Toss it hard
Based on the performance of your batters you’ll see a confidence metre that increases if you’re striking the ball well. The confidence metre applies to both batting and bowling and if you do either well the likelihood of bowling that perfect googly or hitting a six are increased. So in effect, just as in real life, play well and you’ll be on a high, playing better than before, but play badly and you’ll find yourself stuck in a rut that can be hard to climb out of – especially on the higher difficulty levels.
Scoring runs is purely a matter of timing. There no option to dive like in Cricket 07, the game decides if it’s appropriate to dive or not, but it’s simply a case of choosing when to make those runs or when to double back on a run if you feel it’s too much of a risk. Batting is enjoyable and extremely functional, without being spectacular, but the batsman responds well to your button presses, animations are fluid and when you hit that six or send a lofted sweep over the heads of two defending fielders it’s a satisfying experience.
Click for larger imageBrian Lara Cricket 07 is the first cricket game in which I’ve enjoyed the batting, bowling and fielding aspects of the game. Bowling takes a similar vein to other cricket games, with a small circular target that you can move around the pitch and place in an area where you want the ball to land. Once again there is a timer which needs to be released before you hit the crease, over judge it and it will result in a no ball being awarded, but release it just before you reach the crease and you’ll bowl a faster delivery.
The three standard deliveries allow you to ball break left to right, vice versa or top spin, but there’s also the option to change the direction of the ball in the air with the LB and RB bumpers or deliver two special deliveries, yorkers and bouncers, with the left and right triggers. As if you were playing cricket for real, you adjust your spin based on how the batters are responding and test out different bowling strategies in order to spot his weaknesses. So, overall there are five different types of deliveries with that added option to swerve the ball in the air and I’ve got no complaints with the whole mechanic of bowling. Of course, bowling is never going to be as exciting as batting, but once again, the animations of the players look great, the system works well, and there’s a degree of skill and thought needed before each and every delivery.
Click for larger imageOnce you’ve delivered the ball you can’t just sit back and wait for the fielders to do the job for you. Like Cricket 07, there is no an option to control the fielders, although you can alter the fielding positions from a choice of pre-set positions and customise your field in an attacking or defensive role. However, there is a meter on screen which appears when there’s the opportunity to throw the ball back or to catch a lofted shot. By pressing the A button at the exact point that the metre hits the sweet spot you’ll catch the ball or if the ball is running along the ground you can choose whether to send the ball back to the wicket keeper or the bowler by pressing the right trigger button, once again ensuring that you hit the sweet spot. It’s a tricky skill to master, but does mean that fielding becomes an integral part of the gameplay, ensuring that you need to pay attention at all times to make sure you catch that ball or throw it back to the right player to stump out the opposition team member. The whole feel behind both bowling and fielding is far more interactive and involving than any other cricket game I’ve played.
