Rugby 2005 - Australian Review (Reviews)

Chris Stead, GamePro Australia

17/05/2005 11:38:59

EA Australia is very proud of Rugby 2005. In fact, they believe it to be the best product EA's Australian wing has produced in its eighteen year history, and for good reason too. Building on the popular but shaky foundations of Rugby 2002 and Rugby 2004, the latest instalment is a quality sport's Sim that can happily hold it's own against heavy weights FIFA, Madden and NBA Live. It's pure fun, and while the voyage to the try-line may be burdened by a few frustrations, it ultimately scores the winning try.

And in true EA style, no less. Like most of the industry giant's sport titles, this is a fully licensed affair bursting at the seams with modes and management options. There are eight tournaments to enjoy, including the World Cup, Tri-Nations, Six-Nations and the Super 12. Gamers can create their own players or an entire team of players which can be managed and utilized in multiplayer games or in tournaments, but the career mode, called World League, feels a little underdone. What Rugby 2005 does very well, however, is cater to the sport's newbs. The basic coaching clinic does an excellent job of taking players through the standard controls, while the Rugby 101 tutorials discuss everything from the length of the field to the offside rule - and imperative component for the non-Rugby NTSC countries and Melbourne.

This in-depth training was truly needed too. Rugby 2005's gameplay is deep, capturing all the little nuances, laws and on-field dynamics which define the sport, and this can take substantial effort to master. Thankfully, with this edition, EA have finally nailed the controls, especially with the set-plays. Line-outs and scrums are simple and intuitive to execute, with the player able to choose a strategy prior to play or just go commando and free-ball it. Running with the ball also feels quite fluid and by using the second analogue stick it is a breeze to perform side-steps, hand-offs and shoulder-charges - although you will have to get the timing just right.

Most important of all, Rugby 2005 really feels like the sport. You can make calls on the fly, running with a simple button press from the back of the maul and driving your possession up-field before spreading it wide. You can perform cut-outs and inside balls too, but it all depends on how you handle the binding/not-binding dynamic. You see, when a player goes down with the ball you add your players to the maul with a button tap, with the more players you have engaged, the higher your chances of keeping/stealing the ball. However, the more people you stick in the maul, the fewer players you have left to defend or attack the line. It's a very interesting and engaging gameplay mechanic.

Unfortunately, there are bugs in the AI that pepper this otherwise fast-moving and engaging game of rugby with dreadlock pulling moments of frustration. High on the list are your player's unwillingness to jump on loose balls, their happiness to pass the ball to non-existent players and their tendency to wander backwards in defence rather than move forward. C'mon fellas, it's a contact sport! Bombs are also a problem. The other kicks at your disposal - punts, drop-goals and grubbers - are fine, but the marker that follows the ball's trajectory is hard to see and doesn't indicate when the ball is descending, which makes it very hard to catch.

Is there such a thing as too realistic?
Humans are imperfect - want proof, have a look at Phil Waugh's head - but in the eternal search for ultimate realism in gaming, do we actually want our computer characters to be flawed too. In Rugby 2005, players will drop the ball, knock-on, miss catches and throw forward passes, just like in real life. We hate it when it happens in the final minutes of a drawn Beldisloe and you'll hate it when it happens in Rugby 2005. So the question is, do we want to experience sport in a virtual world at the highest standard, where mistakes occur at the hand of the gamer, or do we want the AI to pick and choose when we screw up? Why not get on our forums or send us a letter/email and let us know your thoughts on this mother of all gameplay quandaries.

But there are some things in life which we actually like hard *cough*, like two big men smashing into each other at full pace. The tackles in Rugby 2005 are truly awesome. A combination of brilliant animations, spot-on sound effects and simple controls, it makes defence (classically, the more boring aspect of sport Sims) a blast. The AI will automatically make a tackle should you steer a defender into an attacker's path, but you can up the ante with a button press, causing players to launch into shoulder-charges, spear-tackles, coat-hangers and other limb-tearing, decapitating fun. Unfortunately, it is still near impossible to defend when close to your line (the AI leaves holes besides the maul) and the advantage given to the attacking team following off-sides lasts for too long.

While these problems do niggle at the gameplay, it can't dent the electric atmosphere. EA have wonderfully captured the tone and feel of your typical rugby extravaganza, with great weather effects, injured players sprawled across the ground, mud gathering on jerseys and cut-scenes depicting a bit of the old biffo. The difficulty increments are well-judged too, so unless you match up teams of vastly different quality, battles will be tight affairs balancing on one poor defensive decision. As for the eneral SFX, they complement the action wonderfully (although the commentary can get too repetitive), with the crowd bursting into songs like Waltzing Matilda in all its alcohol-fuelled glory.

It looks damn fine too! Making excellent use of the latest FIFA engine, each of the stadiums and players show a remarkable likeness to their real-life counterparts but, even more impressive than that, is the wide array of animations. Every tackle, pass, catch, ankle-tap, charge-down and kick feels unique and human. What's even more remarkable is that a large number of these player-models that buzz about the paddock with no frame-rate issues, although it can sometimes be quite hard to locate the ball carrier and there isn't a great deal of camera options.

Rugby 2005 is clearly the best rugby title every made and a vast improvement on what was seen in the series' two previous outings. Sure there are still some frustrations and plenty of room for growth, but Rugby 2005 stands as a worthy virtual alternative to the stud-happy reality.

Verdict
The series is no longer an exercise in patience, instead providing a gaming experience which is great fun for fans of the sport.
Pros: Graphics, well-balanced gameplay, improved controls.
Cons: Still some AI flaws, lame career mode, England considered best team.

Score = 9/10



[ Printer Friendly Version ]
[ Other stories about Gameplay ]



Graphics: 3.5 Sound: 4.5 Control: 4.0 Fun Factor: Fun Factor
Scoring scale: 1-5
Publisher: Electronic Arts / Developer: EA / Release date: 17/03/2005 / Genre: Sports / OFLC Rating: G (8+)