A Lara Fun (Brian Lara Cricket 98 (PC))

Member Name: rob_writer

Product:	Brian Lara Cricket 98 (PC)
Date:	17/03/02 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decent Game

Disadvantages: No county teams

Hmm, why can I no longer come up with any good titles! Anyways, onwards..........

Cricket is quite a popular sport with the general public, so I often wonder why it is so under-represented when it comes to the computer games market. Cricket games are few and far between, but when you do get one they are often rather good!

Brian Lara Cricket is one such case, and even better, is now available on the Sold Out budget range for only £5! Check out www.sold-out.co.uk for details, and let me just add that they are a great company with great games (No, I don't work for them, they were just very helpful when I had a problem, and the installers that come with their games are the best I've ever seen!).

Cricket is cricket really, and this is what this game gives you. You can choose from all the usual options, whether it be a quick 10 overs game, a 50 overs one day match or a 5 day test match, it's all in there for you to try, as are various tournaments and leagues, such as the World Cup.

One downside is that there are only 15 teams, and they are all international, what I mean is that there are no county teams. On the other hand the game claims to have 146 3D modelled stadia, although I can't say I've played on that many. From the look of the English grounds though, they do appear to be quite life like. Each country has the correct style of pitch, for example Australia have hard bouncy wickets, and of course, it's much more likely to rain in England. Weather plays a big part in the game, in a number of ways. Obviously the weather will affect the wicket, a hot day is going to help the fast bowlers while a colder overcast day helps the swing bowlers. In addition, strategy should be considered according to the weather, because if it rains play will be stopped and valuable time lost.

At the start of each days play a report is given on the pitch, as well as the likelihood of rain occurring.

Playing t
he game has two distinct parts, bowling, and batting. Batting is controlled using the numeric keypad (or a joypad), so that 8 different directions are available each corresponding to a different shot. For example pressing straight down performs a drive, while pressing diagonally backwards hooks the ball. When the bowler bowls the position the ball is going to land is shown on the pitch, you can then manoeuvre in to the right place, and when the ball is bowled play your choice of shots. You can hit the ball in two ways, either a slog or a normal shot, obviously using the slog option the batsmen tries to get a 6, and often this will mean you are caught out. Batting basically comes down to selecting the right shot for the right ball, and checking the fielding positions. Bad shot selection, or bad timing, will lead to being out, but it also seems as if batsmen sometimes get out through no fault of the player playing the game, it often seems a random affair.

Bowling is done in much the same way. You use the cursors to aim where the ball will land, then choose the type of delivery depending on the type of bowler. Extra speed is added by tapping a key. Bowling is by far the harder part of the game, and the least enjoyable, but perseverance will lead to success.

Fielding can be done manually, but it is rather annoying and hard to control, so instead you can use automatic fielding, whereby the computer fields for you!

Graphics wise the game is quite good, with players and pitches looking quite life like. Sounds is good also, with commentary by Geoff Boycott and Jonathan Agnew.

Overall the game is fun to play, and it's not often you see a cricket appearing on the PC!

Minimum requirements:

Pentium 200Mhz
4x CD-ROM
16MB RAM
4MD 3D Graphics Card
DirectX 6 Compatible Soundcard
90Mb HDD space

Summary: