Cricket Captain is the only cricket management game series for PCs and smartphones, which is still updated every year. Developed by UK-based Childish Things, Cricket Captain 2016 is the 19th edition in the PC version of the game and third on Android and iOS. What makes it better than the usual set of mobile games is that it owns the official licences to all the international tournaments, players and a few domestic leagues. None of the mobile cricket games are anywhere near it in this aspect.
Challenging and addictive gameplay
The basic gameplay is quite engaging, and the fact that this is a management game makes it a bit more dynamic. You pick up one team and control everything—from team selection, coaching and net practice to the way a batsman bats and where a bowler pitches the ball in a match. The overall interface looks a lot more detailed and well-spaced. Childish Things has added a few more domestic leagues from South Africa and New Zealand. Domestic leagues from India, England and Australia are already available. You can take control over a domestic team in an English country or the Indian Premier League or you can take over an international team and help it rise in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings. The game follows the entire ICC itinerary for the next two years.
Playing the game beyond the easy level is really tough and requires a solid understanding of the basics of the game. It is one of the reasons why the game isn’t meant for any ordinary cricket fan. It is strictly meant for fans who like to be involved into every aspect of the game and have the patience for it.
It takes up only 150MB of space after installation and works offline too.
Looks as graphical as the PC version
While detailing around the pitch and the ground has improved, the playing surface looks a lot more detailed, and the ambient conditions are a bit more dynamic as well. The player details, however, haven’t really been improved. Most of the players still bear no resemblance to their real-life counterparts and that is, perhaps, the only real disappointment. One of the interesting visual highlights is the day-night mode which means day-night matches are now actually played under floodlights.
Another new feature is the multiple camera angles the game allows. You are no longer stuck with the fixed-behind-the-bowler camera angle but can view it from the side, top and from right behind the bowler. We have seen this mostly in PC or console games and never before in a cricket game on mobile.
Is it worth downloading?
The game is one of the few cricket games which actually matches a PC game in every aspect. The game charges a one-time payment of Rs.590 (Android/iOS) with no in-app purchases. If you are one of those cricket fans who likes running the entire show, this is the best mobile game on cricket. But if cricket is about whacking a ball out of the park most of the time, you will enjoy games such as Stick Cricket 2 and Real Cricket more.
Cricket Captain 2016
Developer: Childish Things
Price: Rs.590
Tested On: OnePlus One (Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 3GB RAM, 64GB storage)
