As a lover of cricketing video games, I have always had a vested interest in any new game to hit the market. Brought up on the ZX Spectrum’s classic Graham Gooch’s Test Cricket and with skills honed by the various incarnations of Brian Lara’s cricketing games, I know my way to the cyber boundary.
So, with only a matter of days to go before this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway with India taking on Bangladesh in Dhaka, I thought I’d put on my pads, apply some sun block to my cheeks and try out the 2011 tournament’s official video game: an online simulation game called Cricket Power.
Cricket Power is tailored for the casual gaming audience and developed around the cricket world’s main event (the tenth since the inaugural tournament was won by the West Indies in England in 1975). This browser-based game gives you the chance to pit your wits and technique against online cricket fans around the globe and features all 14 teams taking part and every participating player.
The game is free to try and if you like what you see then, for a small fee, it is yours to play as often as you wish. Tournaments are strictly single player games; however when you register to play, your tournament stats are featured in the top player stats, so you can compare your achievements with others: a chastening experience where I was concerned.
I started with a quick practice in the free-to-play nets, where the game play was incredibly realistic, and whether batting or bowling the ball came in at pace and was a great way to build your reactions, timing and technique.
It took a few deliveries that flew past my off stump before I managed to get bat on ball. But once I managed to read the speed and variation my confidence grew. Perhaps this was as a result of the fact that I knew I wasn’t at risk; facing Dale Steyn and Zaheer Khan when you have 12-feet of netting around you isn’t quite as intimidating as the real thing.
Choosing England as my team – perhaps this was finally our year – I was ready for the first game against Holland, and as the deliveries rained in I could feel I was quickly becoming addicted. I’ve always been a sucker for sports games anyway, but fending off quick deliveries and swatting stray balls into the stands brings out the kid in any gamer.
Plus, one of the best things about this PC-only game is that your progress can be saved and you can continue your game at any time, as I found to my benefit when, with my tail enders under the cosh, I decided to take a much-needed tea break. In my own kitchen.
Cricket Power is a clever mixture of excellent online graphics and engaging, authentic game play. As such it stands a great chance of engaging a wide international audience, especially as it focuses on a sport that has an excellent global reach. Clearly the makers are trying to deliver the best cricketing experience possible online, and I think they’ve succeeded.
Thanks to the power of motion-captured action, you can also play the official game in 3D, a far cry from the Spectrum’s stick-men days of messrs Gooch, Gatting and Botham. Plus, as an online game that champions players competing against others in the gaming community, it’s only natural that you can also join the Cricket Power group on Facebook.
Cricket Power is an excellent concept and perfect for the casual gamer, such as myself. I wouldn’t be too surprised if it quickly manages to change more couch potatoes into a cyber Kevin Pietersen or Mitchell Johnson before too long. Except with less tattoos.
So, if you think you’ve got the necessary skills to lead your team to glory, then visit www.cricketpower.com and put your technique to the test. To learn more about the gaming studio behind Cricket Power, visit www.karkadanngames.com.
So, with only a matter of days to go before this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway with India taking on Bangladesh in Dhaka, I thought I’d put on my pads, apply some sun block to my cheeks and try out the 2011 tournament’s official video game: an online simulation game called Cricket Power.
Cricket Power is tailored for the casual gaming audience and developed around the cricket world’s main event (the tenth since the inaugural tournament was won by the West Indies in England in 1975). This browser-based game gives you the chance to pit your wits and technique against online cricket fans around the globe and features all 14 teams taking part and every participating player.
The game is free to try and if you like what you see then, for a small fee, it is yours to play as often as you wish. Tournaments are strictly single player games; however when you register to play, your tournament stats are featured in the top player stats, so you can compare your achievements with others: a chastening experience where I was concerned.
I started with a quick practice in the free-to-play nets, where the game play was incredibly realistic, and whether batting or bowling the ball came in at pace and was a great way to build your reactions, timing and technique.
It took a few deliveries that flew past my off stump before I managed to get bat on ball. But once I managed to read the speed and variation my confidence grew. Perhaps this was as a result of the fact that I knew I wasn’t at risk; facing Dale Steyn and Zaheer Khan when you have 12-feet of netting around you isn’t quite as intimidating as the real thing.
Choosing England as my team – perhaps this was finally our year – I was ready for the first game against Holland, and as the deliveries rained in I could feel I was quickly becoming addicted. I’ve always been a sucker for sports games anyway, but fending off quick deliveries and swatting stray balls into the stands brings out the kid in any gamer.
Plus, one of the best things about this PC-only game is that your progress can be saved and you can continue your game at any time, as I found to my benefit when, with my tail enders under the cosh, I decided to take a much-needed tea break. In my own kitchen.
Cricket Power is a clever mixture of excellent online graphics and engaging, authentic game play. As such it stands a great chance of engaging a wide international audience, especially as it focuses on a sport that has an excellent global reach. Clearly the makers are trying to deliver the best cricketing experience possible online, and I think they’ve succeeded.
Thanks to the power of motion-captured action, you can also play the official game in 3D, a far cry from the Spectrum’s stick-men days of messrs Gooch, Gatting and Botham. Plus, as an online game that champions players competing against others in the gaming community, it’s only natural that you can also join the Cricket Power group on Facebook.
Cricket Power is an excellent concept and perfect for the casual gamer, such as myself. I wouldn’t be too surprised if it quickly manages to change more couch potatoes into a cyber Kevin Pietersen or Mitchell Johnson before too long. Except with less tattoos.
So, if you think you’ve got the necessary skills to lead your team to glory, then visit www.cricketpower.com and put your technique to the test. To learn more about the gaming studio behind Cricket Power, visit www.karkadanngames.com.
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