Review: Ashes Cricket 2009 (PS3)

Gamestyle has played cricket titles in the past but these have all failed to deliver the goods. Admittedly the sport is unfashionable, it’s pacing and focus on statistics proving difficult to translate into an enjoyable and engaging experience. However such barriers have been broken down by EA via its NFL range and 2K’s entertaining Major League Baseball titles. While Ashes Cricket 2009 is far from a total success, it is a certainly a step in the right direction, building upon Codemasters Brian Lara series.

A key requirement is playability and Australian based Transmission Games have managed to produce a successful take on cricket. The sport is broken down into three key elements, namely fielding, batting and bowling. A training mode takes on each of these areas, offering basic and advanced training, with the option of challenges for those players wishing to snap up some PS3 trophies.

The system they have developed is a great success, allowing a huge range of potential shots by simply using the symbol buttons, left stick and shoulder buttons. Timing is the key requirement even on the easiest difficulty, whilst higher settings require more patience from player. It’s not possible to hit fours and sixes on every time, so you must learn when to play defensive and minimise the risk of being caught out.  Similarly the bowling facilitates a tactical approach (as does the fielding); yet it can still be straightforward to harness, with a surprising amount of depth evident.

Transmission has ensured the principles of cricket are present and correct, with excellent results, better than we envisaged. On the design brief this must have been the key focus and biggest hurdle to overcome, so it makes it all the more annoying that other areas dilute this achievement. Over the years we’ve been spoiled with glamorous production values, namely by Electronic Arts, in several sports releases. Ashes Cricket 2009 seems put together on a modest budget; the drama and rivalry of an Ashes series is noticeable by its omission. Even normal matches or 20 series encounter are devoid of any atmosphere.

Little glitches onscreen prove distracting and prevent any immersion. The graphics are very disappointing, with only the resolution preventing this from being classified as a PlayStation 2 title. The level of detail is poor, with the crowds seemingly being lifted from a classic Sega arcade title; you know, the pop-up cardboard variety. The cricket character models continue the theme of poor detail and overall Transmission has failed to incorporate the license with any skill.

Cricket is a minor even niche sport in many countries, however most of the contenders are present here yet sadly Scotland is not available. The main attraction is the Ashes mode which is obviously only open to the Australian or English teams. You are able to tailor your squad as you see fit, which limits the damage somewhat.

Limiting the lifespan of this release is the lack of modes, with the only options outside of the Ashes being 1-Day International, Test Match and 20 Series. Gamestyle is no cricket expert, but ideally the inclusion of the county leagues or even the glamour Indian version would have been desirable, or why not take a leaf out of FIFA’s book and expand into management? There’s certainly potential here, but currently its being wasted.

An online mode is also available with the option to play ranked or unranked matches with a decent variety of options. Sadly no one seemed to be playing online, so we’re unable to comment on its effectiveness. Perhaps cricket fans are preparing for the next instalment in the Ashes series? Whatever the reason, with its slow burning type of game play there’s no reason to doubt that the online experience wouldn’t be anything other than smooth.

In summary Ashes Cricket 2009 is a surprisingly enjoyable cricketing experience. Codemasters and Transmission must look to the Indian Premier League and Twenty20 cricket for inspiration about how to galvanise their presentation and attract new fans to the game.

Rating: 6 / 10

Words by Jason Julier