Dear Future Gamer

I've just read your review on CWC '99, having recently purchased it myself, and I have to say you must be joking. I'm a passionate follower and ex-player (I suffer from muscular dystrophy so my legs packed up a while ago) and I take issue with your review - the game is so full of cricketing bugs that it should never have been released.

EA Sports released Cricket '97 Ashes Tour Edition some time ago. Okay, the graphics were a bit naff, but the batting control was far superior - why couldn't they have used it in CWC '99? Why can't I bowl bouncers/lifting deliveries? Why do the fielders (and the bowler and wicket keeper) attempt to demolish - in the wicket keeper's case, does demolish by falling on them - the stumps from less than five yards away when there would be no chance or attempt at a run? Why, when the ball is thrown to the bowler, does he always seem to have his back to the thrower?

Why do Richie Benaud and David Gower tell me that my batsman is out for a duck when the pop-up screen tells me different? Why, when bowling spin, does Alec Stewart 'run out' batsmen while standing up to the stumps - surely they should be out 'stumped'?

I could go on, but you're probably entering a comatose state. Finally, why in God's name didn't they actually run the game past actual cricketers or cricket lovers who could have told them just how bad it actually is. The next time I have £34.99 to spend, I'm going to buy as much alcohol as possible, drink it, then piss it up the wall - at least this way I would get some enjoyment out of it.

Steve Moore

FG: Our reviewer, Gideon Kibblewhite, is also a player and he disagrees with you, so I'll leave it to him to explain himself.

"CWC '99 is a great game. I may well have overlooked a couple of bugs because they simply didn't get in the way of my enjoyment. In my review I was attempting to get across the appeal of the game to cricket fans and game players in general. I still think CWC '99 is a great game and if you look hard enough at any game - any game - you'll find small inaccuracies or inconsistencies. The point is whether it's good enough to be considered for purchase, and CWC '99 certainly is. It doesn't hurt your head in the mornings either."