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Brian Lara Cricket                                                                                        INFORMATION                                                      Publisher: Codemasters                                   Sport: Cricket   Reviewed by: Salman Siddiqui                                                                                                                             INTRODUCTION Cricket fans have been yearning for a good cricket game to come out for a few years now. To fill there urges they encompassed themselves in brilliant cricket simulation games as well as lackluster cricket games such as Cricket 97 or any others such as Shane Warne Cricket 98. I can remember the exact day when I heard there would be a new cricket game that would be released with great graphics and things that would be up to par in modern day sports games. On November 14 1997 I read a post on CricInfo by Jeremy Wellard mentioning to everyone that Brian Lara Cricket would be the best cricket game so far (how many times have we heard that). Finally, after a few delays, Brian Lara Cricket arrived on the PC. I got the game, opened it as fast as I could (hey I had been waiting for the game for about a year and 3 months) and went right to the World Cup match! GRAPHICS Positives- There is no question. Brian Lara Cricket has the best graphics so far for any cricket game available on the market, using a 3d card the player's look nicely done. There are forty-six stadiums and each look amazingly realistic as their real life counter parts. The motion captured player's react just like they are suppose to be. If you are batting your batsmen looks all around the field looking for gaps to hit the ball while he practices how to play an off side shot. Also, weather you hit the ball or are bowling the players move in a fluid motion. For example, if you select to play a power off side shot you will notice the batsmen get down on his knee and try to swing powerfully. Just watching how well the action takes place is quite a spectacle. Negatives- The players have a blocky feel, quite robotic. The down side of the graphics is that they are not up to par as they should be, not as good as FIFA 99 or Madden 99, but rather acceptable. Score- 80 INTERFACE AND CONTROL. The interface and controls are very well done in Brian Lara Cricket. It is so easy to navigate through the interface. You have five modes of play to choose from they are quick start, world cup, knockout cup, world series, test season and classic matches. Quick start is simply a ten over match in which the computer randomly selects two teams. The problem with the controls is the fielding. If you elect to manually field, then you are bound to have a tough time controlling the fielder to go chase the ball. Unless, you can really master how to control your fielders, I recommend leaving it on the automated fielding option. Score- 90 GAMEPLAY Positives- Excellent representation of the sport of cricket. There is a lot of long term gameplay in Brian Lara Cricket due to the number of modes of play. All the squads and the rosters are somewhat accurate. Great statistical tracking of all the players. The weather and the type of pitch actually effect the gameplay in terms of batting and bowling! Negative - Lack of wide balls and no balls. There is no player editor. When you bat the moves are all scripted. It takes a lot of practice to learn how to bat successfully. Long load times after the ball is hit and the bowler starts his run up. Very questionable LBW (Leg before wicket) calls. There is no modem, LAN or internet play. Score- 92 AUDIO Positives - The sound of the different crowds from all over the world. If you play in the West Indies you can hear the drums and sounds of the horns. If you are in Pakistan or India, the crowd is loud and crazy throughout the match. Negatives- The commentary is too repetitive. I know cricket is not a fast paced action game but still Geoff Boycott and Jonathan Agnew leave much to be desired in the commentary aspect. The music is flat out annoying. Score- 75 DIFFICULTY Positives- Brian Lara Cricket offers three modes of difficulty. The average difficulty level is challenging. You really need to practice how to bat and bowl; otherwise the computer will beat you to a pulp. On the highest difficulty level, one should have a proper strategy to play against the computer. The computer opponent is strong, especially if the computer has a strong side such as South Africa. Negatives- None, Brian Lara Cricket has the best AI for any arcade cricket game to date. Score- 95 OVERALL This is flat out the best cricket game to come out for any platform. It's not perfect but it will fill your appetite for cricket. Go out and shell out the money for this one, it's a winner!     Score -  86% Post comments on the message board Return to www.coolinfo.com     Search the Web For The Best Prices! Category: Keyword(s):   CDs Hardware Software Movies Books Magazines Sports Electronics Video/PC Games Toys Other

System Requirements: Required: Win.95/98 Intel 166mhz 6.5MB+4MB RAM Recommended: 486DX2 8 RAM VGA Card Cons: -Lack of support for non-Intel chips. -No modem, LAN or internet play -No player editor -Not enough wide and no balls are called   Pros:    -  Awesome gameplay -  Great AI -  Interface     Coolinfo Bottom Line: - This is the cricket game most of you have been waiting for.