Last week, while browsing the Playstation Network Store, a new sports title caught my eye: Don Bradman’s Cricket 14. I was not only surprised to see a cricket game on the US PSN, but also by the fact that it appeared to be a full-featured, non-indy title. With the knowledge that cricket is a distant ancestor of baseball (my favorite sport), I decided to give this title a try.

Before reading my experiences, please keep in mind that this a review in structure only. Sure, I’ll give you the good, bad, and ugly, as well as offer buying recommendations at the end. But I am hardly a cricket expert. Basically, this is one baseball fan’s take on Don Bradman’s Cricket 14.

Gameplay

To begin, I jumped into the game’s few tutorials. They are functional and interactive; however, the tutorials do not teach you rules, terminology, or procedures. This is understandable: this is a serious cricket game aimed primarily at cricket fans--we don’t expect The Show to teach the rules of baseball. However, I feel that the producers may have missed an opportunity to at least explain the basics of a relatively unknown sport to an untapped (primarily American) audience.

After grasping the “how-to” of bowling (analogous to pitching) and batting (same as...err, batting), I looked online for a basic overview of the sport. There are numerous “cricket for American” sites and videos out there that make understanding the game a relative breeze. This may sound strange, but this exploration of a new sport is part of the overall appeal of this game; it’s an interactive learning experience that feels super-rewarding every time something clicks. That’s not necessarily the title’s doing, but it is part of the package.

Examining gameplay, this feels like a recent mid-tier American sports title. Animations are fluid, the controls are primarily analog, and everything is relatively responsive.

Bowling is pretty fun once you know what you are doing. It’s essentially a timing and stick-rotating exercise, not too far away from 2K’s analog pitching controls. The on-screen indicators are clearly marked.

Batting is a little less straight forward, and certainly more complex than hitting in an American baseball game. Part of this is that there is no foul territory, so the number of swing types is staggering. Still, on an easier setting, its possible to get lucky and learn as you go.

Fielding is tougher still, especially on full-manual mode. Since the field is oval-shaped, and the ball can literally go in any direction, it's hard to get a quick read on what fielder you are controlling and where the ball is going. I kept the option set to the default semi-manual, and didn’t have too many issues. The fielders feel a little stiff, at least in comparison to recent baseball games.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality and depth of gameplay. I can’t stress enough that this doesn’t feel like a low-budget or indy title--this is the Fifa or Madden of cricket.

Presentation

The presentation is probably the weakest part of an otherwise strong title, mainly in the audio department. Commentary isn’t horrible, but can get awfully repetitive. The music is of the elevator variety and is positively bland.

Visually, though, the game shines. Character models look good, as do the grounds (stadiums). Most baseball fans will probably recognize the Sydney Cricket Ground from this year’s opening MLB series.

The in-game cameras and replays are really nice as well, and certainly on-par with any big budget American title. In fact, there are probably more stat overlays and analytical replays than Madden of recent years.

Modes

I was also impressed by the multitude of ways you can play this game; customization is a key part of this title’s appeal, both for the cricket fan and newbie alike.

On the team side of things, you can play in a casual match, some (presumably) real-world competitions, or create your own. There are numerous options for creating a fan-made tour, and tons of teams to play as. Again, team customization is deep. There’s also a fairly deep career mode and online play.

On interesting item of note: When you first launch the game, you have the option of replacing the built-in generic players with the highest rated user-created rosters. I assume this helps to skirt licensing issues, and certainly rewards users who create accurate rosters. Imagine if The Show came with generic players, but offered to download the Knight’s OSFM roster for you!

Realism

This is the aspect of the game that I’m not qualified to analyze. I have no idea what constitutes a good inning or over (series of 6 pitches), or what a typical professional cricket score looks like. I can’t break down the player’s ratings and tell you that they perform exactly like their real life counterpart.

Again, as a baseball fan writing about cricket for other baseball fans, this isn’t necessarily a deficit, but an opportunity to learn more about another popular sport.

Final Thoughts

As this isn’t exactly a review, I’m not going to give the game a score. I don’t feel qualified to assign a rating to something I don’t completely understand.

However, I will say that the experience has been nothing but fun. We, as sports gamers, are used to turning on our console and jumping into our favorite game without having study a rulebook. It was refreshing to start the journey from the beginning, and derive pleasure from the smallest bit of understanding or success.

If you are at all interested in the sport and willing to take the challenge, I’d recommend giving Don Bradman’s Cricket 14 a try, with one caveat. While it definitely feels like a big-budget American title, it comes with a similar price tag. At $60, it’s an expensive game to buy just to try something new.

Still, if you are willing to make the investment, both in money and time to learn something new, I think you’ll be rewarded.

If you are a cricket fan/expert, what is your opinion of this game?