If you need an explanation of anything cricket, then you might as well stop reading here and head to a local pub during the summer and ask for help there. This review is of no use to you. International Cricket 2010 makes a few relatively incremental changes over its predecessor and adds a feature that has never worked in a cricket game before, until now. Traditionally, the only functional perspective was the broadcast perspective – similar to what you’d see when watching on TV. There have been a litany of miserable failures from trying any other perspective but now there is one that works. This time around, you will be able to play essentially from a third person perspective for both the batsman and bowler using the Action Cam.
Bowling or squating?
As the batsman, this adds a new dynamic to the game, where before the bowler is allowed to run in, you can look around and see where the gaps in the field are. Once you’ve done so, you can either indicate that you’re ready or wait till you timer runs out, whereby the normal game resumes. After a few balls of acclimatising, this new perspective is fine to use and includes options such as watching the ball as you run (which you shouldn’t be doing the whole time, really), watching your crease or your partner. The other change to the batting is that you’re now able to gauge your shot strength along with your direction, which is dictated by how far you push the analogue stick.
As the bowler, the perspective is third-person but around the shoulder that’s in line with the outside of the pitch. Off somewhere in the distance, you’ll see what might be a bowling marker. Thankfully, there is an arrow coming off it now (as well as the colour indicator) telling you where the ball will land and whether or not it’s any good. Furthermore, the marker is no longer static, so you will need to hold it in place carefully. Failing to do so may see your ball pitch way off line. The camera probably would have been better serviced above the bowlers head, but again, the perspective still is interesting once you get used to it.
Batting is a little bit harder this time around, as the developers have changed the timings with the shot meter, though now it can be occasionally fiddly. On higher difficulties, it really demands that you know what shot to play, against what type of bowler, as anything but the right shot and timing is unlikely to come off. However, there is risk-and-reward at play, as the riskier shot is less likely to come off than the forward defensive. Bowling remains especially thankless, particularly against confident high-leveled AI who will mercilessly send your perfect good length balls to parts of the ground you didn’t think possible. However, it is more demanding and engaging with the changes in configurations. Fielding has remained virtually untouched from last year, as most aspects are automated and occasionally superhuman.
Hey! There's a marker over in the distance...
There have been minor improvements to other aspects of the game too. Confidence has played a role in the last two cricket games, but this time around it seems to have the most tangible effect on your abilities. Players will markedly improve as you perform well with them, and markedly decline if you perform poorly. Still, the system feels redundant on higher difficulties, as batsmen make merry in any case. Another crucial improvement has been in the AI. Opposition batsmen will now be more conscientious about which areas to play, while opposition bowlers will start to change their lines and lengths (particularly on higher difficulties). It still feels like there could be some balancing and tuning but it’s definitely on the right track. After all, you no longer see someone like Andrew Flintoff coming in to bat at number eleven.
While making the game for the 2010-11 Ashes series would have made sense, International Cricket 2010 doesn’t feature any such luxuries. At best, you can set up exhibitions and bilateral series for Tests, ODI and Twenty20 matches, while there are some tournament options as well for ODIs and Twenty20s, either as knockouts or pseudo-leagues. The game retains the basic kit, skill and name customisation features found in its predecessors, but training modes have devolved from the colourful commentary of Legends Training to just text explanations. If you get bored of the AI, you apparently have online play, which now has a ‘Sportsmanship Rating’ feature, which will supposedly allow you to rate an opponent’s behaviour. Aside from the poor reception this feature received from the UK release in June, good luck finding anyone actually playing at the moment. Further problems arise, when you actually DO get a game, the online is broken. It seems to disconnect whenever you hit a boundary or take a wicket. This was a known problem when the game was released in June in the UK, so it's disgraceful that it's still a problem on release here.
Ashes Cricket 2009 was a fun and functional but low-key title with a lot of room for improvement. The continual lack of licenses hurts as well, meaning the addition of four international teams is completely moot. This might be forgivable if the gameplay was stellar, but unfortunately, it’s not. And aside from a weak and unclear menu interface, International Cricket 2010 doesn’t stray too far from its predecessor. There have been some minor improvements, but pretty much all of the new features are nice-to-haves rather than improvements. The Action Cam is an interesting addition, but hardly one that changes or improves the game. However, something like the inaccuracy in the batting meter is a feature that could have been improved, particularly in making the meaning of 'perfect' less ambiguous. Overall, there is the distinct feeling that the game really hasn’t moved forward too much from last year.
Just because you can't decide on the team colours doesn't mean you should wear all of them!
Visually, International Cricket 2010 is a more detailed game than its predecessor, but this has come somewhat at the expense of how well the game runs. This year’s addition isn’t quite as smooth at times. Otherwise, aspects such as the presentation are closer to being what you’d expect from watching on TV, while the Action Cam provides a visceral view of the action. Unfortunately, player animations can still be quite jarring and often contort into positions you didn’t think possible. Commentary has been shorn of the likes of Sir Ian Botham and (thankfully!) Tony Grieg, but the replacement is the affable David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd. Like last year, while the commentators give you a decent yarn, they simply don’t have enough to say in the long run.
So when it comes down to it, International Cricket 2010 provides a similarly fun and (mostly) functional game of cricket, that is interspersed with moments of stupidity and technical deficiency. Sure, it’s unlikely to ever challenge the likes of FIFA or Madden in terms of being a quality sporting title, as it likely gets a tiny fraction of the development budget. However, the fact that the game is so similar to its predecessor, the additions to the games are mainly nice-to-haves, bare-bones licensing and modes make this package one that’s got very little to entice, particularly if you’re already spent a lot of hours playing Ashes Cricket 2009. Furthermore, while you're unlikely to miss it due to lack of players, it's a disgrace that the online play was shipped in a broken state.
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