Video Game Vintage Title: Brian Lara International Cricket 2007

Brian Lara International Cricket 2007

Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 is a cricket computer game from Codemasters available on PlayStation 2, PC and Xbox 360 . It is endorsed by West Indian cricketer Brian Lara. It follows Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 released 2 years earlier. It was released on 23 March 2007 during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which is a similar launch tactic used by Codemasters for the release of Brian Lara International Cricket 2005, which was launched on the first day of the 2005 Ashes series. The game was released in Australia and New Zealand under the name of Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2007 and in India as Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007.

Reception
Initial reviews of BLIC 07 were average to good. The game was viewed as a solid replacement for Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 with improvements in most areas. There was criticism, reviewers complained of a lack of improvement in the graphics despite being a next generation game, and the gameplay being too easy. Other reviews commented on how the game might not appeal to non cricket fans. Also criticised is the lack of statistical tracking that occurs during television coverage of cricket despite claims it emulates the coverage well. The game has been praised for its relatively realistic simulation of real cricket. The cricket-gaming community has taken less well to the game. The official Planetcricket.net Review gave the game a 3 for gameplay and a 6 overall. The review claimed that:

"Ultimately, whilst Codemasters have undoubtedly worked hard on this title and implemented some nifty new features it seems they have neglected the sine qua non of cricket gaming � the gameplay.

Put simply the game has major pacing issues and the AI is depressingly stupid."