Cricket has always been a laborious and nonsensical sport best enjoyed after several pints, but it seems Ashes Cricket 2013 has taken the bafflement factor to a whole new level by providing a game experience that makes as much sense to cricket fans as the real sport does to non-cricket fans.
In fact, the execution of Ashes Cricket 2013 was so poor and the reception so bad, publishers 505 Games have withdrawn it from sale and offered a full refund. In a press release explaining their decision, 505 Games puts the blame firmly on the doorstep of developers, Trickstar Games:
“The chosen developer, even with their many years of cricket game development experience, was unable to overcome the unexpected challenges that the chosen game engine threw up, even with multiple extensions to the development schedule. At the start of the project, 505 Games received all assurances from the developer that the engine was up to the task of creating a dynamic, cutting-edge cricket game for the modern age across multiple platforms, and unfortunately those assurances were found to be misplaced.
“The net result of the challenges we have faced was a game which, despite our best efforts over the course of a 2 year development, couldn’t meet the quality benchmarks of either us, our licensors or our customers.”
Ashes Cricket 2013 was briefly available for the Windows platform via Steam, but a deluge of issues and complaints including disappearing balls, disjointed animations, frame-rate issues and hilariously bad AI led to its withdrawal, but not before numerous player-made videos surfaced showcasing a comedy of errors.
Trickstar Games, whose back catalogue includes International Cricket 2010, Jane’s Advance Strike Fighters and “BAFTA nominated, UK & Australia No.1 hit title – Ashes Cricket” has thus far been silent.
Sources:
- Thanks Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s John Walker.
- Also, I’ve been crying with laughter at Giant Bomb’s attempts to grapple the bizarre ritual of cricket through the medium of a terrible game. Well worth a watch.
