Way back in April 2014 Don Bradman Cricket 14 was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC and I was lucky enough to review the game then on the PlayStation 3 and I really did think the game was excellent giving it a 8.7/10.

Fast forward nearly a year and the game is now being released for the current generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and I’ve managed to score a copy to see how or if the game has changed at all.

But before we enter that let’s take a look at my final paragraph on that original review

Don Bradman Cricket 14 is a pleasure to play and the different difficulty levels will hopefully have you hooked for years to come. I’m personally hoping the sales are strong and the sequel keeps the base experience and ramps up the graphics, adding a bit of polish to mitigate the small hiccups.

Unfortunately I have no insight into the real sales figures but the rumour is that this game has been selling extremely well in pretty much all cricket-playing nations which is good news for cricket fans around the world. And granted this isn’t a sequel but rather a re-release of the same game on newer platforms but did it fulfil those original dreams?

It’s been a year so it’s hard to say for sure but the game definitely felt a lot more polished from my last experience. Little things that annoyed me last time like the canned animations and repetitive behaviour of the fielders and bowlers were definitely improved.

The wicket keeper now only goes for the bails if there is a chance of a run out or stumping, well generally. And the fielders will under arm the ball in if the batsman aren’t out of their crease.

Batting is still a very difficult experience but the more you play the easier it gets and the more you will enjoy the subtleties of the batting experience. Flicking the right analogue stick to the right will result in a huge variation of shots depending on how the ball was pitched, where you are on the crease and, most importantly, the timing of that flick.

In my school days I was your typical big hitter. I didn’t have the subtle techniques to angle the ball down past the keeper for some sneaky runs or direct it perfectly between two fielders. My technique was to klap it as hard as possible and hope it made it over the ropes. It’s something which let me down as the opposing bowlers started to become more skilled.

And that is exactly how it works in the game, move down the wicket to heave a mighty 6 over the bowlers head and you can pretty much guarantee the next ball will make that an impossible feat to repeat. You need to practice a wide variety of shots and some clever quick running to steal a couple of runs.

If you are a cricket fan and a gamer then this is a game you really want to own. Remember though this is more a cricket simulator than an arcade classic and as such you are going to be spending your first few hours figuring out exactly how the game plays.

If you already own the game on a last generation platform then there definitely isn’t enough improvement to buy it again, but if you held out from buying it when it was released last year and are wondering if you made a mistake, then go buy it now.

Don Bradman ‘14 was the best cricket game of the last generation and is now the best cricket game of this one. Granted it’s the only one really but it’s a worthy holder of the title for now.

Last Updated: January 21, 2017

Don Bradman 14
Don Bradman 14 on the new generation consoles is a solid upgrade wthout changing anything that makes the game a great cricketing title.
8.7
Don Bradman 14 was reviewed on Xbox One

52 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief

    February 25, 2015 at 10:32

    So learning to play this game takes longer than a the full length of a certain other “AAA” game…

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      February 25, 2015 at 10:37

      Also sorting your batting “Order” is important. Unless you want to score a mediocre 188/6 after 5 hours of batting

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        February 25, 2015 at 10:38

        Or even worse, 177 all out after 40 overs. :/

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          February 25, 2015 at 10:40

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            February 25, 2015 at 10:43

            I don’t mind if my team loses, I mind if my team loses because they played like pampoenkoppe.

          • Admiral Chief

            February 25, 2015 at 10:46

            You are doing pampoene an injustice

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            February 25, 2015 at 10:46

            I didn’t want to be rude & call them Xbonekoppe. 😉

          • Admiral Chief

            February 25, 2015 at 10:48

            I think they might benefit from some “auto-aim”

          • Captain JJ the crafter

            February 25, 2015 at 10:49

            Hehe

    • ReaperOfSquirrels

      February 25, 2015 at 11:20

      The learning curve for batting and fielding is pretty crazy (assisted fielding FTW).

      You can score a century quickly on Rookie… but if you use the wrong footwork on Pro or above you’re out, no questions asked.

      Reply

  2. Captain JJ the crafter

    February 25, 2015 at 10:33

    Where’s VampyreSquirrel been lately?
    He loves this game.

    Reply

    • ReaperOfSquirrels

      February 25, 2015 at 11:14

      Right here… and I’ve only put 183 hours into it… not much.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the crafter

        February 25, 2015 at 11:25

        Sounds like you’ve barely even tried it out.
        I must say, whenever that thing in Steam pops up saying you’re busy playing it I get this urge to buy it myself. Haven’t played a nice sports game in ages.

        Reply

        • ReaperOfSquirrels

          February 25, 2015 at 11:33

          It’s really a great game. Frustrating as all hell on Pro (and above), but rewarding when you get it right.

          Also fun when playing against friends.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the crafter

            February 25, 2015 at 11:44

            I think I’ll put it on the olde wishlist. I need a lekker sports game every now and then.

          • ReaperOfSquirrels

            February 25, 2015 at 11:51

            Normally cheaper from the local places, and BigAnt has noted that there won’t be a Steam sale on it any time soon.

          • Captain JJ the crafter

            February 25, 2015 at 11:52

            Hmmm.
            I’ll keep a look out. Maybe give it some time until it fits into the budget.

  3. Blood Emperor Trevor

    February 25, 2015 at 10:36

    The only reason I haven’t got this for PC is because it requires a controller. Otherwise I’d be there like a bear.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ the crafter

      February 25, 2015 at 10:36

      Controller allergy is real.

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      February 25, 2015 at 10:38

      R899 on the PSN store. Yeah, let’s wait till after the World Cup.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the crafter

        February 25, 2015 at 10:40

        PSN store. Does not compute. ;P

        Reply

    • theseasonswither

      February 25, 2015 at 11:29

      I use my Xbox controller for the PC version.
      Works brilliantly.

      Reply

    • Rahul

      January 7, 2016 at 05:56

      You can connect controller to PC

      Reply

  4. Umar

    February 25, 2015 at 10:40

    Hopefully we can build a better South African cricket team in this game that won’t lose to India.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      February 25, 2015 at 10:41

      I think that the quota for a good team is what? 50/50? Oh wait, wrong sport.

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      February 25, 2015 at 10:46

      David Wiese. $480 000 to play IPL,highest earning South African this season. Left home to watch the World Cup on TV. Yeah it’s not T20 but he had a fantastic one day season and is in the form of his life at the moment

      Reply

      • Umar

        February 25, 2015 at 10:49

        I…..I just see words in your comment but nothing makes sense….at all…I’m glad he’s in the form of his life..Is that his final form even?

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          February 25, 2015 at 10:50

          XD

          Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        February 25, 2015 at 10:53

        If you can play T20 you can play ODI. They’re not that different in practice really.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          February 25, 2015 at 10:54

          Chris Gayle seems to struggle a bit, though he blew Zim out of the water the last game he played. So there is an exception

          Reply

          • Lardus-Resident Perve

            February 25, 2015 at 10:56

            Gayle picks on the Minnows…his problem is patience in ODI games, but great to see him in full flight when he doesn’t play against us 🙂

      • Lardus-Resident Perve

        February 25, 2015 at 10:55

        While we take passengers like Behardien and Parnell 🙁

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          February 25, 2015 at 11:07

          Behardien didn’t even warrant selection against India. And Parnell went for 85/1 in nine overs. Tahir has been the pick so far. But even Steyn,Morkel and Philander are struggling

          Reply

  5. Pieter Kruger

    February 25, 2015 at 10:47

    Shite, I might just pick this up, wasn’t even aware that it’s out on current gen!

    Reply

    • mannam13

      February 25, 2015 at 12:30

      At R899 I reckon it’s best you wait a while…

      Reply

  6. Sageville

    February 25, 2015 at 10:56

    Personally I believe this World Cup is riddled with match-fixing.

    I hope our boys aren’t involved.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      February 25, 2015 at 10:58

      dun dun dun. Also why?

      Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      February 25, 2015 at 11:00

      I thought the problem in cricket is spot-fixing, not actual match-fixing, because it’s a lot easier to do & hide.

      Reply

      • Sageville

        February 25, 2015 at 11:11

        Actually, you are right I’m talking about spot-fixing *(Match-fixing – wrong term).

        Yeah, one or 2 weird “Events” that looked suspicious to me… maybe I’m just tainted from the past, but a couple of cricket commentators agree with me.

        Reply

  7. Anon A Mouse

    February 25, 2015 at 11:32

    I hate it that I was averaging around 150 as a 16 year old snotkop and the day I turned 17 my average is about 5. In practice I belt the ball all over the place but in a match I barely get it past the bowler. If I “miss” the ball the fielding teams all go up in unison and I’ve apparently nicked it.
    My best bowling is 10 wickets without any runs conceded in a T20 but the ODI’s and tests I barely get a wicket. (I play as a bowling all rounder).

    I can’t believe the difference a year makes and it’s quite frustrating at the moment.

    Reply

  8. L337J1MB0B

    February 25, 2015 at 11:40

    Do the folks behind this game understand that the year is 2015?

    Reply

    • Bill

      February 26, 2015 at 01:19

      They actually dropped the year from the title altogether for this re-release. It doesn’t actually have “14” in the name.

      Reply

      • L337J1MB0B

        February 26, 2015 at 15:55

        Cool.. good to know.

        Reply

  9. Kensei Seraph

    February 25, 2015 at 11:56

    It scored higher than Homeworld Remastered?!
    I’m assuming it’s just because of different reviewers.

    Admittedly it does sound quite good even if I’m not a Cricket fan.

    Reply

  10. RustedFaith

    February 25, 2015 at 12:28

    This game is really amazing and takes allot of practice to get good at, that’s a well deserved score for the game.

    Reply

  11. shantanu

    February 27, 2015 at 03:25

    Batting in Don Bradman is fine i have palyed more than 10 test matches and more than 13 one-days and first-classes and 20-20 in the career mode and i can now play easily. To play we just have to keep the eye out there and also quick thinking where to play and which short to play to get runs. But if you are a starter its better to play on the off-sides more than the on-side.

    Reply

  12. lindsay tulloch

    July 27, 2015 at 08:21

    I’m not sure what the developers were thinking when it came to the controls of the batter. It’s almost impossible to survive. Simply there is too much going on and its way over thought. By the time the bowler releases the ball and its on its way down the pitch, you find yourself fumbling the controls, more often then not playing the wrong hurried shot. Its complicated and after 3 days of attempting to play the game, and with the ever increasing chance of a smashed controller approaching I gave up.

    Reply

  13. Arindam S. Roy

    January 28, 2016 at 16:03

    Excellent review.

    Reply

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