THE LATEST FROM EA
Unlike Cricket 2004, the much awaited Cricket 2005 seemed to have a silent release. It was only while browsing that I came to know about this game being released. It was only a few weeks ago, that I got my hands on this game, but I have to say that I was not even half impressed by this game as much as I loved the demo version of the game.

In demo version, we had only the last few overs of a match between England and Australia to handle. It was player likenesses of the Aussie and English players that got me into the full version. The realistic looks of the players like Symonds, Clarke, Harmison etc are worth mentioning, but as you look at the players of some other teams, you may be disappointed. Tendulkar and Shewag looks alike with a moustache and Dravid and Ganguly may seem like identical twins.

A GAME TO PLAY
The game is easy to play even in the hard level if you can master the art of batting, especially in test matches. As long as the fielders keep misfielding and the bowlers keep bowling the wrong line on lots of occasions with the field set up, test matches are going to be really easy, especially when those edges fly towards the boundary line. But One Day matches are going to be tougher especially the shorter ones with ten or twenty overs as the option of hitting boundaries are not open with the field spread out and the misfields sometimes seizing.

The bowling control will be hard for the beginners, but with the autoplay option available, it may not be necessary and so is the fielding with the automatic fielding on. The good thing about this game is that you will be able to win this game from any situation, unlike Cricket 2004 and Cricket 2002.

The game certainly is a nice improvement from the previous cricket releases, but with the new version of Brian Lara Cricket being released with better hype, lets see how far this one can go with these small improvements.

SOMEWHAT RESTRICTED
The game has a number of stadiums, but not as much as Cricket 2004, with India restricted to one stadium of Calcutta and Pakistan Faislabad. There is the option to play Australian and England county, along with the World Cup and the other usual game types including the practice nets which can be quite helpful for gaining a good control over the keys. The computer AI has improved upto an extent, as they do make some good fielding and bowling changes on occasions, but still continues to be a bit predictable.

The fact is that even if you are an expert in any of the earlier Cricket games like Cricket 2004 or Cricket 2002, you may not cross 50 as the variety of shots is different in games. But it won’t take you much time to master this game. If you listen to the commentry, you will find that it is just the same as Cricket 2004 - simply talking the same thing and nothing more.

KEEPS THE HOPES ALIVE
The game saves all your personal records in your profile. The matches won and lost, highest individual score, best bowling, partnerships for each wickets - all can be viewed from your profile. The main problem in Cricket 2004, ie the records of the games whch were in progress were displayed prematurely with some errors - this problem is somewhat rectified now.

The effect of the confidence meter of the bowlers affects their bowling and the special deliveries they can bowl. The more the batsman is settled, it will boost his stroke play better, and this time it is harder to bat for the tail-enders unlike the earlier games where you can get a century from any player.

The menu is stylish and so is the display of scorecard - there are wagon wheel graphs, batting and bowling status along with all the remaining statistics that was in Cricket 2004. The game has also updated the teams really well.

This is one of those games that you should play, but if you have already have Cricket 2004, and is still playing it well, I will say that you don’t need this one. Almost everything just remains the same, and in the 2004 version you have the option to play in lots more stadiums and the Indian players does look much better. I would recommend waiting for the upcoming version of Brain Lara Cricket.

THANKS FOR READING THE REVIEW - PLEASE PROCEED TO THE COMMENTS SECTION OF MY 250TH REVIEW

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