This is the only game that can pull me away from WE9. If you are fan of sports games please at least give this one a rental.
I have played all the EA Rugby games and this one is far and away the best. The graphics are so much better in this version and the only real knock are the backgrounds outside the stadium. The addition of the R-Analog movement feels very simialar to NCAA 06 and like NCAA might be a little too effective, especially with the impact players. Best I can tell not every team has them, although half of New Zelands teams does. New Zeland is ranked a 95 where the US is a 47. So like in real life there is a large gap between the good teams and the bad ones. Modest set of features. I do recall seeing a create a player option but do not think you can create a team. Plenty of fields to choose from. I have played in the cold and rain so far, although that is something randomly generated. Players so seem to get progressively muddy over the game (during the cut scenes). There was one field that had alot of dirt and when you had a scrum a large cloud of dust popped up. They added alot of nice little touches in this game.
The training material is vast and you can pick up on how the game is played very quickly (although there is a major ommision in the camera). Even during the game it instructs the player on what he nees to do in the scrum, setting up a play and brings up a button that shows when you can offload a pass (passing during a tackle). Within 30 minutes I had most of the rugby rules relearned. might take a little longer for someone who has never played or seen Rugby but the great part about the game is they will learn and not get overly frustrated.
My only real gripe is that the game is best played from a behind the player camera, due to punting and drop kicks and the need for accuracy. In the play now and tournament settings there are 5 cameras available, covering side, broadcast and classic cameras. The problem is the training and practice mode only offer the side camera.
For $29.99 you wont find a better deal on a Rugby game.
Before the EA sucks ranting starts up. Just imagine it was publshed by anyone other then EA. It works for me.
I have played all the EA Rugby games and this one is far and away the best. The graphics are so much better in this version and the only real knock are the backgrounds outside the stadium. The addition of the R-Analog movement feels very simialar to NCAA 06 and like NCAA might be a little too effective, especially with the impact players. Best I can tell not every team has them, although half of New Zelands teams does. New Zeland is ranked a 95 where the US is a 47. So like in real life there is a large gap between the good teams and the bad ones. Modest set of features. I do recall seeing a create a player option but do not think you can create a team. Plenty of fields to choose from. I have played in the cold and rain so far, although that is something randomly generated. Players so seem to get progressively muddy over the game (during the cut scenes). There was one field that had alot of dirt and when you had a scrum a large cloud of dust popped up. They added alot of nice little touches in this game.
The training material is vast and you can pick up on how the game is played very quickly (although there is a major ommision in the camera). Even during the game it instructs the player on what he nees to do in the scrum, setting up a play and brings up a button that shows when you can offload a pass (passing during a tackle). Within 30 minutes I had most of the rugby rules relearned. might take a little longer for someone who has never played or seen Rugby but the great part about the game is they will learn and not get overly frustrated.
My only real gripe is that the game is best played from a behind the player camera, due to punting and drop kicks and the need for accuracy. In the play now and tournament settings there are 5 cameras available, covering side, broadcast and classic cameras. The problem is the training and practice mode only offer the side camera.
For $29.99 you wont find a better deal on a Rugby game.
Before the EA sucks ranting starts up. Just imagine it was publshed by anyone other then EA. It works for me.