Product Description

Bringing you closer to the action than ever before with the officially licensed teams, players and stadia of the 2009 npower Ashes Series!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2048 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Codemasters Limited
• Released on: 2009-08-07
• Platform: Windows XP
• Format: DVD-ROM
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
Bringing you closer to the action than ever before with the officially licensed teams, players and stadia of the 2009 npower Ashes Series!

The game will provide you with the most authentic Ashes experience possible without having to don your white.

Delivering all the exciting, athletic, skilful and technical elements of the sport, the game’s comprehensive ‘Ashes’ mode will feature all five Tests played out at carefully detailed recreations of each authentic venue.

Featuring twelve Test playing nations and eighteen stadia from around the world, Ashes Cricket 2009 is the most comprehensive cricket video game ever.

Experience the whole gamut of the world of cricket from the iconic Ashes series, Test matches, ODIs and 20 over games. The kits, the pacing, the atmosphere and the players all change depending upon your game mode.

Customer Reviews

Test match disappointment 20Twenty satisfaction.
One question has bugged me ever since I took delivery of this game by Amazon, and it is this; was this game developed for the cricket purist or the arcade gamer? I neither love nor loath this game and on other days dislike it or came to think of it as a classic. To be honest it has got me undecided. Undecided because it is brilliant in certain aspects and rubbish and annoying in others. Just when it lets you down it makes you feel good and then you wonder what was good about it in the first place. I have a confession; I am a Surrey fan and I won't let my self-righteous deep seated bitterness of what has happened over the last few years affect my judgement. If you know what I'm talking about then this review is for you. But we should be the best County in the country (Sorry).

Cricket fans, have you ever seen an international Test match start and end with a scoring rate of 8 an over? That's my review of the Ashes series this game has to other. A total disappointment. If they release a patch which counteracts this scoring frenzy then this main mode may be more appealing and playable. The grounds kits and squads are great; 23 man squads leaves enough room for scope and adjust your attacking line ups. You can create yourself and insert it into the team but be warned if your first name is longer than six letters it'll not go in, shame. But all Twelve teams in the game can be edited (player names only). There is no real scope to change the `other' teams so no Netherlands or Scotland. Unless it's less than six letters but then the choice of kits and emblems are very limited.

So where does this game shine? It shines in the 20twenty format. These games have so far proved very exciting and well worth playing the HUD keeps you updated with run rates and player scores and what I think is excellent and adds to drama the score needed over balls left. This can be scary or fun depending on which side of the deficit you are playing on. You have to choose whether to attack or defend in hope you can pick off the weaker bowler. I tried to do this against Pakistan only to loose a couple of wickets to the Rawalpindi Express however, the spinner came on allowing me to increase the run rate applying pressure on Shahid Afridi (you need to edit the names) and denting his confidence but it is very cat and mouse the pressure can build, mark my words. But this mode can only be played in a knock out tournament from the quarter final stage there is no league or group stage which is strange as Cricket always has a group stage then the knock out... A little disappointed. So, no World Series cricket for the one day enthusiast. One plus point is the inclusion of stat tracking which run for the life of the game but never seem to update when the player comes into bat or bowl. But in the team screen prior a game the stats can be read if you're a cricket fan you'll know what I am talking about.

The actual game play is the best I have played in a cricket game timing and placement are all important in both bowling and probably more so in batting. You get a strange sense of satisfaction when you've cracked one of the middle for four even playing a cheeky one down to third man or fine leg feels great. Catching is much improved with a bullet time version of you trying to catch the ball as a circle turns red, orange, green and then red again to signify the chance has gone. Orange means you have a fifty/fifty chance of grabbing a catch. No balls are punished with the free hit rule which is a good inclusion. The game play is what makes this game tick but strange when you are playing a test match to have most of your deliveries smashed away for boundaries even the odd six... this is strange in the first session of the first test.

In conclusion this a good cricket game and I only hope they use the engine to produce either a domestic 20twenty game of better still sort the problems of the test match and bring out a bigger and better game soon as if this is the taster then the main course would be worth the sacrifice for this game.

BRILLIANT!!!!
So I bought this the other day and have to admit - fantastic game. Trust me, I have been playing nearly (nearly?! probably all!) the cricket games since 1997 (I even played Graham Gooch Cricket on the Amiga when I was about 12). This games cracks the whip out of all of them.

Not only are the graphics great but the play is brilliant. Finally, a game that knows how to play the great game - you can't (shouldent) go in and slog the first ball for 6 as you have reached "confidence" yet. Only problem is that I have noticed the confidence can be reached pretty quickly (although it can also go down with a number of dot balls etc).

No more mouse + keyboard stuff - this game is totally keyboard based - EVERYTHING - even the menu board........and it works perfectly.

Read a few reviews on the Wii and noticed you can only play Eng and Australia I think - this PC version lets you play anyone. It even had a theme for your team....brilliant!

The tutorials are great and Botham teachs good :-) It even has a "advanced tutorial".

Advantages:

1. No more rubbish dot ball and the fielder running in and passing it to the wicket keeper? What the heck was that all about?!

2. The ball mover is now easy to pin point onto the pitch.

3. You can play any format and any length of the game. Tes match/50 over and 20 over.

4. If you are a cricket nut like me and love the test matches (132 off 389 balls kind of guy :-) ) then this game is perfect.

5. spin blowing is a breeze. Warny is the best coach.

6. Played Hoggard and he bowled me a spell of 8-1-43-2 - classic. How that was a positive then only the old timers will know.


Problems:

1. The commentary is again robot like and should have done more.

2. Maybe my PC but for some reason it took ages to load. Checked the CPU (dual-core) and it was using 99% for about 30secs before loading the actual game.

3. Names are not of the REAL players - have no idea if you can change them.


In conclusion - buy the game and enjoy it! Nothing out there beats it!

An excellent attempt
A pretty decent attempt at a game with enough difficulty (at the "normal" level) to really have to concentrate to get it right. Slightly concerned at how profligate the bowlers can be at Test level for fractional errors, and the number of run-outs due to dodgy AI may start to irk the purist (I had 3 in the first innings of my Test match when bowling) but it's presented nicely, the animations are OK and the game is good. I get the impression that there may be less lbws and bowled than actually happen in reality.

Still - it's the best cricket simulation I've seen - largely as most of them so far have been pretty average. I'd given it 3.5/5 if I could !