Cricket 2002 PC

PC-owning cricket fans know in their hearts that there's only really one place to go for their virtual fix of leather on willow action, and that's round at Electronic Arts house. EA Sports' cricket sims are maybe not as common as their football, boxing and F1 titles, but the pedigree is right there from the outset. It hasn't taken long for EA to get a foothold in the computer cricket market. So to the new, improved Cricket 2002. It's two years since the last offering, so what does 2002 have to offer? Read on. To paraphrase the EA Sports tagline, 'It's in the detail'. That's detail in stadiums, players, player faces, ball physics, team AI, pitch detail, pitch physics and player options: they've all seen major improvements from last time out. Ten international teams and two other national teams, which we'll kindly describe as minnows, are included, as well as bonus 'all-time greats' squads for the major nations. Test matches as well as One Day Internationals are also included, so for the first time, all teams will sport either all-whites or colour kits, depending on the competition mode selected. Team statistics are as up to date as can possibly be, and this is reflected in the computer teams' AI. They'll play just as well, or as badly, as their real life counterparts. New game options include World Championship, World Series, Sharjah Trophy, Practice Nets, Exhibition and Knockout Tournaments. The game revolves around a full TV-style presentation including a full action replay mode, third umpire, animated ducks, TV-style overlays, field position editor and much more. The detail in the featured stadia is amazing. From Calcutta to Lords, Cape Town to Auckland, by way of Melbourne, Lahore, Barbados and more than a dozen other locations, stand up crowds and details such as the telegraph poles in the backgrounds all add to an authentic gaming experience.