Developer: Childish Things
Publisher: Kiss Ltd
Platform: PC, Mac, iOS
Tested on: PC
Cricket Captain 2015 – Review
If you are looking for a quality Cricket management game and don’t want to play a solely online experience, then you might be looking for a long time. To fill that niche, the Cricket Captain series has stepped forward. The latest iteration in the series is Cricket Captain 2015. So don your manager’s cap and bring home the runs. The review of Cricket Captain 2014 can be found here.
Story
The beauty of management games is that you don’t have to follow the storyline at all, as there isn’t any. This way you can ensure your fan base to grow, as every new edition isn’t dependant of the previous game because there are no cliff-hangers or story developments from the previous game that will carry over. Every decision you make as a manager will change the course of the team and the way your players evolve. It also makes that everything you do changes things, so ultimately it’s all up to you. It’s not a matter of life and death, but ensuring your victory is equally as thrilling as it is to save the world.
Graphics
Cricket Captain 2015 doesn’t change things up graphically from Cricket Captain 2014. The movement of the players isn’t that fluid, but can’t be called choppy either. It’s something that can be overlooked if you know that this game can run on screens that fit in your back pocket. When you aren’t playing the 3D matches you’ll be greeted with screens that indicate your amount of runs, what your team has been up to and what you can change to make sure you win the next bout. It’s all clear cut and there isn’t really anything superfluous in the menus. The new thing for the 2015 edition is the Pitch Map and Beehive which shows additional stats which give you more information on player performances. There are some known issues with the game but they are being fixed as they are uncovered and for the most persistent ones, there are solutions given on the official website.
Sound
What is slightly annoying, and Cricket Captain 2014 had this problem too, is the lack of sound. Looking into the menu, to see if there is an option for music, only to find none, is quite grating. Sure most people can focus better when they aren’t being disturbed by unnecessary music, but several tunes or just a looping tune would at least take the edge off the silence. This game doesn’t only run on computers, and so this takes the load off the data loading, but at least having the option to choose between a tune or none would be nice.
The only sounds in game are the ones you hear when you play the 3D matches, and only when you actually see the balls being pitched. You’ll hear comments on how the ball flew and just how many runs your team has won by bowling it, alongside the roaring of the crowd. Sadly, it’s done in such a dry cut manner that it feels prompted and not spontaneous. What’s also noticeable is the silence in between bowls. They could have opted for comments on the teams, as the available ones in-game are real teams, making it so that they could have taken some snippets from the past, and used that information to liven up the comments.
Gameplay
What most games do in an effort to build upon a game and stop it from growing stale, is add new and exciting modes into it. These modes often have little or nothing to do with the overall management part. Cricket Captain 2015 doesn’t take this route as it goes about its way and does what it does best. It improves upon Cricket Captain 2014 and sharpens the experience. It doesn’t encumber you with extra modes or gameplay gimmicks that ‘relate’ to the sport but not the management of the team.
When it starts up it gives you the chance to pick one of four careers with the newest one added to Cricket Captain 2015, the ‘Indian Career’. There’s a whopping 27 new teams for you to use and train. What has to be said is that apart from the new Indian Career the game doesn’t really add more onto the previous game. After you’ve chosen which career you are best suited for, the game continues with your name, skill level and Captaincy test. After this you are free to make whatever decision you see fit to help the team be the very best.
If you are a newbie to cricket, be prepared to read up on the game, because Cricket Captain 2015 isn’t about to teach you about it. So read up on bowling, the cricket, runs and the best strategies if you haven’t already, before diving into the game.
Childish Things has upgraded some things by making sorting and searching members easier and have made several team stats and player stats more accurate, making their prowess reflect their abilities better. The keyboard control scheme, the new statistics, like batting aggression and overall improvement of view of the pitch and beehive have made things a lot better and make playing and anticipating the opponent’s next bowl a lot more convenient.
If you are a veteran to the series, you might be a little underwhelmed by the new version, though the game will still give you enough hours to spend as you try and get every achievement. As a newbie you’ll lose an equal amount of hours if not more, knowing you have to learn the ropes of the game.
Conclusion
Cricket Captain 2015 doesn’t change things up from their previous game, but what it does, it does well. At its fair price, this is a really nice Cricket management game. It isn’t for your every person however, if you aren’t into cricket and aren’t willing to invest some hours into reading up on terminology and general strategies, you might be lost before you even start, but once you’re read up and rearing to go, you’ll have a mighty fine time.
Cricket Captain 2015 - Review,
No Comments