Cricket Power

Cricket Power is the official ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 video game. Unlike most current PC-based games on the market this title is entirely browser-based and is published by Abu Dhabi-based Karkadann Games.

Being browser-based Cricket Power is easy to setup and play. You just need to visit www.cricketpower.com where the game can be purchased and downloaded currently for just US $4.99. After an initial download of just 100MB and a quick install process, Cricket Power is ready to run.

Since this is the official game of the World Cup a lot of care has gone into making sure that the characters look as close to their real counterparts as possible. The 3D visuals are decent for a browser-based simulator and both the stadium and playing field look quite sharp. On the flip side the spectators looked like a single mass of moving graphics but considering the size and nature of the game, we weren't particularly concerned with this. On the audio front the game is somewhat basic however in that while there's a fair racket coming from the spectators, there's no commentary at all.

The game has an up-to-date roster of real-life players and when playing with them, you'll be able to spot the subtle differences in terms of play-style and level of aggression.

In Cricket Power batting is quite a satisfying experience. It's also something that doesn't require a lot of player skill in that most batsmen can handle a lot of the bowlers' tactics and techniques with very little in terms of player input. Don't get us wrong though, you can still be bowled out by a bowlers' signature ball or ‘Yorkers'. The key element in terms of batting is making sure your timing is right (just like the real thing). Time it right and you'll easily be able to belt out massive amounts of ‘fours' and ‘sixes'. On the flip side miss-timing shots could lead to your player being ‘bowled out' or ‘caught out' on a poor shot.

As for bowling there is a lot you can do in Cricket Power. Your individual bowlers' skill levels count for something but you also control the seam, swing and spin they put into their bowling. The tactics that we enjoyed included bowling a few ‘bouncers' and ‘wides' to frustrated batsmen, inducing them to play aggressively. This too adds a proper sense of realism to Cricket Power because this sort of thing is exactly what takes place on real cricket grounds around the world.