone but Sachin.

The player movements and reactions are well captured and add a good flavor. You are also allowed to create your own player. The teams are pretty updated and you can also find Mahendra Singh Dhoni keeping wickets for India.

The Sound

We aren't talking about sound settings here but the in-game sounds. The sound of the ball hitting the bat is near perfect and appealing is pretty believable too. The crowd lends an average ambiance and fails to bring the game to life as in a real match. The last but by no means the least (perhaps the most prominent) sound in the game is the commentary. The good part is that it is delivered by Richie Benaud. The bad part is that Richie Benaud continues to utter those same lines that he has been doing in EA's Cricket games since 1997. The terrible part is that, more often than not, the commentary has got practically nothing to do with what's going on on the field. I heard the commentator say something like - "That was a good bouncer by Heath Streak" when in reality it was a full length ball played away by the batsman and Mr. Streak was cooling his heals somewhere on the boundary waiting to bowl the next over.