Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 (PS2)

I went into my first game full of confindence as i was England playing the useless Dutch. I set out my side as i wanted them, picking the batting order which everyone knows England should use to beat the Aussies. So first few balls i defended just trying to keep my wickets and getting a few single. On my second over in there was a stray ball to the leg side so i delicatly touched it with my kookabura bat and sent it over the ropes for a four. The umpire signalled it and there was even a spectacular replay of my stunning shot. A couple of overs later i was 89-0 and cruising when there was an appeal for LBW against Trescothic. Up went the umpires finger and looking at hawk-eye, the new feature for this new version you could see that the ball was going for plum off-stump. By the end of the 30 overs i was 230 for 3 my other two batsmen being narrowly run out (where the third umpire was called into play) and caught, a great diving catch by the wicky. Bowling was excellent once you get the hang of the technique it is as easy as pie - and the new feilding side of the game makes what used to be the boring part of the game, as fun as the batting. As you now can affect weather or not the feilder catches it, and how well he throws the ball.

I have just begun my career mode and have created a player that looks surprisingly like me, even with a bat that looks a hundred times better han my cheap one. There is loads of stuff to do and the classic matches look excellent and quite fun too. There is so many tournaments to do and they all are so realistic. Every area of the game is fantastic a real must buy. So remember buy the game where you can actually hit the ball and actually bowl out people - buy Brian lara international cricket 2005, not cricket 2005 just because the name is easier to say!

Firstly the strengths of the game. It is very easy to get used to the controls and you can master both batting and bowling in almost no time at all. This helps you to get into the game really quickly and start perfecting your special deliveries! There is a huge amount of variation you can use during bowling - changes of speed, swing, bouncers, yorkers etc. The graphics are very good and you can't go around trying to hit every ball for six because you really will get out even on the easiest level. This makes you play some proper, realistic cricket. Also, just like the real game, the ball won't be going far unless you time it just right which can take a bit of practise. The hawkeye analysis is a superb feature; the makers have transferred all the aspects of it to this game and it really adds to the depth. Fielders are not superhuman obstacles that you cannot get the ball past - they will give up the chase for example if they can't stop a ball near the boundary. There are plenty of different combinations in which you can set your fielders - there are loads of preset attacking and defensive fields - or you can even do a custom field setting. Aside from just test matches and one-day internationals, you can play a World Cup or Champions Trophy and there are even "classic matches" from history where you take up the role of a team trying to achieve a certain goal from a specific match in history. You will either match what actually happened or set the record straight and change the history books!

However there are a few negatives to the game. The most obvious (and probably most annoying) is to do with the players' names. Since this is not an officially licensed product (EA hold the official rights) you will find that in normal games all of the players' names from every country will be slightly different e.g. Flantiff (Flintoff), Hermason (Harmison), Thrip (Thorpe) and so on. If you can live with this then that's fine but if you do want to change it, it will be quite a time-consuming process. Only in the World Cup and Champions Trophy tournaments will the names be correct right from the start. Most of the time they're not. Also, a few little things. I have played countless times on the game now and not once have I had a stumping. The computer batsmen are quite predictable with their shot selection and the rate at which they bat (during a One Day International). The computer players never take risky singles and as a result you will very rarely run them out. Oh and the tail-end batsmen for the computer really can't bat, I mean really. You will often find you can knock over the last five for ducks quite easily.

All in all a terrific game which I would definitely recommend to everyone, especially those who haven't played a cricket game before. Hours of enjoyment guaranteed and plenty of things to do, meaning that you won't have done everything in five minutes.

Must have.

Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 10/10
Sound 9/10
LIfespan 10/10

overall 9/10 BUY THIS GAME !!