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International Test Cricket

 

Feedback received (my comments are in italics)

Send feedback about Cricket World Cup 99.

Daniel Carson said on 20 October 1999

I sent EA Sports a email with a small gripe about an expert mode problem that I am having. This is when I resume a saved game, it always defaults to expert mode.

The reply was that there are still problems with the game, and another patch is on the way, but they will only release it if more reports are sent to them.

Another gripe I had was that they are going to release Cricket 2000 soon, and to me looks like what CWC99 was supposed to be. I asked if buyers of CWC would bet any concessions and I was given no reply to this question. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, but I would like to be able to not get too frustrated with it, or even play it more than once in a sitting.

Daniel Carson said on 15 October 1999

While trying to use one of the earlier stuffed patches I found some interesting things about the game. I found that the rosters are larger than displayed, with extra players along with photos on each team. i.e. Australia has Robertson, Gilespie, Martyn and others. These players also have their names commented on by Richie. I do not know how to unlock them again as this was some kind of jag.  jag ?? Now heard this is Aussie slang for fluke.

Rohan said on 5 October 1999

Hey guys, have noticed this bug in CWC99. When you are batting, the computer AI sometimes gives a fulltoss, headhigh ball or a beamer as it is called. If you try to pull or hook this type of delivery and miss the ball, it often hits your helmet or chest.then the cpu appeals and the umpires give you out!!

This is NOT FAIR EA!! Please try to fix this bug in your next patch!

Thomas Rose said on 1 October 1999

I have been playing the demo version of EA Sports and along with all the other bugs, I have noticed a not-so-important bug that might've even been fixed via a patch.

When you exit a game it will give you a screen showing you all those false features that it's 'supposed to have'. Anyway, down the bottom they give their website address as www.eaports.com instead of www.easports.com. :-) Although considering the inability of EA to get the combined v1 and v1.1 patch working despite 4 attempts I am not surprised at this.

Surely there must be a mistake! And it won't do them any good if they wanted to boost the popularity of the game and their website alike.

I'm not buying it

F.C. Wilson said on 4 July 1999

I bought my copy of the game directly from EA a couple of weeks ago, and I can't say that I am happy with it.

Believe me, I really wanted to like this game. Unfortunately, I had problems from installation onward. When I tried to play the game initially, I got a black screen, and my system froze, requiring me to turn the system off and start again. EA says that this can happen if you have less than 4 MB of video memory, but I have a Pentium II 450, with a Trident 4 MB card and a Diamond Monster II 8 MB 3D card as well, so I can't understand where the problem is. Also, I downloaded the patch, and I updated my sound card, video card, and 3D card drivers as well. Now, nothing works! At least I could occasionally see the demo before I did all this! If anyone can help me with some solutions to these problems, I would love to hear them.  A Trident is a very slow graphics card for a P II 450.

Paul Clarke said on 26 June 1999

While I agree that the forum is perhaps the best place for a debate, I feel that Scott has 'misjudged the mood' to coin a phrase.

I quite agree that you don't expect to go straight into a game like CWC and start blasting away straight away...but that's my point - in this game, you do!!

Very few corespondents have claimed that the game was too hard, and in fact blasting away (and completing the game) is all too simple.

I know I rattle on about this, but within half a day of buying the game I (Bangladesh) had thrashed the PC (South Africa) on the hardest skill level (and for mailmans information it was not in the World Cup)

So, far from requiring 'more than 5 minutes to get the most out of it' and ' or anything like that, quite the opposite is the problem, spend much more than 5 minutes with it and that's it, game complete, thirty five quid down the pan, thank you very much.

You find yourself deliberately not bowling certain deliveries that are sure to get batsmen out, and trying suicide shots to avoid a flurry of all too easy sixes, and if that's meant to be entertainment and value for money, then frankly Electronic Arts can shove it.

Rohan Karandikar said on 22 June 1999

Today when I heard (and saw) that the patch was released, I rushed to the site, and started downloading it with GetRight (brother of Go!Zilla!). To my disappointment, and to warn you and others, GetRight said that the site didn't support resuming downloads! GetRight might claim it does not support resuming downloads but it is wrong.  Go!Zilla does claim resuming downloads and in fact I downloaded the patch over 3 logins so it definitely supports it :-)

It takes a long time to download the patch but it's worth it. It really updates what EA Sports has promised on it's web pages(for the first time!) The ball does bounce now & there is real fun in pulling it for fours & sixes! There really are updated players and their stats! There is too much to write but I think I should end here.

Scott Boswell (Mailman)l said on 22 June 1999

I have been playing WCW99 for the last 3 odd weeks and have had many hours of entertainment from it. Sure the game isn't perfect (for reasons that have been explained in other reviews) but then again no game is perfect.

The thing that bothers me is that it appears that most people that are angry about CWC99 haven't actually spent any "real" time with the game. It takes more than 5 minutes of practice to use this software to get the best out of it and I am happy that I have put that time into this game because there are some good things in it.

You can't expect to just open the game up and start blasting away like you can with Quake or Half Life because you DO need to put some time into learning how to bat and bowl. I cant stress this enough, if you learn how to bat and bowl properly then you are going to get a lot out of this game.

Firstly I reckon the graphics are some of the best that I have ever seen in any cricket game. The player animation of the batters is beautiful. I find that after playing a particularly good shot I will watch it in replay mode 5 or 6 times from different angles.

I suppose to those that are used to playing Quake in 2000*1500 res then playing CWC99 in 640*480 is going to be a shock but for me I couldn't care less, the thing that counts is that the game looks nice in this resolution.

As for the game AI, for some strange reason I find that if I play a stand alone One Dayer and crank the AI up to full then the game can be quite a challenge, but if you play a world cup competition its not as challenging. BUT there is a difference between the teams. I find Australia in world cup mode is a lot more difficult to beat than Scotland or Kenya.

Far to often though I find myself chasing scores of 50 or 60 runs but sometimes the AI has managed to get scores of 180 odd and then it becomes a real competition. If you let the AI batter get on top then even your most vicious in-swinging yorker is despatched with ease though!

I was playing India a couple of nights ago and they managed to get 170 all out. I started the run chase, as New Zealand, confident of knocking the total off within the first 10 overs but the run chase started pretty bad when Mat Horne was caught first ball high and to the right of first slip after chasing a wide one.

The top order managed to scrape together only 50 runs, eh some would say like the real team, and at one stage I had slumped to 70 for 6 but thanks to Twosey and Nash they clawed the game back to put it within reach of a magnificent victory. However Twose chased one to many wide deliveries and some how managed to drag a wide ball back onto his leg stump and was dismissed for 76, with the score on 150.

Still I was confident of a win and at 150 for 8 New Zealand should have gathered the remaining 20 runs with ease. However the Indian spinners had other idea's. Vittori was bowled around his legs by a leggy that he failed to connect with when trying to sweep it and Doull was caught limply lofting a ball into the covers.

See it is possible to have some exciting and close games.

With a little bit of work that is promised in the readme for the first patch, which I have but haven't yet applied, CWC99 will be a great cricket simulation, but because it simulates cricket you really do need to learn how to play the game first.

Jamie Coombs said on 19 June 1999

I purchased CWC99 and as did 99% of the population, thought it was crap.  For those of you in Australia who want your money back, take it back to the store you purchased it from and demand a refund.  It is illegal for stores to not give you a refund on a defective product which doesn't do what it says it will do.  The sorry no refunds policy doesn't apply in this situation as it is not a matter of buying something and not liking it, it is faulty (same as if you buy a car or anything else that doesn't work as it is supposed to, just because it is software doesn't make incompetent programming allowable).  I got my refund without too much trouble.  I would also suggest that everyone send a letter to EA SPORTS also.  I was one of the unfortunate people to have also buy AFL98 which is just as bad.  The Creative Assembly team should be boycotted as they haven't been able to produce an acceptable product to schedule.

p.s. I think the chances of a patch that makes this game playable is as much as Scotland has of winning this world cup and they aren't even playing in the final.

Rohan Chodanker said on 19 June 1999

I bought Cricket World Cup 99 just a few days ago and believe me the installation is the only part I have liked since than.

EA is known for making the best startups for their games and so are their Menus and other features, other than gameplay. The video in CWC 99 is classy and the menus are readable only at resolutions of 640*480. Even in Cricket 97 the pitch report was in movie form but in a new version such as CWC 99 one is supposed to read it.

The gameplay has a poor interface and the bugs are too many. Range of shots is too limited. Some shots like the hook are impossible to connect. The scoring is ridiculous. Even at the hardest level the CPU is all out under 30 runs.

Commentary is also irrelevant at times. Once I had set a target of 72 for the CPU to chase in a 10 over game. Riche Benaud said : They need to score at least 80-85 in the first 15 overs.

EA was to release updates as the World Cup progressed. But hey........the World Cups almost over and no news. I think not even half the game is complete and Creative Assembly have rushed through the game in order to release it fast. I guess they should have completed the entire game and released it a little later maybe. I mean FIFA 99 was not released near to any Football Event. However it was successful.

Frankly speaking the game is trash and Codemasters have maintained their legacy in Cricket Gaming. EA Sports has cheated the gamers and they should be sued for the same.

J Evans said on 15 June 1999

The CPU AI is dodgy - in a 50 over match, 37-9 after 4 overs is not realistic.  Also, field settings leave an awful lot be desired. 

The fielders should also sometimes put down catches.

In addition, there should be limits on the type of delivery that bowlers can bowl e.g. certain bowlers cannot bowl an inswinger.  Also, the yorker should be effective.  The defensive ball in the game would probably be hit to the boundary every time in real life.

Looking at the box (especially Captain's Strategy mode - where is it?) it seems that the game was rushed through to release to coincide with the tournament when it was not properly finished - as a result important features were left out!!

Sunil Karandikar said on 14 June 1999

Well, just two days ago I bought Cricket World Cup 99, for Dhs 169 (about 30 pounds). Normally, here a game costs a little higher (45 pounds), so I was very happy about the bargain. I rushed home & put the CD-ROM in my computer. I was very happy to see the installation process. Richie & David discussed the previous cups, but not a mention of the '96 World Cup! Howwzatt? I started the game, to see the fantastic introduction movie. It was just fantastic. I think the whole game is fantastic. But there are some bugs:

bulletNo left handers (grrrr).
bulletNo test matches.  The game is based on the World Cup!
bulletEA should have made some international grounds. Again the game is based on the World Cup!
bulletThe stats aren't updated. (Sachin has made only 6504 runs!) They probably got the stats for the end of last season.

Has anyone noticed three absolutely stupid things?

1) While playing against the PC, if you miss the ball, and it goes in the 'keeper's hand, he acts as if someone threw the ball to him, and then gives the bowler!

2) The bowler, while receiving the ball, looks somewhere else rather than looking at the fielder who is throwing the ball!

3) On the first ball of the match, the 'keeper stands at silly point rather than behind the wickets! It looks as if the fielder is wearing all the protective gear usually worn by the 'keeper! Very funny indeed!

In all I think the game is absolutely wonderful. The graphics and the stadia are well captured. I give it 8/10 points.

Paul Snell said on 11 June 1999

I purchased Shane Warne's cricket and was quite pleased, despite it's obvious bugs, but I am glad I read this feedback page before buying CWC99 (which I WAS going to buy).  Surely, with EA Sports promising these things on the box (such as updates during the world cup, simulation mode etc) and not implementing them, this is false advertising and they should be sued or brought to justice...they are cheating people into buying their product - it is just not on...the world cup is almost over.....I just wish I could get the bitter taste out of my mouth....the only saving grace is that I was lucky enough NOT to buy it and waste my money.  Software companies like this should not get away with it....I don't think I'll ever buy an EA Sports cricket game......ever!

Darren Perrett said on 8 June 1999 Re: My offering to trade CWC 99 for ITC.

You can't have my copy of the game.

It is the best.

People who don't like this game are never going to be catered for or satisfied by what the end up with. This is the closest thing to perfection I have seen in a computerised sporting title since Fifa 99 - once this game is patched no current cricket title will be able to touch it.

This is the only computerised sporting title I have come across that actually simulates a television style match that is so close to the real thing that the only reason you know it's not real is because of the computer graphics.

This is the only computer game where you can watch a CPU vs CPU game and forget that you are able to participate yourself.

Naren said on 7 June 1999

I picked up my copy of  cwc99 a couple of days ago.

The installation part has been done well with we getting to know about other world cups, however the installation is too long and boring.

I feel that the game's features have been exaggerated to much. There is no test option. The venues have been well captured but the point is that we do not get play in other parts of the world. The graphics are good as I have a fast processor with a 3Dfx card but they are far below than my expectations. The same comments are repeated often. Batting controls are complicated and illogical. Bowling is fun.

I have not seen the third umpire yet. NO LEFT HANDERS (grr). I certainly expected more from EA Sports. Hope they will come up with a better game soon.

BLC remains my favourite game as for now.

Paul Clarke said on 2 June 1999

EA's new baseball game is a bit confusing. They call it Cricket.... But  don't worry too much because the gameplay is pure baseball (big hits or out (about every third ball), aluminium 'bats' that go CLANG  (not the nice wooden kerlunk those cricketers are used too), and true baseball style field settings) Oh and its set in the Texas 'glassodome'...yes...its true..watch as the ball hits the transparent roof and glides along it. Another new 'feature' is that the 'batter' (for that is who he is) is still walking to the dugout as the next pall is pitched...a bit dangerous that isn't it ? See how the batter slowly 'floats' as you decide to bowl over the wicket (about 4 inches off the ground). Watch in awe a the keeper catches the ball in his hands even though it has just hit him in the back of the head. Hypothesise as the the reason why the mouse pointer disappears on the menu screen. Suggest how useful only having one useable screen resolution is (why bother letting you select others ???) Admire your shots (for about one millionth of a second, as a completely inappropriate shot sends the ball for yet another six, so quickly that timing is just a case of counting to two quickly after the ball is bowled) Watch Allan Donald's quickest bouncer hit Stewart on the toes as it nearly yorks him second bounce (Oh god ...I can't BELIEVE this game is THAT AWFUL) Laugh as on the hardest level Zimbabwe bowl out Australia for 44 (yes the HARDEST level) and you have only played the game for 3 hours (that's good value isn't it ??) Then cry when  you realise you paid good money for this crap   For lo..this game is truly crap I can't say it enough crap crap crap ... ... ... ... ... ...

You want more bugs....Ok here we go

No-one backs up the keeper. LBWs (eh ??? do you know the LBW law..I know it's quite tricky but...) The team rosters are wrong (EA's blurb says authentic...the game came out after the tournament had started..their is no excuse..trading standards anyone) No simulation mode ..EA even put that on the bloody box...How can they advertise a  feature that simply isn't their..COME ON WE ARE BEING RIPPED OFF..THEY ARE TELLING US DAMN LIES YES LIES !!!!) The grounds are not even nearly authentic. what are all those tiny little stands doing around New Road.. New road only has one covered stand, at the New Road end! I could go on. But as I've already sold the game I have tried to forget most of the awfulness.

EA go away...and advice to everyone. NEVER BUY A GAME BASED ON THE PUBLISHERS BLURB ONLY...THEIR ARE STILL NO MAGAZINE REVIEWS IN THE UK, AND THE GAME HAS BEEN OUT NEARLY A MONTH>>>WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT EA'S CYNICAL MARKETING

Corvo Aetol said on 2 June 1999

I was going to submit a review of this game, but I instead decided to write this comment after reading the comments and views of other users.

There seems to be a great number of complaints about unimplemented features and the poor AI. I have to agree. I have consistently bowled out sides for under 50 at the 100% difficult level. Batting is not much better, and ridiculous totals come around quite often. However, I did not experience any of the slowness reported by other people.

But my comment is directed towards the Creative Assembly - who made this game. I would like to use a non-cricket game to illustrate my point - AFL 98 (Australian Rules Football). See if you can spot the trend.

1. The AI was so lame that it could be restricted to 0 points (almost impossible in real life - for those who don't know AFL, putting an elephant through a needle would be easier). Similarly, scoring was ridiculously easy and reaching 250 points was not uncommon (taking 10 wickets in a row would be easier).

2. Heaps of promised features were not implemented until the sequel (AFL 99) - and even this is still half-done. The team again complained of the lack of time.

3. Complete lack of quality testing: how could even rudimentary play testing manage to miss the lack of certain field markings (equivalent to forgetting to put a crease line in for cricket) and the fact that it crashed whenever subs were used (even this persisted to AFL99).

My point is this: CA are notorious for making rushed jobs that are full of bugs. And don't put too much hope in for that patch. Even the sequel in four years time probably won't be too much of an improvement! Perhaps EA should give the boys at CA two years to develop games instead of the annual updates.


p.s. The Australian computer press doesn't help. They are so biased, that they will praise anything that gives them AFL, cricket or rugby even if it is the most bog standard trash that ever existed. If you publish any articles from (especially) PC Powerplay (www.hyperactive.com.au) and compare them to British magazines, you will see gross differences!

Vishal said on 2 June 1999

I brought the Cricket World Cup 99 and it wasn't cheap and what a stupid, lousy and horrible game it was. The game play was horrible and these EA people comment on Brian Lara Cricket from Codemasters which was 10,000 times better. Can't they add more lively commentary and lively commentators such as Tony Greig, Tony Cozier or Geoffrey Boycott. The camera views are lousy. C97ATE and BLC99 had the default camera which was excellent and realistic but this stupid game has the top view camera and it is hard to sight the ball. First, release a patch on Camera and Basic play. Who wants your updated teams patch when your basic play is not good.Creative Assembly have proved a complete flop in their first attempt. Old hairy Richie Benaud and sleepy Gower have provided the most disastrous commentary. The stadiums are good and the stadium graphics are excellent ( mind you, only the stadium graphics). I do not know how these people can market such products? The buying customer is made a fool by such people and some gaming site awarded it 92% overall. I want a full refund which is not possible. I, (sorry!) all the fooled customers (CAC purchasers) demand an immediate patch for the camera angle and basic gameplay(batting). And finally, now for the good news. The bowling gameplay is good and the main menu and the music is good. Otherwise nothing else. And now I understand why the playable demo wasn't released at the official site. Release the camera patch as soon as possible or else EA Sports cricket games will never be heard of in the future because you exist because of your Product Purchasers such as me.

Thanking CricketGames.com for allowing buyers such as me in India and others in US, Australia, New Zealand etc to have a say such as this to these people who do anything to market such games.

Andrew Bruske said on 1 June 1999

A few days ago I got World Cup Cricket 99. When I installed CWC99 it looked and sounded great with the commentators talking about the history of the World Cup, but from then on it looked horrible. Firstly there are so many bugs in the game it wouldn't be worth releasing a patch. Also it doesn't seem to be up to EA SPORTS standards. At the same time when getting CCWC99 I also got FIFFA 99 and I straight away noticed the difference in the two games. Did EA SPORTS rush this game, because a lot of people would have preferred a complete game after the World Cup rather then a half complete unplayable game released during the World Cup. Cricket World Cup 99 was one of the most anticipated games of the year and to see it in such a way that we have to call it unplayable is not really up to EA SPORTS who have credit for some of the greatest Sport games.

What I noticed were:

bulletThe computer hit the ball through the field and there was a regulation 3 if not all run 4 and they only ran 2!
bulletYou cant bowl bouncers. When you try, they trickle through at the bowlers ankles!
bulletThe Field setting option was rather difficult to use. I grabbed a player then could not put him to stay some where so I thought "Bugger field placings".
bulletThe opposition was rather pathetic in the batting department.
bulletThis one was what really annoyed me. The final teams were incorrect! Now tell me this why is Andrew Bichel in the Australian Squad ahead of players like Shane Lee and Brendon Jullian!
bulletAlso why are there no Bloody Left hand players! This ones a shocker. it is like bowling to the same batsman over and over.

These are just some of the very many bugs that I found in the game. The only thing I can say now is: If you are looking for a decent cricket game buy one by the name of Brian Lara Cricket. After all it is at least half decent (and playable).

David Jenilian said on 31 May 1999

I live in Australia and I recently purchased this game, I had high expectations about it because of the hype but when I got it and started playing two words come to mind absolute crap. I have never seen a crap game like this before everything about it is crap except for the graphics that are ok but the rest is hopeless I mean who made this game its not worth $2 don't buy this game until they release a better one con guys at EA Sports you can do better than this.

Scott Robinson said in the forum on 31 May 1999

This is a letter I recently posted to EA.

Hello EA

I recently purchased Cricket world cup 99 and have to say I am extremely disappointed, there are many serious problems with this game the least of which are the rosters and the lack of left hand batsmen that you have stated are going to be fixed soon.

The problems as I see them are

1. The batting system seems to be a good idea, but it is impossible it seems to do many shots such as the pull shot or a cut shot as the ball never seems to bounce high enough on any pitch conditions, in fact the shot selection is extremely limited.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to change the colour of the batting cone as it rotates to indicate in some way the possible shots that can be played when it is in that direction by colour coding the shots, or use different buttons for different shots, there are 4 buttons on most joysticks!!

2. The fielding is atrocious, if you continue to run even when the fielding team have the ball, they will continuously throw the ball at the stumps even if they are within a few feet of the wickets and do not back up at all, this creates a farce as the ball gets thrown back and forth as many as 20 times and often goes for 4 overthrows.

The fielder need to backup, especially the wicket keeper, what in hell is he doing, and if the wicket is missed once then it is important that the ball gets back to the wicket keeper or fielder at the bowlers end, come on, surely you have seen cricket? or a fielder can even run up to the stumps with the ball.

3. The batting AI is virtually non-existent it is easy to get the opposition all out for under 50 even on the hardest settings.

Can't suggest much here, just improve it

4. The ball never bounces high enough even when you bowl short with a fast bowler at full pace, you cannot bounce the ball at all.

The bounce of the ball is fundamental to bowling surely you aren't limiting the bounce of the ball it must be variable depending on length, speed and pitch condition.

With these problems in the game it is simply un-playable, the game play is very bad, the good things about the game are obviously the graphics and the bowling system, these are both the best I have seen in any cricket game (and believe me I own most of them on different platforms). I own most of the EA sports games and have been impressed in the past by many of your games, but CWC 99 is obviously not finished, any playtester or QA person can see the obvious flaws in this game, and anyone who knows anything about cricket can see that this game just is not up to scratch. Being a software developer myself I can understand the need to just get something out there if you are running behind schedule, but this game is not worth the money and would need to be seriously patched if it were to be worth while.

I have spent a long time playing around with this game as I could not believe that it was as bad as it seemed, or I may have been doing something wrong, but after spending many hours on it and reading the comments on the web and news groups it is obvious that the majority of people have similar feelings to what I have stated. Ashes Tour Addition was certainly much more playable.

What happened to this below? Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this game is the EA SPORTS "Live" concept that EA is currently developing for its PC-CD ROM version. During the actual World Cup tournament, users will be able to log onto the EA SPORTS "Live" dedicated web site, and quickly download up to the minute weather conditions, teams, injuries, news, as well as the current form of players. These variables will be automatically incorporated into the game, whether the user is playing against the computer, or other gamers on-line, providing an insanely realistic sports experience.

Other things this game is lacking are Network Play (come on get with the times) and the ability to play 2 players on the same side against the computer.

Unless you can assure me that some of these problems will be fixed I would like a full refund. I refuse to buy a second version of this game in 6 months time when you finish developing it, I expect to get what I pay for and especially what you advertise.

Scott Robinson.

Ali Raja said on 30 May 1999

The worst cricket game ever to be produced before the millenium.  There is no comparison between World Cup 1999 and Shane Warne, Brian Lara.  Dont waste your time or money.  Codemasters is still the best, if I was EA sports owner I would fire all the people who produced this game.  I think everybody should sue them for making such trash.

Simon Muir said on 26 May 1999

I brought World Cup Cricket  99 last week and think its a pile of frog #$#$. I have  a Pentium II 450 with 128 meg PC100 memory, 2 * 12 meg VII cards, Ultra Wide and Fast SCSI HD, SCSI CD ROM ...

I think this game is bad because

bulletSLOW and poor Animation.
bulletPoor graphics. (in fact very basic).
bulletFull of bugs.
bulletUnrealistic fielding, batting and bowling, commentary etc.
bulletVery poor and boring commentary.
bulletCan't bowl a short pitch ball.
bulletShot selection is static and very unrealistic.

I think this game is good because

bulletComes with great marketing hype that fooled me and now has taught me to always try a demo before buying a game.
bulletA challenge to understand what the developers were trying to produce.  Looking at the box it came in, it appears to be some sought of computer cricket game.

My advice, keep well clear of this game. They don't deserve the right to sell f&^*($g s*&t like this. You could almost call it fraud.

PS - For sale great new cricket game called World Cup Cricket 99, includes

bulletSuperb and real life graphics, sound, game play etc.
bulletNo bugs.
bulletA must see.
bulletOnly 15$ AUD or near offer.  Melbourne, Australia.
bulletContact me at smuir@ibm.net

Chris Gin said on 24 May 1999

I got Cricket World Cup 99 on Friday and was planning on writing a full review for it. However, I think the game is so bad I couldn't play it for very long and I'm returning it today. Despite all the problems with BL Cricket, it simply outclasses CWC99 by far. I think Codemasters should thank EA for releasing this - it's the best advertisement for BLC they could hope for!

Paul Clarke said on 22 May 1999

Ok, now most of you have had the chance to play this game. (I'm selling my copy) So what's the matter with it?

Well...

bulletNo left handers
bulletTearing graphics (the sky is simply appalling)
bulletTerrible bland commentary

BUGS and more bugs:

bulletFielder looking wrong way, ball thrown at the back of his head 'suddenly' appears in his hand.
bulletGame continues after wicket, the batsman is not even back in the pavilion, as the ball passes him. What the hell is that all about!!!???
bulletComputer scores at about 15 an over (on easiest difficulty).
bulletBatting is RUBBISH, uncontrollable.
bulletGough bowls his bouncer, maximum pace, as short as possible, on a dry pitch....it nearly bounces twice, and passes the batsman's ankles!!! (he then sweeps it for 6).
bulletShot timing doesn't even look right. The guy stands there, then suddenly he's through the shot and the balls over the fence... C**P!!!
bulletOn the menu screen the icon is prone to disappearing.
bulletThe grounds are complete rubbish. Worcester's main pavilion is there, but the rest of it is just made up of totally inappropriate stands, and seems to be set in some kind of housing estate.
bulletBat hits ball...speaker goes CLANG....Sorry THIS IS NOT AN ALUMINUM BASEBALL BAT. (In fact I have a sneaky feeling that this game was written by people who know sod all about cricket. Baseball type gameplay is rife.)
bulletPositioning fielders. You select one, then can't shrug the b@*&er off. So I gave up on that.
bulletSimulation mode.....There ain't one. I mean there just IS NOT A SIMULATION MODE..It even says there is one on the box. Trading standards anyone!
bulletBall bounces off invisible wall in front of crowd.

I really could go on and on THIS GAME IS COMPLETE TRASH ...I REPEAT COMPLETE AND UTTER TRASH, C97ATE is more fun to play, and that's saying something...

On the plus side..

bulletThe graphics are ok (the ball is clear when you bat and bowl, but acts very strangely when hit to the boundary in the air, it sort of skims, as if there is an invisible roof on the ground ?!.)
bulletIt doesn't crash...but I wish it would.

This doesn't even seem like a beta version, an alpha version that should never have seen the light of day is more like it.

As for the reviews giving it 90%+ YOU MUST BE JOKING (OR IN THE EMPLOY OF EA SOMEHOW)

This game is the festering mould on the armpit of all that is terrible about cricket games. Please Codemasters, get BLC to run without crashing...all is forgiven.

Terry Squibb said on 22 May 1999

Well I spend £32 on this crap today, its pathetic, not a patch on Lara.  The grounds are less than accurate e.g. Old Trafford the square is in totally the wrong direction with the pavillion behind the bowlers arm.  This is just a lack of knowledge, a simple thing that lets down the game.  I'm running a PIII 450, 128 Mb Ram 16 Mb VooDoo banshee 3Dfx card and a 21 inch monitor, the graphics are 2nd rate at best, and the options limited.  A few basic things also, setting the bowler to bowl around the wicket, the batsman stays on the same side as he bowls from.  This game has clearly not been checked by people that know even the basics of the game.  I feel that EA have rushed it out to try and capitalise on the World Cup without testing it properly.  Don't buy it until a patch comes out fixing the faults, better still tell EA that they need to treat its customers with a bit more respect.  I've spend loads of cash on theirs sports sims over the years, I'll think twice before I spend any more.

Zahra Rabbani said on 22 May 1999

Wasn't there supposed to be a feature in which you could download the latest stats of players and also the latest scores of an ongoing match?  Yes there was but at the moment there is no sign of it.

Simon Rees said on 17 May 1999

Hi I live in Australia and I went out and purchased Cricket World Cup on the weekend and was a little bit disappointed.  To fully appreciate the game you need a top end  computer with a decent 3d card.  It did not have the proper squads for Australia, although I heard that there will be updates through out the world cup.  The options are not to bad but I think that they should have included a test season option as a bonus.  I know that it is called World Cup Cricket for a reason but Shane Warne remains my favourite Cricket Game until I update my computer!!!

Stuart Alexandre said on 17 May 1999

I have had my game for a week now bought it at a store in Christchurch New Zealand and it is good. I still hate the fact they haven't got a patch out for it. Consider you self lucky - here in the UK it is still not out to buy. I hate having all right handed players also I hope for them to make it harder to get the players out inswinging yorkers and off leg cutters seem to get everyone out really easy there is no option that I can find to make the world cup harder. I hope they fix this. All and all it is a good game and thought you should know this.

Revised: Saturday, 16 March 2013.
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