Every year I anticipate the release of EA’s titles. Now, even more so, as the company has taken it on itself to produce rugby and cricket titles on a yearly basis and build a franchise similiar to the successful FIFA franchise.

Over time EA has managed to produce a mixed bag regarding cricket games. In 1996 they delivered a game which would create a framework for something which could prove a major success. Needless to say, 97, 99, World Cup and 2004 were major faults.

This year Cricket 2005 features a host of tours, competitions and matches which you can play. It features the English county championship and Australian national competition. These were included last year, and maybe an expansion on maybe the South African, West Indies and sub-continent national competitions would have been good.

I feel that here the game is very much the same as last year, but hey there’s nothing wrong with that.

Heads, and I select to bat on a nice hard wicket. Richie Benuad welcomes the players on the field and gives a run down of the team - straight from 2004 - this was a big mistake.

The first ball is about to bowled and the graphics looks great. The players looks almost like their real world models. I must admit, I am very impressed with the graphics. Judging on the leap from 2004-05 I must congratulate the design team on creating models which look like real cricketers and not the stocky rubbish from 2004.

However, this is the last thing people, other than cricket fanatics, will enjoy about the game. The game is tough - not impossible, but tough. If you have played the game, you can expect much the same of that. Bat like you would on the pitch. Bowl like you would like to bowl in the middle and field the same way. If you dont you have just wasted a load of cash.

However, this is what makes the game so great. The learning curve is steep and only after playing the game for about 24 hours did I manage to win my first game. See cricket is a game about patience and that is what is required to win.

Sadly, normal everyday gamers will find the game a drag and much too slow to their liking.

The sound in Cricket 2005 is poor. In 2004 it was brilliant, but to listen to the same lines over and over again only entertains for that long. The crowd sounds the same. very much the same as 2004. This was a big dissapointment.

On the gameplay front, the game does reasonably well. There are no more hotspots on the pitch. In other words you cant bowl on a certain spot and know you are going to get a wicket. The AI is also much smarter and will bat accordingly to run-rate, overs left and wickets lost. You can pretty much play every stroke in the book and the bowlers can bowl great in-swingers, out-swingers and much more.

A nice additions on the bowling framework is the special delivers. If the bowlers bowl well, they will fill a confidence meter, which will enable them to bowl a yorker, bouncer, slower ball. These when used correctly and accurately could result in crucial wickets.

In conclusion I feel that EA came close to a solid cricket title, but failed in a couple of entertainment departments. Unfortunately entertainment is what makes the game great. However, if you can watch a 5-day test match I reccommend you picking up this title.

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