If you're an Aussie or UK sports fan, then the next few months are all about one thing--the Ashes series being held Down Under. EA is capitalising on that buzz by releasing Cricket 07 just before the start of the first Test at the end of November, and the good news for cricket tragics is that Cricket 07 is EA's best effort at replicating the sport to date. The bad news is that some finicky bowling mechanics make it an uneven experience, with batting by far the more enjoyable half of the gameplay. And just like in real cricket, even the shortest matches can result in some tedium.                                                                                                                                    If you're a big fan of the sport, then you know that a little tedium is part and parcel of the whole experience. Indeed, Cricket 07 plays more towards hardcore supporters than casual followers, as the real-life game is represented here in almost simulation-like quality. While there is scope for slugfests at lower difficulty levels, Cricket 07 is very much a game that rewards patience and persistence, particularly when you get to Test match levels at higher-than-average difficulties.
                                                                                                                                                   EA's latest cricket offering features its biggest innovation to the series so far--the Century Stick control system. As opposed to previous entries in the series, which mapped shot selection to a PlayStation 2 controller's four face buttons, Cricket 07 uses both analog sticks for batting. The left is used for foot choice and batter placement, while the right is used to select shots and determine power. A hard pull straight down on the right analog stick, for example, will result in a fierce straight drive, while a gentle flick to the right will result in a batsman doing a leg glance. An impressive array of shots can be played in Cricket 07 (depending on where the ball is relative to your batsman), including French cuts, square cuts, cover drives, on-drives, pulls, hooks, sweeps, blocks, and more.
                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                Sledgehammer Games' first kick at the Call of Duty can -- the first game in Activision's prolific military shooter franchise to be developed by a new studio in eight years -- is significantly different from other entries in the series. The introduction of an advanced exoskeleton suit dramatically alters the way players make their way through environments, adding a new degree of mobility and verticality. And with special abilities such as cloaking and threat grenades that paint targets behind cover, plus some slightly sci-fi weapons such as a powerful directed energy rifle, the action is distinctively futuristic. The differences are particularly evident in multiplayer mode, where exo-abilities such as boost jumps and hovering in mid-air force players to be more aware than ever of threats from above. It's a refreshing and fun change of pace for the franchise -- though it's clearly geared for players looking for faster-paced, arcade-like action than simulated warfare.                                                  The one area in which Advanced Warfare fails to innovate is cooperative play. Whereas developers Infinity Ward and Treyarch have pushed the boundaries of what we expect from Call of Duty cooperative modes with their alien- and zombie-themed variants, Sledgehammer's traditional wave-based mode feels pretty safe by comparison. Still, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is well-polished and even a bit daring at times. It clearly stands apart from other games in the series and should prove good fun for adult gamers looking for a spot of futuristic military action.
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                    That your decisions matter in Football Manager isn’t new. What is new in Football Manager 2017 is the way that you are presented with the information you need to make those decisions, and how much easier it is to implement them. Whereas in previous entries, an email in your virtual inbox might send you spiralling off on a labyrinthine trek through menus and sub-menus, drop down boxes and sliders, you will now regularly be presented with clear and concise reports that can be acted on without leaving your inbox.
                                                                                                                                                   Each report you receive is subject specific—training, scouting, and so on—and is divided by sensible subheadings that makes the information being presented to you easy to interpret at a glance. Furthermore, each bit of advice you receive from your backroom staff comes attached with the reason that it is being proposed, such as to scout a particular central midfielder because it is a weakness in your squad, and, where practical, a tick box for you to click to action the advice. 
                                                                                                                                                   Lest you wonder why I am getting so excited about a new report style, let me assure you that it makes a big difference to the way you play the game. Things that you couldn’t be bothered to do, or would just forget about, now get done by virtue of the fact that you don’t have to go out of your way to do them. Take the example of a player whose form has picked up: you now get an email pointing out that they’ve been playing well and suggesting it might be worth praising the player. It’s something that would otherwise be easy to overlook, but as anyone who has tried to turn around the fortunes of a team low on confidence will know, the small morale boost the player will get from this is the kind of detail that can make all the difference. 
                                                 

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