While the curtains are down on the FIFA World Cup, it's back to cricket for many of us. Cricket is one game that shines without any fair weather fans. Also, Cricket, hopefully, will not have those annoying Vuvuzelas.
Codemasters' International Cricket 2010 is one such game that arrives in the month of the Carribian T20 Tournament. This new International Cricket 2010 jumps few steps ahead of Codemaster's last Cricket game - Ashes 2009.
International Cricket 2010 (IC 2010) is meant for Cricket fans who're interested in just one thing - enjoying the game on the PlayStation 3 console. Certainly you can hit sixes off your opponents bowling attack or break stumps while you bowl. The game does a wonderful job in the core aspects of cricket.
When compared to Ashes 2009, the presentation of IC 2010 is excellent in many areas. This time Codies (nickname for Codemasters) have introduced a new 'Action Cam' feature that takes the user to the pitch and experience the drama going on. This game is officially licensed by England & Wales Cricket Board and Australian Cricket Board. This means you'll see player names from only two licensed teams - England and Australia.
Thankfully, the Player Editor allows changing names of cricketers and even select custom looks. However, some instances of fake names are cocky. For instance, Shane Bond is named James Blond. Now that's taking a bit too far. You'll see that hardly any of the faces in Player Editor match with the real cricketer's face.
International Cricket 2010 includes licensed cricket kits and stadia options for more closer to real cricket gaming. To keep this part challenging, IC 2010 retains certain brands as unlockable items. If you're a fan of good commentators, then this game offers Shayne Waren and Jonathan Agnew as stellar commentators.
Graphics
You'll be delighted to see nice player graphics instead of Pinocchio like wooden finished characters. Improved graphics will surely be noticeable, like the almost accurate stadia. We expect the next Cricket game from Codemaster to have more accurate player details. Quality of the cut scenes and replays are commendable. I wish I could choose cheerleaders to do a jig after a smashing stroke or taking a wicket.
Gameplay
If you've been playing Codemaster's Cricket games then there isn't any major change in the gameplay. This game won't offer you much if you take a button mashing approach. I'd rather suggest you get started with the bowling and batting tutorials.
Going over the tutorials for getting used to fundamental skills of the game can be a bit of a set back if you plan to jump for a specific skill. It takes the traditional approach which means you can't jump to lesson five without passing the first four. Do note that the tutorial is part of a bigger game and I hope you don't waste hours mastering any particular skill.
The improved cut scenes and replays don't come with custom controls. For instance if you've hit a six off Brett Lee's fireball, you won't be able to replay it over and over again. Also, every replay starts with the bowlers run up, which consumes a couple of precious seconds for impatient players like me.
Once again camera angles in the replays appear unusual and discomforting. You'll have to watch few replays to experience what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, you can't choose to watch the replays from different angles. A small mini-view of the pitch would have been fine when the batsman is taking singles, doubles or more. However, you don't see the batsman running and the fielder does not have a clue which end he's throwing the ball.
Batting
In cricket, batting is one amazing aspect where you can make eleven other players run around. Undoubtedly, the new Power Stick feature for Batting is the most entertaining part. As mentioned earlier, button mashing won't take you far. So it's better you get started with some tutorials to master some of the basic stroke play skills. The game of cricket is all about timing. If you master timing your strokes, I promise you'll enjoying whacking bowlers like anything.
What I really loved is the dedicated stroke style buttons for the batsman. This means you can hit particular buttons for an aggressive shot or play a defensive stroke, the rest is just giving direction with the analogue stick.
Power Stick feature allows you to hit shots with perfect timing to get quick singles.
However, what disappointed me was that I never got to hit any trademark strokes of a particular batsman. For instance, you can't make Harbhajan Singh hit a 'Reverse Sweep'. If the custom/trademark shots were included then it would've been fun to watch them with the 'Action Cam' feature. Hence, I believe there's huge scope of improvement in this section.
Bowling
Identical to the bowling gameplay in Ashes 2009, you'll be happy to choose where to pitch the ball, your line, power and then go for variations on it. Now you can choose where to pitch the ball in the circle rather than hitting it at the last moment. No more no-ball annoyances this time.
Pace bowling enthusiasts can take control of their swings while spinners can boggle the batsman with their spin.
Trickstar has done an excellent job in refining the way you bowl in this game. It really matches the actual way any bowler thinks.
Verdict
This game surely does stand strong in the core fundamentals. The new 'check out field position' feature with Broadcast cam is superb. Turn off HUD and then use the action for the dramatic moments. The offline multiplayer hit the right shot for me, but I think online multiplayer would be fun if you've mastered the skills.
At times you'll find your batsman sliding too much on the pitch for quick singles but won't have a stain on his uniform. Fielding might turn out to be an odd ball for you, so you can totally make up for it with better bowling.
You'll certainly love the 20 over matches and I'm sure that's where you'll have to excel in your skills. However, if you go for long test matches, you may end up being bored. At times I found the typical after delivery reaction of batsman a bit unnerving and redundant. Player and game statistics could have been better for keeping track of performances.
To sum it up, this is a fun Cricket game that you can buy if you're looking forward for fun with friends and family. Zapak is distributing International Cricket 2010 in India and it is available at Rs. 1999 for the PS3.
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