Cricket Captain 2015

As always, this is an excellent cricket simulation game. Unlike the last few versions, this one has some much needed new features/improvements. To name just a few, the added Indian domestic leagues (which will please many). The ODI and T20 match engines have notably improved with much larger scores now possible. The lesser teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have been given more attention leading to more accurate team selections. There are many more little improvements for the better that you will find out as you play the game. Overall, I honestly think this is a game to get for any cricket fan.

Cricket Captain 2015 follows exactly the same format and game play as every previous version going back 15 years. The only noticeable changes are to the graphics on the highlights. These however, still look very poor and dated. Everything else remains the same as previous versions and this new release follows the same path of them updating stats whilst keeping the gameplay and interface identical to previous versions. You can also now play the Indian FC league too. If you already own a recent version of cricket captain then this new version is little more than a database update. If you don't own a previous version then it is worth buying as it is still a fun game although after years of very little development to the actual game play it does feel a very tired series now.

I am delighted with this year's version of the game. There are many fantastic new features including fielding coaching, new leagues, new stadiums, pitches and graphics, as well as a really accurate game engine across all three formats. If you love cricket, then you HAVE to get this game! I will post more after I have clocked up more hours!

Cricket Captain 2015, the same game every year with given a tiny application of makeup and making no progress whatsoever. The thing is, Cricket Captain is basically a Cricket Manager game, minus 90% of management features that are needed to make the game interesting. But let me get the pro's out of the way with first; The match engine is brilliant, the statistical information available to the player is brilliant. The one-day and 20-20 match engines have been tweaked and are better than previous instalments. Graphics have finally gotten a facelift, but animations remain the same as in previous versions pretty much, thus edges mostly go in the same areas and not always to shots that make sense. To demonstrate the laziness; the animations for the umpires to signal 'byes' is the real life signal for leg byes, this has been like this for the past three or four instalments, it can't be that hard to fix surely? Outside of the match engine, there is almost nothing for an aspiring manager to do. Yeah, there is team building from the transfer market, and the promotion of youth players. You also get to adjust the budgets a little, but the initial funding doesn't change (aside from prize money), there's no opportunity to build the club up as you become more successful. There's no chance to look more in depth at a youth or reserve team, and you can't hire a specific number of physios or coaches. Training is limited, staff numbers are linked to the budget but never anymore than numbers rather than actual personalities themselves - a batting coach who is aggressive for example, or a bowling coach with his own philosophy - nope, they're just generic numbers. And that, really is the problem with the game. It's a spreadsheet game, with all your time spent looking at statistical averages. Best batsman number 1 will always be replaced by generic youth product number 51, because there are no personalities in the game, nothing to indicate ability (outside of averages), nothing to indicate talent (outside of averages) because there's no staff to talk to, no youth team to develop and team to mould in line with bigger games such as Football Manager. The whole thing, is just a numbers game without any real flavour to it. The hardcore fans and cricket nuts will pick it up as usual, but aside from reading the numbers and possibly playing around with tactics in the admittedly decent match engine there's nothing outside to keep things interesting, no media, no discussions, no personalities, training events or anything that adds spark and interest. Nothing but your imagination and the bland numbers popping up as each match goes by. For a series that has been around for a long while now, they really need to get with the times and produce something more than a match engine.

I'm very pleased to say that this year's Cricket Captain is probably the biggest step forward the series has seen to date - they've eliminated a lot of stupid bugs that have been in the game for ages, and their 3d graphics actually look pretty okay now, with added shadows etc. The match engine has always been the key of the game, though, and it too has been updated to better reflect the aggressive cricket of the modern era, throwing up fantastic results that mirror real life in an unpredictable way, such that old Cricket Captain games would not have been able to manage. [b]8/10, biggest improvement I've ever seen in the series.[/b]

I have loved the Cricket Captain series for a long time, and I buy it every couple of years. This version is as much fun as always and looks a good deal slicker than previous versions, which is great. I still feel like the series is a little lazy, especially when compared with sports management simulators where there is more competition - e.g. Football Manager. A few small changes could make this series so much better. One major failing is that it is impossible to be sacked or to move counties or countries once you have started a game. I think it would be great if the Board of your team (domestic or international) set seasonal goals and would review your position based on your attainment of the goals. These could be based around performance in competitions, development of youth players, marquee signings, or anything like this. Similarly, fan satisfaction would be a great feature - are the fans happy with the performance of the team; are the attached to the players; do they like the style of cricket you're playing? If so, more fans should turn up to games and the county should make more money. In international cricket, each country's pool of talent seems to remain fairly static despite retirals and regenerations. This has in the past been frustrating as a New Zealand fan. There should also be a mechanism for a team's prestige to change, so that if you manage NZ or WI or whoever to be the no.1 side in a format, other teams will want to host longer and more regular series against your team. It is frustrating to have a great player in a New Zealand shirt who can't have a real crack at breaking records because he'll only play 60 tests in his career. It should also be possible to move international teams to keep variety and interest. I love the statistical elements of this game, especially that retired player stats are now saved. The kind of people who love cricket and play these games love statistics, so keep them coming! The more the better! For example, saving players' scoring areas over the whole of their career, saving as many quirky stats as possible about your nation or club (e.g. all time best XIs, players of the season, most runs/wickets in a 2/3/4/5 match test/ODI/T20I series, most matches, most matches as captain, boundary totals, most % runs in innings, etc). I'd also love to see Decision Reviews introduced (a really important part of captaincy these days), and realistic rain delays in one-day cricket with Duckworth-Lewis adjusted totals. A few small changes like this would make the game feel more real, more immersive, and ultimately more enjoyable. Still, I love this series, and would give this game four out of five stars.

The usual slow evolution rather than revolution for this series, but sensibly priced. Fans of the series will want it just for the updated database, but there are significant improvements as well, not least the essential changes to batting aggression in limited overs matches. Anyone else who knows, and cares, what the difference between a seam and a swing bowler is will want it as well. To them, recommended. To anyone else, forget it. Probably. Looking forward to the Android version so I can carry my games into lunchtime via the Dropbox feature.

I played ICC2 (?) back in 99. I wheel it out ever year, for a couple of weeks but lost my CD recently. So took plunge and bought this. Wow what a disappointment. Essentially the same game as 99 one, with some worse features (i.e. all info not on one screen as previously). I expect if you have any evolution between this and 99, there is no need to get this game. What really did it for me though is the games are obviously pre-ordained before you even play. I played the same game 4 times, on 4 new start games (1st Notts v Middlesex) and got the same result with virtually identical scores, whatever i did. Middlesex 450 1st inns, notts 270 odd 1st inns etc. Classically on the 3rd attemp, I had Middlesex 240 odd for 8 (batting second), when 9 & 10 both scored 100's to get them to 450 odd. on 4th again batting second had them 130 odd for 6 and last 4 wickets put on 300 odd to get to the 450. REALLY....... that's just bad and I felt the game was playingme. A terrible game and a waste of my time and money. I loved ICC2 but this isn't worth the effort. AVOID

An imbalanced and fundamentally flawed game that hasn't moved forward since its inception. A real letdown for anyone who's followed Cricket Captain for some time and a disappointment in general.

So if you're like me and the Ashes buzz has made you want to get a Cricket game and you remember a game called Cricket Captain... you come to this. Well luckily for you, it's easy to navigate around because absolutely nothing has changed in about 5 years. Everything is the same except for the obvious player names, a few more teams and updated statistics. If you play other management games such as Football Manager or Pro Cycling Manager, there's somesort of an improvement year on year and you'd expect that from pretty much every game you play but this, i actually can't find anything new at all. It's so dated and i've tried to get into it but i just can't. Not recommended if you're looking for Crickets answer to Football Manager