Don Bradman Cricket 17 Review (PS4)

Don Bradman Cricket is a brand new series from developer Big Ant Studios. The Australian based developer started from scratch creating the first Don Bradman game back in 2014. Since then, they have worked on a sequel for it which is finally released now as Don Bradman Cricket 2017.

Cricket is a sports that has lacked attention and variety in term of video games. While we all have our fair share of gameplay moments with some of the classics developed by Codemasters like Brian Lara and Shane Warne Cricket series, there is a serious lack of new games for this sports. Thankfully Big Ant Studios has managed to keep it alive by developing new games in the Don Bradman Cricket series.

The original Don Bradman Cricket was a well made and polished game that managed to combine the complexity of Cricket with a gameplay that keeps it fun but still simple enough so that anyone could jump in and play it. This has continued with the release of their newest game, Don Bradman Cricket 2017.

Even though it is a sequel and an iterative improvement to the previous game, unfortunately it still maintains the same production values which means in term of graphics, don’t expect an upgrade here. This is still fine though because while the visuals might be dated, the game has some fun gameplay mechanics which more than make up for it.

The major new addition in this sequel is the addition of a new creation mode for players, teams, logos and even stadiums. This opens the flood gate for user created customization resulting in a lot of potential. This is further enhanced by the ability to download the customized teams and players online. If you are missing any of your favorite batsman and bowler and want it to be a part of your own team, you can simply download and add them as a player.

If you are more old school and just want to have a go at the game, then you can try you hand at the online multiplayer or create your own team and then make them champions in the career mode. The career mode has also received a facelift and now gives us the option to either play using a veteran cricket player or a rookie. This adds further incentive to replay it and challenge our skills by using a player that is still learning cricket, and enhancing his skills in that process.

Just like any cricket game, the developers have added the option to play couch co-op or online multiplayer, with the former working the best out of the lot. Unfortunately in our case, the online multiplayer experience wasn’t exactly smooth but its inclusion here is a welcome addition nonetheless. Still the fun of playing couch co-op cricket with a friend is here to stay, and with the release of this sequel, it is as exciting as ever.

The gameplay mechanics have also been improved now with a focus on batting, bowling and fielding. The fielding animations in particular have received attention this time around making the transition between the various poses much smoother than before and less jarring as a result. The batting is now a tighter experience but with an easy difficulty curve which still means we can cheat with multiple sixes as usual. However, we do have the ability to tweak the AI with difficulty settings, which does rectify this issue to some extent. Of course, this issue is non-existent when played with a human player and the game truly shines during this moment.

Don Bradman Cricket 2017 is a worthy purchase for the Critcket lovers looking for a brand new game in the market. If you have played the original Don Bradman game and enjoyed it, then this sequel comes highly recommended.