It’s the first sports game I’ve ever played that reflects the physiology and co-ordination required from professional players with complex button combinations. It’s just as well that, in-game, Don Bradman Cricket 17 is genuinely tough to master. The realism takes a monumental hit when you spot identical player models in the same match, not to mention a white Australian with a culturally inaccurate name. The game’s lack of real-world players and genuine kits, due to licensing limitations, is a drawback. That’s why – outside of playing matches – the career mode fails to inspire. Cricket may be a seasonal sport, but even during the off-season a sports game’s career mode should involve some form of activity, whether through in-game training drills or even a simple text-based decision-making format for interviews or contract negotiations. But the downtime in-between these periods was blank and immediately fast-forwarded me back to October that’s not right. One of the few problems with the career mode, though, is not being able to actively select what format of cricket your player wishes to pursue – initially resulting in a week-by-week mishmash of domestic and Twenty20 fixtures.įrom October to February of each year, my player’s calendar was jam-packed with activity for various teams – both domestically and overseas. However, it took a lot of points for the improvements to be noticed – but they eventually do make a difference to the play.Īny future promotions will be purely based off your match performances – leading to a higher rank in the batting order or even assigning you as captain. ‘SP’, as they’re called, are allocated into detailed batting, bowling and fielding trees and effect a variety of skills and shot types. These might be for hitting a certain number of sixes, taking wickets or bowling ‘dot balls’. But it’s a slow climb to the top, with potential contracts from different leagues in other countries mostly revolving around the Twenty20 format of cricket.Įxperience is earned through match performance alone, along with completing particular challenges that offer nice boosts. After selecting your preferred play style, whether that be as an all-rounder or a fully-fledged batsman, you may start out as a rookie but you have big plans: working your way up from club level to domestic, then reaching international status. In this area, Don Bradman Cricket 17 has a surprisingly in-depth character customisation system, which also allows players to add some personal touches to their individual kits, including bats, gloves and even helmets. Usually, the first port of call for any sports game is the career mode. You can also create your own tournaments and cricket formats for added replayability it’s all here in a simple but slick main menu. But what Big Ant Studios have been able to do includes a commendable collection of creation modes and helpful tutorials, from getting to grips with the different batting and bowling mechanics to customising your own kits, teams, stadiums or logos. This sports game wasn’t crafted from a high-end triple-A budget like we’ve come to expect from the FIFA or NBA2K franchises, and my expectations were set accordingly. This newest iteration, a follow-up from Don Bradman 14, adds some much-needed improvements, but still has quite a way to go when it comes to sustainable enjoyment. With no competition on either PC or console, Don Bradman Cricket 17 is about as good as it gets for cricket fans. In the video game world, cricket is shelved alongside other niche markets in the sporting genre, like tennis, lacrosse and even handball.
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