6..6..6..6 hmmm fun? (Brian Lara International Cricket (Xbox))

Member Name: olveston11

Product:	Brian Lara International Cricket (Xbox)
Date:	19/09/09 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fast pace, easy to play

Disadvantages: to easy, lack of real names

Due to the lack of cricket titles available on consoles these days Brian Lara is definitely the best one out there but its by no means perfect. Batting is very enjoyable and the controls couldn't be easier, direction plus A and voila runs are to be had. Scoring of 25+ an over is about par on the easier levels of difficulty but this only drops to 15 or so at the highest difficulties. All this run scoring makes it a very enjoyable game and losing wickets aren't too uncommon either, going for that big 6 out the ground and being caught on the boundary can happen. Bowling is slightly harder but only just. The system with choosing delivery type and power is easy to get to grips with and finding the correct areas takes practice but can be mastered. Bowling against the lower ranked teams (Bangladesh etc) is easy and you can usually skittle them out for around 20... however the harder teams such as Australia really do put up some resistance. The only thing that lacks on this game is the tailenders (last 3 or 4 batsmen) they are rubbish! Bowl straight and they will miss it every time, more realistic but no fun to be honest. And the computer doesn't realise how many runs it needs, it always takes the same approach whether the required run rate is 30 or 3, this can be annoying and prevent you from playing a competitive match. The graphics and sound are fairly ropey, very pixellated and not smooth running the game finds it hard to really flow. The commentator has very few sayings which seem to be repeated over and over again. The inclusion of classic matches to unlock photos and classic players keep the game life span going. Brian Lara includes many of the top tournaments but its lack of authenticity lets the game down, Brett lee called b. leap for example. Overall this is a very enjoyable game and not too challenging. Very playable whether you love cricket or not and is going for very cheap now. I would give it 3.5 stars but they don't do halves so i gave it 3.

Summary: A good buy if your looking for some slog it fun!