"Finally,a cricket games that focuses solely on realism,,not big hits."

Brian Lara Cricket is from Codemasters,the developers behind great games such as Micro Machines and Colin McRae Rally. This game is based on the sport known as cricket. Codemasters have attained the full license so all of the best cricketers in the world make an appearance in this game and, by way of a password,you can play as some of crickets greatest players including Dennis Lillee,Don Bradman and Viv Richards.
The graphics in Brian Lara Cricket are good and the cricket grounds are very detailed. The grounds are brilliantly drawn and they resemble their real life counterparts very closely. Proper advertising banners are littered throughout the grandstands and they are placed in the same places as the real life grounds.The players are well animated and the batting strokes look superb. They all look very close to the ones played by cricket's greats.It is not possible to make out individual players as they are not extremely detailed. The only way to make out players is by their skin and hair colour.Each player has their real hair colour and you will notice that some players are taller,fatter etc. than others. During night games,the cricketers cast realistic shadows onto the ground adding a hint of realism to the game.
The commentary in this title is some of the best yet seen in a sports game. Individual player names are called out when bowling,batting and fielding and the commentary is always on time.
The commentators have some amusing comments that are always directed towards you for bad bowling,batting and fielding. Some sports titles feature extremely repetitive commentary which makes for a frustrating gaming experience.Thankfully,this is not the case with Brian Lara Cricket. The crowd are a lively bunch and they cheer and boo in appropriate places.If you bowl a wide,they will boo. If hit a six,they will cheer. Sometimes the crowd will give one of your batsman a polite round of applause as he makes his way back to the pavilion. Top stuff indeed.
Shane Warne features tonnes of options. You can play a friendly match,a test match,a test season ,the world cup,the world series or you can participate in classic matches.
However,Brian Lara does have it's negative points and one lies in the control. The main control problems occur while batting. While batting,you use the X button to play ground strokes but this button is also used to run. This means that if you accidently hold the X button on after playing a stroke,your batsman will begin to run resulting in a run-out. Another problem is when the batsman doesn't respond and this often results in a dismissal.
Bowling is the easiest task to perform in the game but you can't bowl many deliveries. Fast bowlers bowl straight up and down,spinners can turn the ball both ways and swing bowlers can hardly move the ball at all. It is not possible to ball off cutters or leg cutters and these are two of the most widely used balls in cricket.This is a huge dissapointment for all the true cricket lovers among us.Fielding is done by the computer so you don't have to worry about chasing the ball.
This title features arcade action as well as the simulation element found in most modern day sports games.That means that the game will appeal to both hardcore cricket fans and people looking for a quick bash of action. Brian Lara Cricket is by no means a perfect game,but it can be extremely enjoyable once you master the controls.
7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/22/00, Updated 04/22/00