After enjoying a generally positive response to the PC and console version of Lara 2007 earlier in the year, Codemasters' efforts turned to this handheld edition, with the franchise coming to the PSP for the first time. Sadly, in spite of some points where things legitimately gel together, it's failed to convincingly adapt it to a mobile format.

The key problem - and it hinders pretty much everything the game tries - is loading times. You'll require a good deal more patience than even the slowest-moving game of cricket usually demands, and it's enough of a problem to warn off anyone who hates staring at loading screens.

If you can battle through that sizeable hurdle, the core game itself is quite good, although not as intricate and taxing as we remembered it. Mastering the bowling mechanic, for instance, is just a case of learning the knack, and then you can send down deliveries of real quality quite easily. There are a few variables to bowling the ball, using a mixture of the main buttons and shoulder buttons too, and it's one of the more enjoyable facets of the game.

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It's surprisingly more enjoyable than the slightly more limited batting engine, which feels like it straightjackets you into a smaller selection of options. There are still choices, but it's choosing a shot type and direction that concerns you the most here, with the constraints of the smaller screen size giving you a more enclosed tactical outlook than ideally you need. That said, it's still good fun to smack a ball around the outfield, but the fact that you feel reigned-in undeniably has a long-term effect on gameplay.

The new headline feature for the PSP version is a Pressure Play mode. It's a nice idea, worked around the fact that handheld gamers sometimes prefer a quick bash at something rather than a full-out game of cricket, and it effectively breaks down into a series of short missions and challenges. It has a training element to it, too, as challenges range from whacking a series of boundaries to successfully defending your wicket, although it too is blighted by the aforementioned loading curse. It's a nice, gentle introduction to the game though.

All in all, Brian Lara 2007 Pressure Play is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the cricket is entertaining when the game ultimately lets you play it, but it does feel a little compromised, and it does keep you waiting far longer than it ideally should. Handheld cricket, it seems, still has a little way to go.

This is a functional, often enjoyable cricket game, hurt by its failure to keep loading times down.