Cricket Revolution Review

This is the first proper PC game made by a Pakistani software company. And from the looks of things, they have really put in a great effort. Now, let’s gauge as to how good it really is. And if it can possibly be compared to the EA Cricket series.

First Impressions

Installing the game was a very quick and easy experience, mainly because its size is a mere 605 MBs. Compared to other recent sport games or cricket games which are huge in size, this is an advantage to Cricket Revolution. Opening of the game was with a usual developer cut scene and a nice small cut scene of a player sitting on the bench, who – when one of the player is declared out – walks out into the stadium, under the glare of stadium lights. It’s a quite small yet an impression making cut scene. Its these first impressions that usually make a big impact on the players. The menu is easy to navigate with the usual options:- Cricket Revolution, Single Player and Options being the most important of course. The option menu has all the menus (graphics,sound,video) combined on first menu screen. For its first iteration, the game lacks support for resolutions higher than 1600 x 1200, and it plays well on low-specification systems as well. It’s also hoped that Mindstorm studios will update the game, in the future for those with decent gaming PCs – so that they can run it on higher resolutions. The Single Player mode has 3 events, and a Cricket Revolution mode, which lets you test your skills against other players online. But since the game is still very new, there is a lack of available online servers. So, for now, you will have to do with LAN and Single Player sessions.

After playing a small match I noticed one thing which may effect the gameplay a bit. That there is no way to avoid cut scenes, during game play. I believe that having such an option will make the gameplay much more faster and thus more interesting.

Gameplay

A.I.

The A.I in this game is quite impressive. It seems like intelligent bots took over the opposing team in an attempt to ruin your victory determination. Well they surely thought wrong, but then the user didnt think right either. The A.I is quite well balanced. It does not attempt shots or balls that he knows will get him a nice double score or so. He will at all times try to make sure that the pressure is laid upon you. When the A.I is at the pitch, it does not make hasty decisions. Playing with concentration it will play calmly. Shots will only be made when there is an opening for it, otherwise the A.I will keep the shots low and steady and will keep taking 1 or so runs everytime. When the A.I is bowling, it will gives balls that are hard to hit and are easy to tip. One wrong mistake will get the bots a wicket. So the A.I is one heck of a nice thing in this game.

Multiplayer

The primary focus of Cricket Revolution is on its multiplayer mode. To see how effective it was, I got down to test it myself. First of all you have to make an account on their website, and you cannot make on using the in-game menu. Once you have made the account, sign in and you will be able to see the Multiplayer menu. The main features of it being; Find Games, Host a Game and Chat Lobby. To join a multiplayer game is very easy, you just have to invite or be invited to a game and then you can join the game. Once inside the game, it is just like a normal Single Player mode. You can choose which shot to play and where to ball. Then the opponent is made aware of that only a moment before the ball, so that he can precisely time his shot against it. It might sound a bit unfair, but it isnt. It only sounds so. There was just one thing that actually bugged me, it was the lag issue. Whether I played the game on local or internation server I was countered with lag. The lag on local server was of course less than that on internation server. But if only the lag could be reduced, the multiplayer is fantastic.

Graphics

Cricket Revolution is a new game and my initial expections from it were that it might feature okay but not a decent visual experience. But clearly, it has proven to be far better than my expectations. To be compared to other cricket games and to too the top cricket games in business today, a game not only has to have a good gameplay but should also provide a good visual experience. And Cricket Revolution clearly does that. While the graphics might not be jaw dropping or stunning beyond belief, but they do the work. The amount of effort that has gone into the game, is pretty apparent. Details in the stadium and everything in it are clearly visible. The players and their faces can be figured out and differentiated from each other. The grass looks pretty good considering that this is a new game and the first game by the publishers. So if I have to conclude how the graphics are, I’d say that they get the job done and are sufficient enough for a player to enjoy the game, along with its exquisite gameplay.

Conclusion

Taking into account all the facts, from the fact that this is the first game by the publisher to its gameplay and graphics; I have to say that the publishers have done a great job. The gameplay is quite amazing and challenging which makes the game fun. One thing I miss in this game, and would like the publishers to include would be running commentary. It makes the game more lively and fun. The ability to go online and hold LAN matches makes it even more interesting and challenging since a player would love to test his skills online and or with friends. The graphics are decent and easily make it past the boundary limit that most of the gamers set with what they want out of their games. So, all in all, if you want a whole different cricketing experience, a game that doesn’t play like arcade, get Cricket Revolution as it is a great game with a extensive gameplay and good graphics. It will surely not disappoint you.

Screenshots

Here are some screenshots showing the team selection panel before the match begins and the team formation panel between the match, and Panel with multiple options to choose from.