Gladiator Kricket review

To many of us, sport boils down to chasing different types of balls around different types of fields. Listening to scores, commentaries and highlights by those who are passionate about these ball-chasing ventures is a foreign language, and figuring out when, where and if you can hot-foot it after a particular type of ball on a particular type of field is a baffling exercise.

And never more so than in cricket. Essentially, cricket ought to be pretty straight forward. One bloke chucks the ball, another one hits it with a lump of wood, and others try to catch him before he gets back to his base. It's like tag, only with matching jumpers.

Except that it's not. Cricket is complex, long and bewildering to non-public school boys. Gladiator Kricket, on the other hand, is far more dynamic and easy to grasp. Its rules involve not getting eaten by lions, and trying to avoid being killed by the umpire. A superb compromise that dispenses with the guff, and maximises the violence.

You're not required to take the field in Gladiator Kricket, just to hit the ball as far and as hard as you can. This is achieved through good timing, hitting the ‘5' key at the perfect moment to hear the smack of flaming leather on willow. Oh yes, the cricket balls are on fire.

Once you hit the ball, you gladiator sets off running, putting in as many as he can before the slaves in the outfield return the ball to the bowler. This is a preset number of runs, depending on the quality of the hit, and you're working your way to 100 to progress to the next level.

Missing is actually where much of the game's fun comes from. Miss four balls in a row, and the two menacing lions on either side of you are let loose. Get caught out, or if the ball hits the wickets, then the rather large, hammer-wielding umpire smashes you into so much Roman dust. This strict level of vengeance isn't limited to you, as the slaves (who form the bulk of the fielders) are quickly put to death if they happen to miss, or take too long.

We always appreciate one-finger gameplay on mobile titles, and Gladiator Kricket does manage this austere control method with elegance, and still blends in a degree of skill. But there's a distinct feeling that you're more of a slave, than a gladiator, as you can't actively target your opponents or deliberately put anyone to death by way of your cricketing skills.

Even for cricket fans, this game offers a lot. Its ultra-simple mechanics outweigh its level of pastiche to offer a quick and effective cricket game for the mobile platform.

Admittedly, ardent fans of the real sport will probably balk at the severe rib-jabbing that cricket receives in Gladiator Kricket, but if you can see past that and enjoy the batting simulator at its heart, there's no reason that sporting and non-sporting types alike can't come together under the banner of ancient, blood-lusting arena games.