Review: Playtest Review/Preview(Review Links, Updated in First Post)

[lazy_chesnut]

Hi,

Just got back from Codemasters. Going to have some dinner then will post my review/preview. If anyone has any questions they want answered, post them here and I'll try and answer them in my first post.

Please try and keep questions based on gameplay, rather than features, kits, faces, names, etc.

Will post back in about an hour.

Previews and Answers

• lazy_chesnut - Batting,
  Bowling, Question and Answer, Extra points
  Fielding & Negatives
  Few points On Catching
• kamy100 - Full review, Demo information
• stevo1 - Full review
• aus5892 - Full Review
• WHM - Full Review

Developer's Response :

• hsmith1978 - Response/Clarification to 'bad balls'
  Some Quick FAQs

[Skater]

Thanks, hope you had a good time.

What did you make of the bowling system? How exactly does it work? Would you say it is better or worse than the system from BLIC?

[Resolution]

1. Are there edges from defensive shots?
2. Is the bowling still quite looping in the action and delivery?
3. Does the field setting change if you keep hitting the ball in the same spot as one of the devs mentioned?
4. Does leaving a shot decrease confidence?

Thats all i can think of for now, sure lots more will post

[rlfan82]

is it a lot harder to bat? (i hope so)

[KP-Nuts]

Do the 90mph balls actually look like they're doing 90mph instead of 9mph this time?

PS - You didn't happen to see any promotional stuff wth a release date on did you?

Cheers

[k p 24]

Hi, is there more pace on the ball in Ashes Cricket, more like BLIC05? And any updates on the demo release dates?

[danny09]

What are the bowling actions like? Are they unique to different bowlers or are they all very similar.

[player786]

how good it the AI at chasing totals? can it actually do this without leaving itself at riduclous scores like 63/8

also did they give any info on the demo release date?

thanks in advanvce

[ThandaMilk]

Excited to hear about your experience. Am sure you'll be covering general gameplay including batting, bowling etc. So, am putting in a few specific questions that I'd appreciate if you can answer:

a) In 2-player (same side) mode, is the running between the wickets co-op or controlled by the batsman as in BLIC 2007? Overall what was your sense of running between the wickets - in previous versions I remember the BLIC series as one where the batsmen have always been on some sort of steroids - you could easily take 2 even when hitting straight to fine leg / third man etc.

b) How does the catching mechanism feel this time around? Did you get to try any catches to slip?

c) Does leaving a ball still negatively affect your confidence?

Cheers

[vishalsparadise]

here are a few quick questions

1 how does the 3rd umpire replay look.is it the same wierd system from BLIC07 ?
2 how has running between wickets improved ?
3 how does the bowling system feel ?
4 overall look of the game ?
5 how does the AI react to the game you play ?
6 does the bowler and wicket keeper try to run and take balls that go past them or are lying beside them (in BLIC07 the bowler and the keeper(occasionally) leaves the ball that goes past them) ?
7 is it the fully finished version of the game that u tested ?
8 ball movement any different from past games ?
9 catches ?
10 overall was the gameplay enjoyable unlike the last installment in the series ?
11 during a run is taken , does the umpire run and stand beside the crease to check for a runout chance.BLIC07 didnt have this very basic feature.

am sure there are a lot of questions.but don't want u to type a lot of answers which will late the preview

[max_dillon2007]

1) does the game look more fluid this time around?
2)Does the umpire still nods his head downwards before raising his finger?? that was pretty weird last time around.
3)How difficult is the Test difficulty level of the game?
4)does CPU alter field if you score consecutive boundries through same area?
5)Does the shots animations have been changed or are exact copy of blic07? Can you post all the possible shots you were able to play and promised.
6)Any news on Demo Or Game release date?WAs this build final build of the game or there are still a few things left?
7)DO we have more edges during first few overs of the match?Can the keeper come up the stumps to a medium fast bowler?
8)Can bowlers like symonds and sachin chose different type off bowling styles during match?
9)Do the ball still has that loopy bounce?
10) IS there a stamina bar for batsman and bowlers? If yes then how does it affects gameplay? Does this mean we can get batman retire hurt?
11)Are there new celebrations of 50 and 100? Do the commentators acknowledge a recordbreaking performance like hattrick or fastest 50?How good is commentary this time around?
12)Is there free hit rule in the game??
13)Does the game track Statistics match by match?? How good is the match presentation of the game?? Do they show players stats when they come on to bat during ashes?

[Virender Sehwag]

I hope you can answer some of my questions, I apologize as some of my questions might be repetitive.
1. Does the batsman get injured?
2. What about the free hit rule?
3. Will it be available for Xbox 360 ntsc-j console?

[evertonfan]

This is kinda to do with gameplay, but did you get any info on the achievements for the 360 version?

[duded64]

Is it worth me doing 10 hours of basically slave labour at my job to buy this game or will buying it result in me cutting my own face off?

[vishalsparadise]

Originally Posted by lazy_chesnut

Will post back in about an hour.

an hour over , lol.
hope u r writing an in-depth review.

take ur time