When it comes to video games, cricket has had a patchy showing. Unlike football, the game is popular in limited countries and major centers amongst these countries are outside the U.S. There have been Brian Lara Cricket and EA Sports Cricket in the past, but none too consistent through the years.
That continues, and cricket fans still don't have a licensed, nicely packaged cricket simulation. World Cricket Championship 2 aims to fill the void, and the series has garnered quite a following with pretty good Windows 10 and Windows Phone Store ratings. The players' names and identities are purposefully misspelled to circumvent licensing, but the game offers a great amount of control over batting and bowling with realistic physics applied to the gameplay.
There are over 45 different batting shots, stunning diving catches and quick throws, and realistic ball physics which responds to the pitch conditions. Of course, there's also an autoplay mode for bowling and batting. You can configure your player for special skills, and improve them accordingly.
The game supports 18 different international teams and 10 domestic teams and you can participate in tournaments like World T20 Cup, Blitz Tournament, and ODI Series. There's also the Gangs of Cricket mode where the user can form gangs and compete in challenges, also enabling the user to challenge other gamers.
There are several, casual cricket games on all platforms, but WCC2 offers great visual appeal with cinematic cameras and real time-lighting. There's also a professional audio commentary with dynamic ground ambient sounds making it a pretty good package.
If only the publisher could manage the tricky multi-national licensing of cricket boards, teams, and individual players, World Cricket Championship 2 would be an ace sports simulation game. Nevertheless, it still is the most dynamic and versatile mobile cricket game. World Cricket Championship 2 is a free game available from the Windows Phone and Windows 10 Stores. While a free gaming title, there are in-app purchase opportunities.
