Ultimate Cricket World Cup 2011

Cricket may look to outsiders like a genteel and quaint game, played only by a handful of bad-teethed English folks who love to ‘take tea’ and say ‘what ho’, but anyone who's heard of Wisden will know this simply isn’t the case.

In fact, it may surprise some to find out that cricket, often cited as the second most popular sport in the world, is played more often on the streets of Bangalore or the beaches of the Antigua than on village greens in Blighty.

Appearances, therefore, can be deceptive.

Much like Ultimate Cricket World Cup 2011, which - at first glance - appears to be the official game of the current World Cup. It isn't.

Peppergreen-Smith

Having lost out on the licence to Jump Games’s ICC World Cup 2011, Connect2Media has had to resort to the Konami method of working without a license - making up silly names for players.

If the idea of J.Andirsen bowling to R.Pointin has you weeping into your crinkled stats book, then this game is most certainly not up your street.

Unfortunately, along with the lack of real player names, Ultimate Cricket 2011 also lacks the same level of slick presentation as its closest rivals.

Silly mid-off

Part of this is due to the flick-book like animation, which makes timing certain (more risky) shots a nightmare.

This leads to a learning curve with the controls that is less-than welcoming, despite the short structure of the 5-20 over events and the ability to hit/bowl the ball in the practice nets.

Fielding is easily the weakest area of the game, with each player doddering along automatically with every hit. The ball travels so fast, and the players pick up so slow, that it’s almost painful watching what should have been a simple stop turn into a run for the AI.

Dot ball

Still, there's a certain amount of enjoyment to be had with Ultimate Cricket World Cup 2011, not least in the rapid pace of the balls and overs and in how the game distributes shot types across the keypad.

There’s also a good selection of modes, including Knockout tournaments, the aforementioned practice nets, quick matches between any of the 14 international teams, and the (unofficial) Cricket World Cup itself.

Indeed, any glance at the feature list may make you believe Ultimate Cricket World Cup 2011 would easily smash the ball over the covers when it came to cricket on the mobile. Scratch a little deeper, though, and you’ll find a slightly ropey match engine struggling to put its shin guards on.

Ultimate Cricket World Cup 2011

Poor fielding and stuttering animation hinder Ultimate Cricket World Cup 2011’s attempts to play the Gentleman’s Game
Score
Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).