"The best cricket management sim"

Ah International Cricket Captain 2002, took me a while to find but I am glad I put in the extra effort in finding it, as at the end of the tunnel lay a great cricket management sim.

Gameplay (9/10):
I can't really picture a Cricket Management Simulator having a more appropriate interface then ICC2002. The in game menu shows a small picture of the batters and the bowler. If you are batting you may change the batters aggression. If you are bowling, you may change the field, the bowler and the length they are bowling at. The interface is very easy to use, with 3 tabs (commentary/batting card/bowling card), which show the information clearly.

Audio/Visual (5/10):
The game lets itself down here, as there is no music to go with the menus, which leaves the only sound in the game as the commentator, crowd noises and noises off the pitch/bat etc. The visual department is fairly good, as you can customize it so you only see crucial plays etc.. But the actual graphics of the game have not changed since ICC 2000, which is ok as the graphics are good enough to show the highlights/crucial events.

Life Span (10/10):
ICC2002 has a very long life span, which comes with the many types of games you may play. You can manage an English County cricket team for as many years as you see fit.. and hopefully become the English manager. Or you can jump straight in and choose to manage any test playing nation, with all the official line ups. The game also has a scenarios mode, where you can be a part of some famous times in cricket such as, the Don Bradman era, world cup 2003 etc etc.

Story:
Unfortunately there is no story as you decide everything about your side (county cricket mode), so the story is essentially whatever you want it to be. Some fun things to do are take up a lower side (such as Durham) all the way to the top, winning all 4 cups in a single season :).

To Buy/Rent:
I recommend you buy ICC2002 as it is well worth every dollar for the amount of hours you will find yourself playing it.

In conclusion ICC2002 is a great game for Cricket lovers world wide, the only poor thing is Empire Interactive don't seem to care for the series anymore, as they change very little each year. However, we are still left with the best cricket management simulator to date.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/03, Updated 03/23/03