Brian Lara Cricket 2007 Demo Review
The demo for Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 was released yesterday, and I’ve had a bit of a play so I thought I’d let you know my thoughts!
You can download it from the codemasters site for the PC, or on the marketplace on xbox Live for the xbox 360, which is where I got mine. Its quite a big download, but it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought to download, so if you want a taste of the game then it’s worth the wait.
Once you start the game, the loading screens show you the instructions, but far too fast to see them all! So the first game was spent trying all the buttons and trying to remember what they do! You play as England, against Australia, in a 3 over a side game. Yeah, its not long, but its only a taster to make people want to buy the game! It is supposedly only 90% finished, and there are things missing such as commentary, but the essence of the game is all there.
So what is it like? Anyone who has played previous Brian Lara games will feel right at home, as the game keeps to the same winning formula of the previous versions. Think of this game as an update of the old versions with a couple of new features, better graphics and you’re thinking along the right roads. There is only one level of the game, which to an experienced Brian Lara fan will be a little easy, so hopefully this is just due to the level of play. Sixes and fours can still be hit quite regularly, and they go quite a long way if you time them right with the “advance down the track” new option. Its not all easy though, especially for someone who hasn’t played any previous version for a while. I particularly like being able to use the”defend” shot a bit better, as you can angle it into the gaps and get singles where previously it would just pat the ball back to the bowler.
When bowling there are some nice touches - such as automatic switching of fields for different batsmen if you want - and the bowling speeds seem more realistic and consistent than before. One annoyance is the fact that everytime you throw the ball to the ‘keeper he takes the bails off and appeals, even if the batsman has been stood there for an age. Just a small bug I’m sure, one that will be ironed out before the full release. I couldn’t quite get to grip with pressing the right button at the right time to take a catch but this is probably due to my ineptitude more than anything!
Overall it is a great update to the series, and the demo has definitely re-enforced my decision to pre-order the game. It’ll be good to tackle a whole game and tournament, and the multiplayer game will be even better (getting to beat my mates!).
The best prices for this game I’ve found are the following:
xbox 360 £39.99 from Game or Amazon
PS2 £29.99 from Game or Amazon
PC £17.99 from Amazon
Go pre-order it now!
Ashes Frontline - Steve Harmison’s Ashes Tour Diary
Despite the woeful ashes test series, this could be an interesting book, released later this month. Featuring the thoughts of both Steve Harmison and Justin Langer, it will be good to see the differing thoughts on the way the series went.
I’m a little worried that Harmison’s diaries are going to be full of excuses, and Langer’s full of back slapping, but hopefully there will be some insight in there as well. Will Harmison admit that he was nowhere near ready for the start of the series, and why he didn’t play in the warm up game before the 1st test?
I find diary books like this very easy to pick up, and with Amazon selling it for less than a tenner 
Brian Lara Cricket 2007 Preview
With just over a month before the latest version of the brilliant Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 is released - I read this preview which will give you a taste of what to expect. They talk about the Xbox360 version, but it is relevant for PS2 owners as well. It certainly makes me want to play it now! Although real names do not exist in some of the areas on the game (licensing problems), you can still play in the official tournaments with all your favourite players!
I’ve loved the previous versions of this game, which is much better to play than EA Sports’ offering. Suffice to say, I’ll be pre-ordering this so that it arrives on my doorstep on release day. The best price I can find pre-ordering is with Game, who offer free delivery also. £39.99 on the Xbox 360 or £29.99 on the PS2.
And if you don’t want to buy it straight away, hopefully I’ll play it a bit and come back and tell you how brilliant it is again!
