Cricket 2004 (PC, G)

By PETER ELEY


Mention cricket in all but a handful of countries and they'll think you're talking about a type of grasshopper.

Then tell them it's a game about silly points, wrong uns, going out to be in and then being out when you're in and which can take five days to finish, and their eyes will glaze over.

Cricket 2004 (see PS2 review) won't appeal to anyone who doesn't love, or at least like a lot, the old Empire's game on which the sun has yet to set. It's hard not to suspect that earlier versions of EA's cricket games were compromised to make them easy for non-aficionados.

The 2004 version is much more realistic, and much more of a true simulation of cricket.

But that will only endear it more to true cricket lovers. And once you've mastered its techniques, you'll be able to spend hours, if not days, trying to beat the Aussies.

It's an officially licensed game, with 56 teams and 1000 players and 61 of the world's top stadiums, including Eden Park and others from New Zealand.

Gameplay options include the World Series, and domestic competitions, with the best being England's County Championship - perhaps the ultimate non-Test arena.

As well as being more realistic in its gameplay, Cricket 2004 lets you edit your team, even changing their weight. Hmmm, Inzamam could lose a few kilos.

The season mode has been imported from other more popular EA Sports games such as Madden and Fifa Football.

This is in effect a game within a game and lets you trade players and customise your team all the way through a career mode.

The graphics are sharp, giving a real TV flavour, further enhanced by commentaries from Richie Benaud and Jim Maxwell and infinite replays of catches, sixes and other highlights.

(EA Sports)


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