Good Lord. Sometimes I find it difficult to understand why anyone watches Cricket, let alone play it. Anything that can dawdle on for five whole days, yet potentially not reach any kind of conclusion, sounds a little too much like an uncut Jonathon Ross chat-show to me. I have come to the decison that the supporters can only be attracted to the all day drinking in the sun, with the boys in white out in the middle but a mere excuse. But, to be fair, there do seem to be a fair few ardent supporters out there, just a couple, who still see fit to spend their Saturday and Sunday afternoons out on the green-stuff, thrashing leather at willow, and quoting Billy Birmingham CDs at each other. Not exactly what you would call a mass market, but clearly enough to encourage Codemasters to make best use of their Brian Lara licence.
Brian Lara 2007, Pressure Play, was the latest in the series spanning back to the good old days on the MegaDrive, when they started changing the shape of the cartridges and even adding extra controller ports onto the unit too. Brought out originally to coincide with the earlier Cricket World Cup, it actually bears more resemblance to current 20-20 World Cup, which is probably a little more practical (although no more successful for the English team). All the official Nations are squeezed into the disc, along with the relevant kits and players. And even the mighty Hawk-Eye technology makes an appearance for dodgy LBW decisions.
Playing the game is simple enough, batting is all about choosing your stance, using the d-pad to select the direction your bat will flail in, and opting for a defensive, normal, or aggressive swing. It is of course, all in the timing, with the better rated batsmen being more forgiving. Bowling is controlled by selecting the pitch of the ball by moving the d-pad, selecting the spin (if necessary), and adding any kind of after effect after the balls’ release to bamboozle the batsman.
Fielding is mostly automatic, with you deciding to which end the ball is returned once your man has control. However, you do get to influence the catches. If a shot is played which results in a potential catching opportunity, the game runs in slow motion, with the camera swinging behind the fielder. In a swing-o-meter that most golf games would be proud of, you have to press the relevant button at the specific point on the meter to take the catch. This works well, but unfortunately happens for all shots which the fielders pick up, with the meter then used to determine the accuracy of the return throw. The issue with this is that the batsman is controlling the running between the wicket, so it becomes difficult to work out if your players will make it to the end of the crease before the ball, resulting in some pretty annoying run-outs.
Apart from that, the game play is pretty much spot on. Matches are slowed only by tactical field changes, loading times related to change of batsmen or bowlers, while the feeling of timing a well placed cover-drive can only be beaten by dispatching a short-pitched ball into the upper tier of the stadium.
Sadly, the game falls over on the basics. Only International Teams are included, so no County based heroics are available. You either play the ICC World Cup or a warm up game, which is disappointing as recreating some classic Ashes tests would have been well received. You can change all the game settings (number of overs/difficulty level/stadium) but two innings was too much to ask for. The soundtrack consists of one song (but what a song).
The ‘Pressure Play’ aspect of the title is new. Basically, you are dropped into a scenario with a mission objective. Sometimes they are useful, others seem just plain impossible. Examples include hitting six sixes from six balls, to just taking a catch. More miss than hit.
Amusingly, the man who this game revolves around, Brian Lara, seemingly had little input into his player. Not only does he lack a neck, but he has also yet to last more than five balls against me. He’s rubbish! Surely you would make him the daddy of the game?! Clearly, Codemasters have no respect for the man with ten thousand first class test runs to his name.
Although it does what is says on the tin, the lack of options and limited teams left me feeling that this was a job half done. But, if you can overlook the loading times and appreciate the fact they have taken what can be a pretty dull game and turned it into a fast paced battle of wits, this game becomes a test of nerves, minds, and the ability to press the right button at the right time.
