Let's Play: Cricket 2002

BBC Sport Online reviewer David Gibbon says Cricket 2002 is the most realistic cricket game on the market.

Looking at the current state of the video game scene, there's no doubt that cricket has come on leaps and bounds.

The PSone already had the excellent Brian Lara's Cricket from Codemasters, but until now the PS2 did not enjoy its own cricket game.

EA dominate almost every area of sport, and their FIFA brand is the biggest-selling football game in the world.

But to attempt to pull in the same sort of sales for a cricket game requires something pretty special.

  Cricket 2002

Format: PlayStation 2

Price: £39.99

Publisher: EA

Genre: Cricket

Also Available: N/A.

I'm delighted to report that EA Sports have not only done something special with Cricket 2002 - they have actually created the most realistic game of its genre ever.

While Cricket 2000 was seen as an above-average game on the PSone, its leap to the PS2 has seen dramatic improvements in all areas of gameplay and graphics.

The detailed stadia, player animation and faces, team AI, pitch detail and ball physics have all received an overhaul which has resulted in a near-perfect translation of the sport.

A total of 22 international stadia and 10 international teams are featured.

The game also offers five bonus all-time squads for the main nations and there are two minor nations teams included too.

You can play one-day internationals, Test matches, world championship, world series and Sharjah Trophy games, practice nets, exhibition matches and knockout tournaments.

Intuitive controls

You will find the realism of Cricket 2002 simply breathtaking.

There are day and night conditions and you see the pitch gradually degrading with use, which can be used as an advantage when bowling.

Crowd noises captured from real stadia around the world add to the overall atmosphere, with cheers and moans coming in at just the right times.

You feel as if you're playing in a real match

The gameplay itself is also impeccable.

Both batting and bowling is extremely easy, using intuitive controls developed by EA Sports.

Bowling, for example, is a simple matter of selecting delivery (off-spin, leg spin, swing or fast/medium-fast), positioning the on-screen cursor and then adjusting the movement and power of delivery.

When the bowler begins to run, an on-screen power meter starts to fill up.

As soon as it hits a top line you simply press X to bowl, but if you go beyond it you bowl a no-ball.

Over 45 different options can be incorporated, from the googly to the yorker.

Fielding can be set up automatically, but if you want to be a little more adventurous you can control it manually.

If you are a really keen cricket fan, you'll find the fielding editor allows you to play a game as though it were the real thing.

You can set up five different normal fields, five defensive fields, five open fields and five custom fields.

Both your team and the opposition give you the impression that you are taking part in a real cricket match - rather than just a video game.

The game also comes packed with graphs and statistics, allowing you to track the progress of every player during a tournament.

Camera angles can be altered during play and EA have gone for a TV-style presentation throughout, with action-replays and commentary from Richie Benaud.

  Gibbon's verdict

Graphics: 92%

Playability: 76%

Sound: 72%

Realism: 92%

Overall: 91%

Cricket 2002 also comes with a unique feature among cricket games in that it sports a third umpire, ready to adjudicate on dismissals when the need arises.

Graphically this is stunning, with impeccable 3D stadia detail and players with changing facial expressions.

The only niggle is the lack of club teams - but hopefully this will come in a later version of the game.

For now, Cricket 2002 is not only the best looking cricket game ever - it's also the most playable.