Gamersmint Review : International Cricket 2010

International Cricket 2010 is arguably the best cricket game of all time. This brilliant follow up to Ashes Cricket 2009 from Codemasters and Trickstar Games is packed with a lot of new features and improvements. I really enjoyed Ashes Cricket 2009 and that was one of the reasons why I was looking forward to this game so much. The game packs in new features like “Action cam” which aims to make the gameplay as realistic as possible, as well as the new “power stick” system which gives absolute control over your shots. The major challenge here though lies in providing an authentic cricket experience as well as making it fun for the gamers but does it succeed in doing so or gets clean bowled.

There is hardly any improvement to the core visuals as it runs on the same engine, when you boot up the game, the first impression would be that it looks exactly like AC 2009. The presentation is quite unappetizing with English and Australian squads looking identical to their real world counterparts while the unlicensed teams don’t get the same treatment. You can edit the Player and Squad features in the game but that’s time consuming and not worth it unless you are a big fan of the sport, it also features new player animations for diving, bowling, but overall the visuals feel quite sloppy and uninspired.

The HUD is quite similar to AC2009 and can be disabled whenever you want. There is a minimal HUD mode as well, which I feel is the only way to play the game as minimal HUD combined with action cam gives you an authentic cricket experience unmatched by any other cricket game. The game features 21 Stadiums including the home of cricket – Lords and the stadium having the most number of seats - Kolkata. All of them are beautifully recreated and boasts of an impressive physics system which was already quite good in AC2009. The game features a full day/night transition as well as an upgraded lighting system. I didn’t encounter any glitches while playing but the low framerates ruined the immersion a little bit but overall it’s a technically sound and a polished game.

Before you get right into the action, you have the option of learning the basics through the in-game Tutorial mode which has comprehensive lessons for batting, bowling and fielding as well as advanced lessons for them. It’s exactly same as AC 2009’s Tutorial mode but I suggest you go through it once to learn about the new features in this game.

There are plenty of modes for you to choose from, Twenty 20, ODI, Test matches, Tournaments consisting of World 20 overs, Champions Cup, 20 overs Super league and a World Trophy mode. You can create your own tournaments and whatever game type you desire aswell, it’s fully customisable. Also included is a Customisation mode where you can edit players and squads, only England and Austraila are the licensed teams so they are pretty much perfect. There is a squad and player Editor mode which comes in handy if your favorite team is different than England or Australia because the other teams need a lot of work, ofcourse it’s troublesome but won’t take more than 15 mins to do it if you want a more authentic cricketing experience.

Twenty20 is the most fun gametype as you can just go all out attack in that mode and this also makes it the best mode of the game, ODI’s and Test matches takes some time to finish and at a higher difficulty, the gameplay goes at an extremely slow pace much like a JRPG. There are an assortment of shots available to you which can be played off the front foot or back foot, the controls are extremely smooth and responsive but the framerates are inconsistent. The new power stick feature lets you play shots all over the ground, fine cuts, precision shots are possible and made simpler due to this feature.

“Action cam” is an over the shoulder camera view which makes the gameplay extremely realistic, you can survey the field when batting and place shots in the gaps, it is tough at first but you will eventually get used to it, the broadcast camera view is available as well which can be turned on in the options menu. The only way to play the game is with “Action Cam” enabled as it provides a completely different and a satisfying gameplay experience. Bowling has been tweaked a bit as well and you have a variety of deliveries at your arsenal mapped to the face buttons to the get the batsman out, mind you it’s really tough to get someone out in this game, because you have to guide the reticule in this game while adjusting your deliveries. Normally I get hammered around a lot in 20/20 and ODI matches. The catching system is unchanged from AC2009, the game goes in slow mo and you need to complete a simple QTE. The addition of 4 new cricketing nations, 21 detailed stadiums and an array of gametypes bring a lot of variety to the gameplay giving you a great amount of replay value.

The AI is absolutely brilliant, you can’t play the same shots or bowl the same delivery again and again or you will be punished. It’s also very aggressive; I got hammered for 300 runs in a 20/20 match which wasn’t the case in AC2009 where the AI couldn’t score more than 150 runs. It’s also hard to score when playing at harder difficulties, because you won’t get any room to play attacking shots at your leisure, with HUD disabled, “Action Cam” and a higher difficulty it becomes the most realistic cricketing experience that you have ever had.

I tried to play online on Xbox live but was disappointed I couldn’t find a single match, the online component of this game needs fixing as it’s completely broken right now. You might lose interest playing solo, which is why a quick 20/20 game with a friend will keep you on your toes and maintain that interest level in the game. I was pleased to hear David Lloyd joined the commentary team for this game, I am a huge fan of his as he is highly knowledgeable and skilled in the game of cricket, and his voice provided a refreshing change that the game required. Overall the commentary is quite good and diverse and it doesn’t get annoying after a while. The in-game sounds have improved a lot as well, overall a very polished effort from Codemasters and Trickstar games.

Next Page : Closing Comments and Scoring

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