Hmmm... just finished first go at it. England def Aust (me) 2-102 to 3-100 on Test.
Barker (Bracken) bowled well to get 2-25, while Witsen (Watto) got tonked all over by Vorner.
First impressions:
Good:
Graphics are a marked improvement.
AI has been improved - I most particularly noticed that the batsmen will now take quick singles etc, which makes playing the CPU a good deal more challenging, and in a better variety of shots - ie. its not always just a flick down to fine leg anymore.
Its much easier to penetrate gaps in field with ground strokes.
Bowler's speeds seem both more accurate and more consistent - no more variations of 60kph from one ball to the next, apart from some deliberate slower balls.
The speed with which things happen is faster, makes for a more intensive experience - whether this will limit your desire to sit there for 6 hours playing like I would with 2005 remains to be seen.
You can now have different preset fields to each batsman - hallelujah!!
Custom player creation: first stop Shane Warne, then Curtley Ambrose.
Same:
Bowling seems completely unchanged - admittedly this is only a first impression - more exploration might yield more results.
Bad:
FIELDING - the major flaw in the game for me so far. The new system has potential in theory, but the reality is that the "reflex" bar is SO fast that its just impossible - the CPU seems to find it so as well. I couldn't take any of the 5 catch chances I produced - and the computer only managed to take 3 out of at least 7 I gave. The returns always are terrible because its nigh impossible to get the timing of the throw bar correct, making what should be close singles easy - again the CPU seemed equally afflicted, despite being set to "Test". Very disappointing as, as mentioned, in theory it sounds great. The bar just needs to appear earlier and move slower to give those of us not on speed some chance!
Lack of options to adjust - three sets of control, but no option to customise controls. I wanted to reverse the split of functions between the L and R triggers and the L and R buttons, but can't do so without rearranging the whole control set. Apparently on PC you can turn aids like the bowling reticle and batting radar on or off, but I can't find how to do so on the Xbox version.
Still some AI issues - why is it that hard to program a realistic system to regulate the bowling order? Something generic like "start with the two best seamers, third best seamer is first change, then best spinner, then best bowler left". It might be a bit rigid and not capture all the subtleties, but it would make more sense than Monty opening the bowling for England.
Lack of challenge/classic matches - bit of a bummer, it gave you something extra to do besides play the WC, CT or demo matches.
Lack of classic players - I want my all time team from RPIC 2005 back! (Hobbs, Gavaskar, Bradman, Hammond, Richards, Sobers, Gilchrist, Imran, Warne, Akram, Marshall btw)
Can't edit the names - this time they've been more "imaginative" with some of the alternative names, to the point where you can only guess who its meant to be by process of elimination.
Overall - so far I'm happy, I'm hoping the fielding will get easier with practice (any rate of success above 0% at it would give me some encouragement). An improvement over RPIC 2005 on first inspection, although not as great as you'd hope, and perhaps not quite worth $110 if you still have your old Xbox handy with RPIC 2005 loaded up.