Microsoft has announced the next slate of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass, starting with Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition on October 15th. It will be available for PC subscribers and offer 4K Ultra HD visuals, two new game modes and two new civilizations. Co-op title Heave Ho (PC), action platformer Katana Zero (console, PC and Android) and The Swords of Ditto: Mormo’s Curse (PC) will also be available on the same day.

But that’s not all. Bandai Namco’s Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition will also be available, bringing the remastered RPG classic to console and PC subscribers. On October 21st, ScourgeBringer will exit early access and be available for console subscribers while October 22nd sees Cricket 19 and Supraland added.

Overall, there’s quite a bit to look forward to. Next month could potentially be even bigger with the Xbox Series X/S launching on November 10th. The consoles will be available for $499 and $299 respectively with major titles like Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5 and more receiving enhancements.

SIE Lodon Studio’s latest major PlayStation VR release, first person shooter Blood and Truth, has topped the UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track weekly charts for video game boxed sales in the UK for the week ending June 1 (via GamesIndustry). In doing so, it has become the first ever VR game to top the UK charts.

FIFA 19, however, almost beat it to the punch, trailing behind in second place with a gap of just 400 copies. Meanwhile, Team Sonic Racing, which debuted on top of the sales charts last week, has seen a 46 per cent drop and fallen to third place, but still continues to sell well, and continues to outpace its predecessors.

RAGE 2, which topped the charts a couple weeks ago, and fell down to fourth place last week, has completely fallen out of the top 10 this week. Big Ant Studio’s Cricket 19 is another new debutant in the top 10, occupying sixth place. Days Gone is in fourth place, while Red Dead Redemption 2 occupies fifth place.

You can check out the full top 10 below.

1. Blood and Truth
2. FIFA 19
3. Team Sonic Racing
4. Days Gone
5. Red Dead Redemption 2
6. Cricket 19
7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
8. Grand Theft Auto 5
9. Forza Horizon 4
10. Mortal Kombat 11

"Those who’ve played Big Ant’s previous cricket titles will be quite familiar with what’s going on here. It’s better in some important ways, and more nuanced, but it’s more of the same."

Big Ant Studio’s Cricket 19 won’t do anything to change that. Those who’ve played Big Ant’s previous cricket titles will be quite familiar with what’s going on here. It’s better in some important ways, and more nuanced, but it’s more of the same. For those who were hoping for vast improvements over Big Ant’s past works, Cricket 19 might fall a bit short, but those who’ve enjoyed the studio’s previous cricket games will find that there’s plenty of fun to be had here.

Cricket 19 makes some important improvements on the pitch, the biggest of which has to be the AI, which actually puts up a decent fight here. Even on normal difficulty, I found that opposition batsmen were much better at managing the pace of their innings and placing their shots, while opposition bowlers would constantly try to change things up and try and bowl to the field. Matches, as a result, are much more engaging, and victories feel much sweeter as a result. Having to contend with batsmen who are wary about things such as finding gaps in the field or rotating the strike to make sure that more adept hitters of the ball are on strike, or with bowlers who, for instance, will deliver more leg deliveries if they figure out that’s your weaker side makes for an experience that demands much more active participation from the player.

The AI still feels a bit spotty on the fielding side though- fielders run at a sluggish pace more often than not and fail to catch up to shots that are all but crawling their way toward the boundaries, while often they also drop catches that they should have no business dropping whatsoever. It’s especially disappointing because at times it lets other improvements in the AI down, and because such things end up happening often enough for them to become a bit of a nuisance.

"Cricket 19 makes some important improvements on the pitch, the biggest of which has to be the AI, which actually puts up a decent fight here. Even on normal difficulty, I found that opposition batsmen were much better at managing the pace of their innings and placing their shots, while opposition bowlers would constantly try to change things up and try and bowl to the field."

Off the pitch, Cricket 19 makes improvements in other key areas as well. For starters, the career mode is a much more engaging experience. It offers the option to play either as a rookie or an established player- I went with the former, and getting to build my own player and rising through the ranks, from club matches in parks to big international affairs in fully packed stadia, was great fun. There’s an enjoyable sense of progression in the career mode, and though it started feeling a bit grindy after a while, and though the mode isn’t the deepest, most expansive career mode you’ll see in a sports title, it’s still worth investing time in if you’re a fan of the sport.

Scenario mode is also a great addition. It allows you to customize, as the name suggests, the scenario for a match right down to the minutest of details, and share them with other players online. The level of customization on offer here is impressive, and tackling well-designed scenarios from the community is something that has the potential to encourage plenty of replay value. Big Ant have certainly provided the tools for the community to deliver a solid stream of content to itself, and I can see scenario mode becoming a popular addition with fans of the game.

Beyond that, there’s exhibition matches to play, which come in all shapes and sizes, as you’d expect- from ODIs, to T20s, to test matches, to even those with 5 over-innings apiece. Cricket 19 also adds women’s teams for both England and Australia – true to its Ashes license – which is a nice addition as well. All in all, there’s enough content here to keep you engaged for a while, and enough nuance in the on-pitch gameplay to make sure that that content is backed up by enjoyable moment-to-moment gameplay.

"It’s in the presentation department that Cricket 19 falters. Cutscenes breaking up the action during matches are lacking in variety, and after you’ve played even more than a couple hours, you’ll start getting bored by their repetition and monotony, and the stilted and lifeless commentary does nothing to improve the dull atmosphere either."

It’s in the presentation department that Cricket 19 falters. There’s certainly improvements here to speak of as well- pre-match cutscenes exhibit much more flair than ever before, and are perhaps the best example of these improvements. But the game’s presentation ends up falling short regardless. Cutscenes breaking up the action during matches are lacking in variety, and after you’ve played even more than a couple hours, you’ll start getting bored by their repetition and monotony, and the stilted and lifeless commentary does nothing to improve the dull atmosphere either. Those mid-match cutscenes, by the way, also suffer from some pretty frequent frame rate drops.

The bland visuals also work to the detriment of Cricket 19’s presentation. Things such as the stadia and the pitches are sorely lacking in detail, crowds look like they’ve been made out of of poorly drawn cardboard cut outs, while the faces of the players and the umpires also look unnaturally stiff. It looks like a game from a decade ago, to be brutally honest, and while that doesn’t affect the playing experience much, it does, as I’ve mentioned, impact the presentation- and presentation is more important in sports games than it is in most other genres.

The lack of licenses definitely hurts as well. Cricket 19 is the official Ashes game for the year, which means England and Australia get fully licensed teams and stadia- but no other nation does. It’s not a game-breaking issue by any means, and there will be plenty of player-made roster customizations to download and make use of to remedy this issue, but for now, it’s enough of a problem to be noticeable.

"If you’re able to get past these issues and get down to the meat of the actual moment-to-moment play, fans of the sport will find no shortage of fun."

But if you’re able to get past these issues and get down to the meat of the actual moment-to-moment play, fans of the sport will find no shortage of fun. Big Ant Studios have built on the foundation of already solid on-pitch gameplay with important upgrades, while also adding a compelling new mode and improving an existing one. Presentation issues still hold it back from delivering a truly authentic experience, but getting past those surface issues still leaves you with a solid cricket simulation.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Today, publisher Maximum Games and developer Big Ant Studios announced that Cricket 19, the official Game of the Ashes, has a release date- May 28th. The announcement was made in collaboration with the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The release ahead of this year’s Ashes – the Test cricket series played annually between Great Britain and Australia – will see you taking your team to victory as you battle to glory. Big Ant Studios promises the game will see photo realistic graphics, a customization system that goes far beyond previous games in the franchise, more gameplay modes, and more options in general. The game also includes full rosters of both male and female cricket teams, with the Ashes competitors being fully licensed as always. It also sees a return and expansion of the career mode, said to be more narrative-driven than before, along with a new scenario mode to recreate classic cricket matches and even share them online.

Cricket 19 will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on May 28^th. A PC version is planned, but won’t arrive until slightly after the console release. A specific release date for it hasn’t yet been announced.