Big Bash Boom brings the excitement of Australia’s domestic T20 tournament to your living room. Fully licensed and featuring all BBL and WBBL teams, as well as club mascots making an appearance, it’s fun for the whole family to enjoy!
However, this arcade-style cricket slogfest isn’t without its issues. The lack of instant replays and third umpire reviews are particularly glaring, and the game’s pace means it can often be hard to follow a key moment in a match, even when it happens.
Gameplay
Big Ant Studios, the makers of serious cricket titles like Don Bradman Cricket, have teamed up with Cricket Australia to bring us all the excitement of T20 cricket in Big Bash Boom. It’s available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC and features licensed teams, players and stadiums from this year’s KFC Big Bash League (BBL) and rebel Women’s BBL.
The gameplay in Big Bash Boom is a mix of over-the-top arcade style action, bobble-headed players and power-ups that deliver plenty of TV-like moments. You can pick from eight licensed teams and play a quick casual match, full tournament or online head-to-head.
The game aims to recreate the festive atmosphere of a BBL match, complete with fireworks displays and goofy team mascots. Hit a six and flaming trails appear, beachball-sized cricket balls shoot from the sky and a giant duck will escort batters into the change room.
Graphics
Big Bash Boom is a fun and simple game for those who want to see their favourite players in action. It also offers plenty of power-ups and animations to make the experience even more interesting.
Visuals in Big Bash Boom combine realistic surroundings with character models that have been presented in an exaggerated and comic style. Despite this, the game’s graphics are still very polished and look great.
Casual Matches or Full Tournaments
In Big Bash Boom, players can take part in casual matches or full tournaments against real-life players from the KFC Big Bash League and the Rebel Women’s Big Bash League. They can also take part in online head-to-heads against opponents from across the world.
Those who enjoy cricket will likely be familiar with the BBL, a competitive 20-over-a-side league featuring Australian teams. Using the same realism as the BBL, Big Ant Studios have taken the concept of this popular sport and turned it into an arcade-style simulation.
Licenses
Developed by Big Ant Studios, this next-generation arcade game has you hitting the ball in style with all your favorite BBL and WBBL teams. It has a full tournament mode and online head-to-head matches to boot. It also features a slew of fully licensed teams, stadiums and players.
Big Ant Studios
Big Ant Studios’ previous cricket titles have been known for representing the complex and detailed aspects of the sport, but they have done a solid job of delivering the fun factor with Big Bash Boom. This is mainly thanks to the game’s impressive array of gimmicks.
Aside from the aforementioned tournament mode, which was more of a tinker-tinker-tinker approach, the game’s most interesting features were the aforementioned flaming shitstorms and the beachball-sized cricket balls that could. It also had a few other wacky and wow-worthy gimmicks, like the first ever videogame to have a dancing duck. Sadly, it also had a lot of bugs to overcome. That said, it was still an entertaining game that made the best of a good situation and was a must-have for any family that enjoyed the majesty of the BBL and its predecessors.
Replays
Cricket is a fast and exciting game and Big Bash Boom does a fantastic job of recreating the buzzing atmosphere of a BBL match. Its arcade gameplay also means that anyone can pick up and play the game, whether it’s a casual match or a full tournament or even online head-to-head.
The game doesn’t offer replays though and this can sometimes be disappointing if you miss out on the big moments that happen in this fast paced game. It can be frustrating when you get a runout or you hit a six and there is no way to relive that moment.
Final Thoughts:
While this is a first attempt by Big Ant Studios in the arcade genre it has some strong points including an impressive amount of animations and a great third-person perspective. It is also a definite improvement over previous games and is definitely worth a look for cricket fans. However, a grindy system of grinding in-game currency to unlock cosmetic items will make it hard for the casual player.
