You have been warned

Reviewed by Russell Baillie

Shane Warne Cricket '99

Codemasters

PlayStation

Few more depressing moments occur in a New Zealand summer than when rain - or a fused floodlight - interrupts play during a cricket international.

Suddenly your couchbound afternoon or evening is tumbling towards a black hole.

However, help is at hand - should you have a PlayStation that is - with Shane Warne Cricket '99.

Yes, points off for it being named after Australia's highest-paid sporting meteorologist (apparently in Britain the game uses Brian Lara).

But weatherman Warne is only the frontman and the game is a fine sports simulator, one that is fairly easily accessible to cricketing dilettante and fanatic alike.

However, it's a steep learning curve when your nominated team (you can pick from the nine test nations) are up against the console-controlled side who inevitably play as if they were programmed to win.

Better to get a mate in for the two-player mode and make him or her be India to your New Zealand.

The teams are drawn from 240 players of the present scene, complete with past match figures, though the option to replay "classic matches" allows you to delve into cricket's not-so-distant past.

Selecting your dream New Zealand squad (as, of course, you must) brings on its own amuse-ments - graphically, especially. Heath Davis and Chris Harris have the same blond hairdos and we know that just isn't so.

But facial fudging aside, the bowler, batsman, fielder and umpire movements all help to increase the realism, as does the sound of leather upon willow and the crowd noise.

There are commentators, too. Unfortunately, one is the Yorkshire bore, Geoff Boycott.

Game options range from friendly matches, various limited-over slogfests, one-dayers that can be either one-offs or part of a World Cup tournament, through to the full five-day tests. A memory card to save your progress for the big matches is a must.

And there is also a practice mode, enabling you to hit the nets to get the hang of the bowling and batting controls. It is easy enough to master but when it comes to the bendy bowlers, your knowledge of what a googly or a flipper does may be found wanting.

The game also gives you the option of controlling the fielding, and getting the right man to the boundary in the nick of time has its own excitements.

The on-screen display is useful, though the field placement map is minuscule and there's that damned animated duck when disaster strikes first ball.

You also have the chance to select the test grounds of the world (why unknown English companies have billboards at an almost recognisable Eden Park is a mystery) and pitch conditions (verdant in England, dusty in India).

Oh, and varying weather, too. But at least it doesn't require that you pay any members of the Aussie side for the information, unless of course that's a secret the game will reveal in a few years time.

It's challenging, highly engaging and, like the game itself, a fine waste of summertime.

Once you have the hang of it you'll swear a lot, cheer a lot and you many not want to return to the telly when the covers are off or the floodlights come back on.-7DAYS


Pictured: Shane Warne lends his name to a game that can prompt bouts of cheering and jeering.PICTURE / FOTOPRESS