Steve Cote: APP OF THE DAY: Stick Cricket (iPad)

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

APP OF THE DAY: Stick Cricket (iPad)

I don't like cricket, oh no.....
APP OF THE DAY: Stick Cricket (iPad). apps, ipad apps, gaming, Stick Cricket, iPad games, Mobile phone apps, 0

Ah, the test match season is back again - bringing with it all the cricket traditions that we English (and Welsh, of course - the first test is in Cardiff after all) love.

So that's plenty of pompous nitwittery, Bumble bumbling, Beefy moaning and rain a pouring.

Yep, the rain. It struck on the first day's play in Cardiff, hitting the play time hard - and more is scheduled for later on in the test as well.

But instead of doing the crossword, or getting drunk on real ale (the other test cricket traditions) when the rain begins to fall, why not kill some time playing today's App of The Day?

Stick Cricket

Format: iPad
Price: Free (Bonus games for ?1.79)
Where: iTunes

When Stick Cricket first landed in the App Store back in December for the iPhone, we've been waiting, pads on and ready to bat, for an iPad friendly version (properly pixelated) to arrive too.

After all, the title is of online legendary status (it has been played over a billion times), and the iPhone version was good - if somewhat limited by the smaller screen.

But now the iPad version is here bringing real teams, and real players right onto your 9.7-inch display.

The app itself is free, and for that you'll get the 5 over All Star Slog game mode, World Domination levels 1-3, in game statistics including your run rate and the number of boundaries that you hit, and high score charts with Game Center. You'll also be able to show off your top scores to your buddies via Facebook and Twitter.

But the real action only starts once you fork out ?1.79 for the bonus content, which includes the World Cup Edition game, 10 and 20 over All Star Slog modes and 14 additional levels of World Domination. There's also a two-player option where you can play against anyone, even if they haven't upgraded.

Stick Cricket purists may be a tad disappointed that all of the shot options aren't on board. You can only choose to hit left or right - so there's no smashing it down the ground KP style, or ducking shots a la Ricky Ponting. But the two button setup seems to work well on the iPad and it won't be long until you're hooked again.

The World Cup game, in particular is incredibly addictive, and includes a nice little Angry Birds-themed intro as well.