Brian Lara International Cricket 2007

Review - Golden Duck or Gallon? Gary takes to the field

About five years ago the first Brian Lara cricket title was released for the PSOne. I'm not sure of its exact name, but I knew I'd been snagged on possibly one of the greatest sports games ever made, and ironically based on the most mundane sport ever thought up - behind golf. It was amazing, engrossing, and palatable for the likes of your humble reviewer. It was addictive, compulsive and, like good crack, utterly moorish (obviously not the archaic Islamic culture).

Codemasters know what they're doing; they've been developing and publishing the series for years and have held the mantel of 'the cricket title' for any console over all contenders. Not sure what kind of kudos that gets you in the female gaming market, but for the general gaming public Lara offered money well spent - certainly a franchise that EA could only dream of adding to their portfolio, although I'm sure they're content with the monopoly they've already acquired (this obviously doesn't prevent them from releasing their own cricket title year in year out, although unlike Codemasters' title, it's a largely uninspiring experience).

And this time it's Codemasters, and not EA, who have the major licensing deal assisted by the timely release of Brian Lara International Cricket 2007. With the Cricket World Cup winding down Lara aims to keep the torch burning and Codemasters are hoping that England's uninspired performance hasn't left a sour taste in the mouths of the gaming public. Not that it really matters; it's only Cricket.

Brian Lara, the man, has changed. He has aged and his skills have depleted accordingly. Lara International Cricket has changed also. It's more of a refined experience than it once was and it is fair to say that some of the appeal that was there has diminished also. Any good franchised title will look to improve on current gameplay and look to colonise new areas that older platforms are less able to provide. However the tinkering applied to almost every area of the in game physics has changed the 'feel' of the title. Whether you'll immediately be able to swallow it is personal taste rather than general quality; I found it difficult to grasp. Bowling for example - so simple, yet deep, in last generation titles - has become a tricky process. There is infinite ways to deliver a ball in the real world and Codemasters, to their credit (but to the game's overall detriment), have made bowling an intricate affair. Getting the ball down the wicket is still simple, nothing more than a push of a button in fact, but adding spin and swerve ups the ante forcing you into tricky multiple buttons and timing. Frustratingly, batsman do not seem to be any less competent when facing a simple straight ball over a swinging googly and you'll end up bowling pretty much the same way every time, rather than bothering with anything more complex; there's little reward in it.

Due to the infinite number of deliveries you can bowl it's difficult to grasp what's working and what's not. Batsman tend to play to the fielding position rather than the type of ball you've bowled - admittedly you can deliver and force the Batter into playing difficult spots but in my experience he will still often try to play the space. What this means is an AI that doesn't feel wholly genuine; more over you feel as if the pads are been pulled up over your knees - so to speak. Added to this annoyance is the dodgy catching and throwing system that demands that you hit the centre of a moving gauge that is on-screen for moments alone, and is gone too swiftly to react realistically.

However the addictive and satisfying gameplay that we've come to expect from the Lara franchise remains when you get your batsman in the crease (tittle). There is a timing gauge on the bottom left of the screen, but such is the fluidity and responsiveness of the batsman you can time the swing of the bat with confidence by the bowl than the guages - the clunk and added vibration of the controller when you connect with the ball is a glorious feeling. You often hear a cricketer use the cliche 'I knew as soon as I hit it that it was going all the way' Codemasters have recreated this feeling superbly.

You'll be equally pleased should you enjoy the pace of cricket - I'd say that most don't and we can't all be Geoffrey Boycott, but still Lara recreates it perfectly. As such the story of any one match folds in front of you depending on your performance. Fall behind on the run rate and you'll have to start taking more risks, bowlers will deliver with more caution and it becomes a struggle, alternatively it changes directiiom if you're batting well. Either way it's a true recreation of the most exciting parts (if there are any, cough) of the real-life game.

Lara, once stripped back, is still true to the franchise, however the new intricacies aren't nearly as innovative as they could have been. There needs to be more ambition than the idle towing of line that's up for demonstration here. Codemasters have essentially stuck with what's now taken for granted. Meter bars get in the way of what could have been an otherwise fluid experience, which exemplify the many minor cracks in the wicket Lara portrays. Minor cracks they may be, but in their quantity they pose a cavern big enough to allow doubt to fall within. This is still the best representation of the game on console, but it's not nearly enough.

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