‘Cricket 22’ game review: A bowling diamond in the rough

Given that a quarter of the world is cricket-crazy, it’s odd that the gaming technology that goes into sports simulators like 2K Games’ NBA 2K22 and EA Sports’ Madden NFL and FIFA hasn’t entered ‘Gentleman’s Sport’ Is. There was ‘cricket 19′, but after that mobile titles like Stick Sports’ Stick Cricket and Nautilus Mobile’s Real Cricket took over the market, proving that there is a market out there and eager people who want to play the game of cricket. . a big screen.

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Built on the framework of Cricket 19, Cricket 22 is set to take the crown by bringing new graphics and licenses to the game of cricket. While there are not many games like this in the region, here, we more or less boil down the drama appeal of AAA (Blockbuster Budget) cricket titles.

In keeping with other top-tier sports games, including FIFA, Cricket 22 has a career mode, where you select your starting club and change the bowling and batting style of your avatar. Given the more modest budget that the developers at Big Ant Studios have had to work with, the animations are wooden and spotty. After setting your expectations on that, careers are a lot of fun where you get to train your character as well as take control of many aspects of your journey.

But as expected, the real selling point of Cricket 22 is when you are on the pitch.

representation on the pitch

Right off the bat, if you were excited to take the Indian team out for a good old India vs Pakistan match for glory, you would be very disappointed as the game lacks licensed representation – a deal for many gamers. -breakers and sports fans. However, it is understandable considering the challenges of obtaining such licenses and the amount of money they would cost. In fact, it reduces the propensity to buy this game.

Although it is a big mention that Big Ant Studios managed to bring in male and female players. Thanks to a vibrant cricket community, you can download a truly created cricket team, kit, player license and much more. The licensed teams are Australia, England, West Indies, New Zealand and Ireland.

The actual gameplay is quite tight and arcade-like. From batting mechanics – all based on the timing dial – bowling is also spiced up by timed presses, while fielding slows you down to perform active timing events. If you want something more tailored to the simulation, change the settings for a different control scheme, though it’s fine to use, and primarily for cricket purists, to set up your own long-form test match. Is . It is worth mentioning that the average cricket 22 play sessions are short affairs that allow you to pick up and play on the couch for a short spurt.

Sports games are all about the surroundings – after all, most of the simulated experience is about making the animated surrounding crowd feel happy and boo. In Cricket 22, however, the stadiums are less crowded and cleaner. The textures and color palette feel a little too rudimentary and basic, and it’s hard to ignore the speckled graphics and jittery player animations, as well as weird ball physics issues and AI glitches, which make up for the game’s general lack of polish.

Again, it’s all about expectations. If you know what you’re doing, it’s easy to ignore these issues and enjoy the overall game. But Cricket 22 is targeted at people who are passionate about the game as opposed to the glamorous team or player-level aspects.

While it’s still a bit rough around the edges, Cricket 22 has the potential for greatness; With frequent updates and tweaking, it can live up to some of the best expectations. For now, we’ll take what we get and hope the licensing gods shower the series with good luck for years to come.

The author is a tech and gaming enthusiast who hopes to finish his science-fiction novel one day