Cricket 22 offers slight improvements to the beloved Cricket 19. It’s enjoyable to play, but is it a better purchase than Cricket 19?
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Do you recall Cricket 2007? Yes, the cricket game that has been widely available on the internet and can be played on any PC. Fourteen years have passed, and I still believe it sets the standard for a cricket game. It boasted the best graphics of its time, offered an enjoyable gaming experience, and was easy to master. Twelve years later, Cricket 19 from Big Ants Studio continued to cater to cricket fans, keeping their dreams alive. So, when I finally got my hands on a copy of Cricket 22, my expectations were sky-high.
You might have already sensed my disappointment in my tone. After waiting for two years, it’s only natural to expect a game that makes the old one seem outdated. Regrettably, I still find myself dedicating more time to Cricket 19 than the new release. On paper, Big Ants Studio has made a lot of the right moves, and for cricket enthusiasts, that’s enough to steal at least an hour of their daily life on the PC or console.
But is that truly sufficient? Come along with me as I recount the experience of strapping on the pads and stepping onto the pitch, because this inning holds significant importance.
In sports video games, having a career mode focused on your personal journey is common, whether it’s in titles like FIFA, PES, NFL, or Formula 1 games. Cricket 19 had its own career mode, which was enjoyable. In Cricket 22, developed by Big Ants Studio, there’s an attempt to create a career mode with the level of immersion seen in FIFA. You start with an agent, practice in the nets, participate in club cricket, manage your physical condition, and work your way up to higher-level teams, from a tournament similar to the IPL in Australia to the national team.
However, due to the limited production scale, Cricket 22’s career mode often fails to engage players. After spending 5-6 hours playing, I couldn’t continue any longer. The cut scenes come across as robotic, lacking action and vitality.
On the positive side, outside of the career mode, Cricket 22 offers an enjoyable sports gaming experience. You can take control of teams in premier league tournaments or play against other countries. The Ashes cricket is back with fully licensed teams and players, and there’s also a women’s cricket team. As an Indian player, I was once again disappointed by the absence of any Indian licensed players or teams in the game. It brings back memories of Cricket 07, where we had players like D. Dhenier dominating our PC screens, but this time there’s no connection to the current player lineup. Even the imitation jerseys are underwhelming and resemble Disney cartoon characters.
While there is currently an option to download community-created skins and teams for Cricket 22, the available content mostly consists of original names and slightly modified faces. It would be great if the game’s online store could offer a broader selection of real-world skins and jerseys for download.
Regarding the gameplay in Cricket 22, it excels in providing a realistic and immersive experience. It’s worth noting that, despite potential shortcomings like lacking licensed player models and a comprehensive career mode, the gameplay truly stands out. It has the power to make players like me shift their focus from other titles like F1 2021 and Forza Horizon 5 during weekend gaming sessions.
The developers at Big Ant Studio have made substantial improvements to the gameplay dynamics. This results in a cricket experience that feels authentic and believable. Unlike the mindless six-hitting approach of older cricket games like Cricket 07, Cricket 22 demands that you play the sport as it’s meant to be played. This involves reading ball deliveries and exercising patience when batting or fielding. Rushing your shots or gameplay decisions can lead to quick wickets and a lively scorecard against you.
Cricket 22 offers a choice between assisted and pro gameplay modes. The assisted mode is more accessible, providing a smoother learning curve. You also have various camera views to select from, though the default view tends to be a bit distant from the wickets.
However, there are some concerns with the game’s AI, even on the easiest difficulty settings. AI-controlled players can frequently drop catches and make poor throws in easy mode, while the pro level presents a significant challenge in even scoring a single run. Players may struggle against spin bowlers who seem to take wickets too easily, and fast bowlers often get away with wides and leg-byes. While a recent update has addressed some of these issues, some players might still find the AI to be overly capable at times.
For those moments when you don’t want to bowl an entire innings of 20 overs or more, the Simulate mode is available. Unfortunately, this mode often results in more runs being scored than you can achieve when playing realistically.
Other features from Cricket 19 have made a return in Cricket 22. This includes the ability to appeal to the umpire’s decisions, detailed views of close saves, and impressive replays of your boundaries.
Unfortunately, budget constraints are evident in various aspects of the game. You’re still using a peculiar “Big Ants” coin for the toss, which doesn’t have a clear heads or tails. It even levitates on the pitch. There’s no audible dialogue between the captains or players during the cutscenes, and the background field cheering and player directions seem repetitive. Most notably, the commentary doesn’t seem to relate to what’s happening on the field and can be disheartening.
For instance, I once hit five boundaries in five balls, leaving the last ball as a dot, and the commentary praised the bowler for “bowling a great over without giving away many runs.” The AI team always seems to get favor; even if you score 3 runs due to a fielding mistake, the fielders receive praise for preventing a boundary. There’s certainly room for improvement here.
If you’re looking to play against real cricket fans, there’s an online mode available. However, I was only able to play a few matches, and most of my opponents quit in the middle. Unfortunately, there’s no split-screen multiplayer mode, which I think is a missed opportunity.
Regarding the performance of Cricket 22, it runs smoothly on various systems. I tested it on a high-end Lenovo Legion 7 with a Ryzen 9 5900H and RTX 3080, as well as an entry-level system with a GTX 1060 and a 10th Gen Core i5 processor. In both cases, the game ran well, with some adjustments. Console players can enjoy up to 4K resolution on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. So far, I haven’t encountered any major glitches that spoil the gameplay experience.
However, the game’s smooth performance might be attributed to its subpar graphics and inadequate animations. Surprisingly, Cricket 22 looks worse than Cricket 19. This is unexpected, as one would assume a newer game to look better. Cricket 19 wasn’t particularly impressive in terms of graphics, and Cricket 22 doesn’t make significant improvements. It appears that Big Ants Studio simply increased color saturation without updating the textures. Player models resemble what we saw in FIFA 18/19, lacking the realistic sweat and jersey animations seen in modern soccer games. The pitches look cartoonish, and the stadiums and backgrounds appear outdated, reminiscent of EA Sports Cricket 07.
Moreover, the animations in Cricket 22 are far from realistic. Games like FIFA and PES offer smooth and lifelike player movements, but Cricket 22’s characters still move unnaturally. The animations during catches are also disappointing, and they don’t match the fluidity of modern sports titles featuring human characters.
I have mixed feelings about Cricket 22. I’m glad that Big Ants Studio is dedicated to serving cricket fans, especially when bigger studios have abandoned the genre. However, looking at the rest of the game, it’s disappointing that Cricket 22 doesn’t offer a significant upgrade over its predecessor. In fact, Cricket 19 may be a better option, especially considering the price of ₹3,999 for Cricket 22.
As a cricket fan, I had hoped that Cricket 22 would be a substantial generational upgrade for cricket gaming, particularly in terms of graphics and presentation. Instead, it feels more like a minor update to Cricket 19. I understand the limitations of a smaller development studio, but the price tag for a new copy is on par with offerings from EA Sports.
This isn’t to say that Cricket 22 is a bad game. It’s the only cricket game available on PC and consoles this year and for the foreseeable future. It still offers enjoyable and realistic cricket action, and those passionate about the sport have plenty to explore or simulate in this virtual cricket world.
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