Don Bradman Cricket 14 (PS3)

I have bought most play station cricket games in the past such as Brian Lara and some of the Ashes games and worried after the fiasco of the last Ashes that there wasn't going to be the desire to make another cricket game. Luckily there was and it has been done really well. Big Ant have made a game that answers some of the criticisms of previous games, the main one being that they were a bit button bashy. I accept that simpler games have their place and are fun for playing with friends but this game offers so much more depth. The controls for batting, bowling and fielding are all very detailed and it gives you a real feel that there are endless possibilities for how each delivery will go.As many of the other reviews have mentioned, this game takes some practice to get used to. The beginner levels are pretty good for getting to grips with the controls as they have some aids for foot selection etc and make it quite good if you do fancy a fairly simple 10 over match with a friend. There is a great range of shot selection, there is the possibility of hitting the ball to any part of the ground.The career mode is a brilliant addition and whilst I'm only 7 or 8 games in I'm really enjoying it. The batting in career is quite tricky as you start with quite low skill levels and you can only build your skill by batting in matches (not in the nets) so I could see improving being quite a slow process but I suppose it would be too easy if you could come out hitting centuries on debut! The bowling is a bit easier to get to grips with (after bowling about 4 no balls an over in the first few innings) but still has good depth to it, you can get control of line and lengths with a bit of effort but there is an element of realism that the batsman really punishes you if you try to do too much or your plan doesn't quite work.I'm playing this with the first update that was provided that removed some of the bugs people were reporting such as random run outs and from my limited experience they appear to have worked.The only issues I've had so far have been fairly small. The fielders are super human (diving stops and throws that always hit the stumps), some of the graphics are fairly basic for 2014 and possibly a practice mode to improve your career player would be good but these are all small when compared to the massive step forward this is for cricket games.For cricket fans this is a really good game and I would certainly recommend it.

After eagerly awaiting a decent cricket game, I got this game on release date from Amazon. I opened the game and put it in my PS3. I have to be honest and say that I was disappointed. I was expecting to be hitting fours and sixes “off the bat”, but no, I found it really frustrating! I found the batting really difficult and was ready to return to the much easier ‘International Cricket’. I even considered putting the game straight on ebay, but decided to stick with it. I tried the bowling which, surprisingly, was really enjoyable. I persevered with the batting and began to get the hang of it. The satisfaction of having a decent innings, and beating this game, was really satisfying. I then tried the career mode, which, again I found really enjoyable and rewarding. This game does not have the polish of, say, EA sports games with every stadium identically replicated etc, and you can forget any other type of cricket game you have played before as this is totally different. But I have been playing this game now for a couple of days and it has grown on me to the extent that I think that this is one of the most challenging and rewarding games I have played. It definitely has its faults, random run outs etc. but I am hoping that these glitches will be sorted out in a patch or two. I would recommend this game, but be warned, you are going to have to invest some time into this game to begin to reap the rewards. I will not give this game a five star rating as I believe that a less steep learning curve, especially for the batting, and a few irritating glitches sorted out is needed before then. I seriously hope that Big Ant address this soon. Things are looking more rosy for the future of cricket games.

For cricket fans this is a case of beggars can't be choosers.After such a long wait for a new cricket game the only thing that keeps me smiling about Bradman 14 is that, well, it's a new cricket game.Despite the fallout from the aborted Ashes 13, Don Bradman 14 fails to live up to the hype.It has a significant amount of bugs, some of which have already been highlighted in recent reviews.In my case, one of my custom players was randomly chosen as an umpire. Another was randomly selected to play for the England 1930's team.Game play is clunky, batting difficult but bowling too easy.The lack of licenced stadia is a major drawback as the limited number of generic options gets boring after a while.Graphics are very disappointing and not particularly smooth which is common with other sports games such as Rugby Challenge and AFL Live.It's saving grace as the level of customisation and the ability to download customised players from the online community.It's not great, but it is addictive nonetheless although you could argue that International Cricket 2010 remains a better game.

Wow, what an AWFUL game. Kind of fun for a short while then.....Graphics are abysmal, like something out of the last century and while some of the batting and bowling play is realistic and good fun, some of the idiosyncrasies make it pretty much unplayable. Running is basically hilarious, I'd say 7/10 of my dismissals are run outs as cancelled runs result in batter wandering aimlessly in the vague direction of his crease only to be run out. Fielding likewise ridiculous as players hit the stumps 8 times out of ten. I guess the VERY quick games are okay, but anything more than 10 overs aside is pointless..... Garbage.