International Cricket Captain 2006 (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.3 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Graeme Wearden
• Reviewed on: 07/06/2006
• Released on: 06/16/2006
• Originally published on GameSpot: International Cricket Captain 2006 (PC) Review

Last year's nail-biting Ashes series, in which several crucial games came down to the wire, did wonders for cricket's public image. With Freddie Flintoff and friends now national heroes, the team behind the International Cricket Captain series has released this new version, which is updated for the 2006 season and endorsed by star batsman Kevin Pietersen. As before, ICC does a good job of re-creating the challenge of leading your favourite cricket team to glory, but the game remains disappointingly similar to previous versions.

In the full version of ICC 2006, you can captain any English county side and earn the right to lead England, or take on both roles straight away. Alternatively, you can avoid the county circuit and jump straight to the international arena with any of the 10 test-playing nations. The final option is to revisit cricket's past with four historic clashes involving England and either Pakistan or Sri Lanka--who are both touring England during summer 2006.

Once you've made your choice, you're soon put into the action. In the full game you get to bolster your squad with some new signings, but at the beginning you only get the choice of some pretty raw youth talent. In the international arena, however, you get to pick from every qualified player.

After assigning your players some coaching, you are quickly into the season with your opening fixture, and your first task is picking your team. You can base your decisions on current form, long-term performance, and the conditions. If it's a cloudy day, for example, then it makes sense to play a bowler who can swing the ball, while spinners should profit on a turning surface, especially towards the end of a four- or five-day game.

All batsmen have their own individual style of play, ranging from the very defensive to the very attacking. They may prefer to face spin or pace bowling or spin, or may favour hitting on the offside or legside of the wicket. Some are specialist openers, and it pays to bear this in mind when setting your batting order.

As the batting side, your influence is pretty limited. You get to dictate an aggression level for each batsman at the crease, then click 'next ball' or 'next over' to see the results. If this merely yields a boring succession of dot balls then you might choose to crank the level up, especially if you're chasing a target. If your players suffer a string of edged changes, or keep playing and missing, then you can calm things down. It's more likely, though, that reckless aggression will lead to the swift fall of a wicket. You get much more input when it's your turn to field, and a well-balanced attack should help you succeed in all conditions. The process is simple--select a bowler, decide which stump to aim at, where to pitch the ball, and whether to go over or round the wicket.

Because bowlers can suffer fatigue quickly, you need to juggle them around to keep creating chances and stop the opposition from capitalising on tired deliveries. You also need to keep thinking about your fielding positions. The game will automatically arrange the fielders depending where the bowler is aiming and how aggressive you want to be. This can then be tweaked, so if a batsman keeps hitting fours through the same part of the field you can put a fielder in the way.

Visually the game is disappointing, especially if you've played previous versions of ICC and hoped to see improvements. There are small differences in the way that the players move; for example, fast bowlers are slightly quicker, while spinners saunter in slowly. Players can be differentiated by hair and skin colour, but otherwise you may as well be looking at a low-budget cartoon. The audio is also rather basic, with just a few crowd noises, the clunk of leather on willow, and commentary from the BBC's Jonathan Agnew--many of whose remarks are unchanged from earlier versions of ICC.

Continue reading