Video game review: Rugby League Manager 2008

Rugby League Manager 2008

RRP: £0.00Creator: Alex Thomas
Website: www.rugbyleaguemanager.com

Its not everyday we are treated to two RL games in the same year. In fact its not every year we get a Rugby League game to shout about, so count your lucky stars we have what we're given to us no matter how poor they might be.

Rugby League Manager 2008 comes in on the back of the latest of Sidhe's popular but flawed Rugby League franchise, Rugby League: World Cup Edition. The review can be seen below this one. However the two games are completely different, in that RLM08 allows you to be the coach of any Super League side competing in the 2008 season as opposed to being the players ala FIFA. RLM08 is the equivalent to Football Manager, in more ways than one I believe. But the uniqueness of RLM08 is that the game is completely free via download. That's right, the game will cost you nothing to download and play. Isn't that a bonus?

Well possibly, right? Those of you that were unfortunate enough to play Championship Rugby Manager way back in 2000 will remember how poor that game was. Only in that game could Wakefield rack up 70 points against Saints, but still manage to concede over 50. Its what really let that game down, so much so I failed to get past June of the first season without giving up on it at any given point in the past eight years. The commentary was very stop/start and the matches consisted of a bird's eye view of an over sized ball moving about a rugby pitch on its own. But away from the in-game experience, the rest of the game was average at best with decent menus, presentation and human interactivity. It was fairly easy to play until game day, but even then nothing in that weeks build up to a match made up for the poor experience. And don't forget, we had to pay for that torture. So imagine my concern and hesitation when RLM08 came out for free.

But imagine my relief and joy when it turned out to be pretty decent. In fact, I could not get away from the laptop because it was so good. The presentation and display looked good despite the initial complications in selecting your team from the left side menu. Once you get round the user-unfriendliness of that left menu that is standard throughout the game and understand that it works similar to the My Computer sidebar on Windows Vista, the game becomes easier to use. In fact I would recommend playing with the sidebar and familiarising yourself with it to find out what features are where before really getting stuck into the game itself, therefore maximising your initial enjoyment instead of giving up if your a a novice to PC gaming. Past the menu though, the game is easy to play and understand. Information such as players names, attributes and other details are clearly displayed and include a wide range of skills that goes into quite a bit of detail. Selecting your team is easy enough although repetitive. Despite being scrapped mid-2008, the 20 man and 18 man squads are still needed which means you are selecting your team three times before the actual match. Possibly a bonus if you realise you want to make a few adjustments to the starting team after picking your initial squad but often a little annoying if nothing happens during the week.

RLM08 goes into more detail tactically than what CRM did. It allows more advanced moves on the field when players have played with each other more often over the course of the season. This often results in convincing wins, but not all the time. Take heed in selecting your squad for the next game after using advanced tactics, as one of the game's major bugs is it will freeze as you try to select your next 20-man squad.
Unlike RL2: WCE, you have the choice of selecting National League and NRL players to transfer and sell. While selecting Billy Slater and Benji Marshall sounds like heaven, the salary cap puts that idea to bed unless you have a forward pack of kids on £300 a week.

Once you have selected your team, its game time. Possibly the best aspect of the game. Its very similar to Football Manager's old 2-D birds eye view. Presentation is slick, clear and if you select the right options it can go into quite a bit of detail into how well your team is performing. Score lines are realistic and often the three-quarters score the tries. Theres a million and one different options to assess how your team is playing, which really makes this game what it is. A quality programmed game made by one man in his study, possibly on a laptop.

If this game were to be made by a professional studio with a few improvements, it would be one of the best games in the UK market.

Graphics – 7/10

Gameplay – 8/10

Sound – 3/10

Presentation – 8/10

Overall – 7/10

The First Annual A Tap on the Twenty Awards 2008

As promised, the second batch of A Tap on the Twenty awards are being presented. These awards cover the entire 2008 season, including both Super League and NRL, from State of Origin to the successful World Cup. Every big game was covered, and therefore from a wide selection of games, the following awards were presented.

The Unofficial 'Reg Reagan Bring Back The Biff' Award: Eric Grothe V Justin Hodges (State of Origin 3)
Try of the Year: Mark Gasnier V New Zealand (May 2008)
Hit of the Year: Josh Perry on Ben Ross (Manly V Cronulla, March 2008)
Match of the Year: Brisbane V Melbourne, NRL finals week 2. (September 2008)
Special Recognition Award: Papua New Guinea
Biggest Disappointment of the Year: England
Team of the Year: Queensland
A Tap on the Twenty's Player of the Year: Brett Webb (Leeds Rhinos)

Video game review: RL2 WC Edition.

Rugby League 2: World Cup Edition.

RRP: £24.46

Developer: Sidhe Interactive

Publisher (UK): Alternative Software.

Rugby League 2 was released on the back of the original title back in 2005. Sidhe exposed many flaws in the original and went about to rectify the situation. Despite it still not matching up to EA’s Rugby franchise it was still an improvement non-the-less. Now Sidhe have come up with another version of the game, only this time don’t get your hopes up.

Rugby League 2: World Cup Edition is almost a carbon copy of the second instalment in the franchise. The biggest difference isn’t gameplay or graphics; it is merely an up-to-date version of the 2005 sequel including the 2008 World Cup competition format with official teams and player names up to the 2008 season. Franchise Mode, NRL and Super League seasons remain along with State of Origin, Four Nations (OK, the last one was Tri Nations but similar competition format applies), City V Country etc, its all still there and all fully licenced. Although there are extras to unlock, most are not worth buying a £25 game for and videos last for roughly a minute.

Franchise Mode is still pretty much the same as it was last time round. You still cannot buy Billy Slater, Greg Inglis and co if you play as Wigan, Saints or any other English side. Likewise, West Tigers fans won’t be able to see what Gareth Ellis looks like in their 2008 jersey. However, Craven Park and Stade Gilbert Brutus have been added along with Twickenham Stoop, Gold Coast’s Skilled Park and Browne Park in Rockhampton. However despite the game being the official game of the RLWC, amazingly the Telstra Dome doesn’t feature where Australia trounced England in Melbourne. Even under the unofficial name of Dockland Stadium it fails to get a mention. It seems little details like this make the game worse than what it really is.

Another example is Catalan still play at the Stade Aimé Giral under default settings and Harlequins still play at Griffin Park. For a 2008 version, they are rather not needed but it’s nice to have them in all the same. Surely it isn’t difficult to make sure attention to detail is accurate. Even Headingley’s Carnegie Stand is not included in the game, having completed construction two years ago in reality. Therefore the game feels rushed, unfinished and, dare I say it, unprofessional.

As ever, Channel Nine’s Andrew Voss takes to the commentary box alone, which sort of makes his commentary seem a bit stop-start. It doesn’t really flow and neither is it any accureate for that matter. Often a hooker passes to the second row and the commentary line is “the second row...passes to...the hooker”. But despite that, the sound isn’t really the worst aspect of this game, but neither is it worth shouting about.

There are some good features to this game, but you have to look hard to find them. For a start the graphics do look a lot cleaner and polished. There is more colour to them than in the last title making it brighter and somehow more of an arcade game than a full on simulator. That said, Sidhe have always wanted this franchise to be enjoyed by more than just a hard core fan base. However this makes the game more enjoyable in a small aspect. In addition to colourful graphics is the tiny but noticeable improvement of the handling. I’m not talking about individual player’s ball handling skill attributes here, I mean how the game feels to control an player. Sidhe have made it faster flowing, but over all the gameplay is only slightly better. Sidhe have limited the amount of times a player “skates” while turning around, so to speak. Therefore the player sliding backwards into touch like he is on Dancing on Ice after collecting the ball is not seen as often, and wingers and fullbacks have even started to leave the ball when it is going into touch. But this can be a bit annoying when the opposition has kicked a 40/20. Another neat addition is the ability to slide the defence around the field and even compress them to bunch around the play the ball area.

The developers have finally read the rule book and allowed advantage to the defending side after a knock on, even if the defending team automatically knocks on straight after. This was one of the standout issues with Rugby League 2 and thankfully it has been eliminated. But one more serious issue remains, and that is when a player receives the ball from acting half back and intends to kick, he turn to the side as the kicking button is pressed and force you into kicking the ball as far to one side as the curser allows to gain yards. This, more often than not, results in a kick out on the full. It’s a glitch in the game that still hasn’t be ironed out and is one of the more frustrating things about the game. Also the cut scenes need re-thinking. I’m all for a bit of animation and players congratulating each other. Its much better then in the original game where there are virtually none except the try scorer moving his arms in the air like a puppet. But is there any need to the title of the game to come up in between them? The game doesn’t flow with them in and again, it’s another question about professionalism. If you look at the likes of FIFA or Pro Evo, their goal celebrations flow smoothly after a goal is scored without the pop-up title. It’s not needed and its certainty not liked.

And on that note its time to summarise. Many tiny aspects of gameplay have been improved, but the game lets itself down in presentation and attention to detail. This could have been an improvement, but instead it lacks any real sense of existence.

Graphics – 6/10

Gameplay – 7/10

Sound – 6/10

Presentation – 6/10

Overall – 6/10

The Rugby League World Cup 2008 - Was it worth it?

From an English point of view, the RL World Cup was without a doubt, a big disappointment. We sent our team off thinking we had a squad capable of beating Australia on their day. As it turns out, we struggled to perform in every game. But overall how was the tournament for the rest of the competing nations? Was New Zealand's shock victory in the final the best thing that could have happened to the international game post-Super League? Did Fiji's excellent run over France and Ireland show there is talent outside the three big competing nations? Was the much anticipated match between Samoa and Tonga in Penrith resurrect the idea of a Pacific Nations Cup for good? What are the implications of the tournament and how will be benifits be seen in the future?

Financially the World Cup was a huge success, making (IIRC) a profit of five million Australian dollars. Many critics at the time said this was largely down to TV money and not ticket sales or merchandising. Frankly, who cares? We now know there is a huge international audience out there and that TV companies are willing to splash the cash in order to show Rugby League. As a result, future international TV deals in the UK and Australia will no longer be sold by the domestic governing bodies. The RLIF, and rightly so, will begin the sell the international game so the money can go straight into the their pocket as soon as the current domestic deals are re-spawned. This is something that FIFA, IRB and ICC have been doing for years for their major international tournaments respectively.

On the playing side, the majority of games were very competitive with only six games where one team really ran away with the games. Thats less than in the 2000 tournament (14 one sided games) and 10 games less than in the pool stages of the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup. The highest winning margin of any game was 52-0 in the second semi final between Australia and Fiji. Australia also scored 52 points against England. There were also a few shock scorelines outside the "big three" nations. Papua New Guinea gave England a fright while few predicted Fiji to beat France in the manner in which they did. As a result, Fiji progressed on points difference despite a close and exciting game against Scotland while France lay at the bottom of Group B. Arguably they were the most disappointing team to come away from the World Cup especially as they are competing in the 2009 Four Nations. Ireland did the British Isles proud after topping their group, again on points difference, and competing well against a good Fijian side in the semi final qualifier. Scotland also earned their first ever World Cup win over Fiji. Papua New Guinea were also earnt the RL world's respect after challenging all the "big three" nations and never showing remorse despite the lack of hight profile experience. Overall, whatever the score line I believe the neutral fan was never let down with the product offered.

So overall the World Cup was a success. Commercially, people in Australia were made aware there was a World Cup on their door step despite their supposd poor attutude to any sort of sport beyond October (unless its Cricket) with the total attendance being short of 300K at precisly 293, 965. Thats a average attendance of 16, 331 which is pretty much equel to an average NRL attendance last season (16, 317). In which case no one can complain they're wern't any eager supporters to watch a thrilling and excitable World Cup.

NEW Super League Play Off format announced.

The RFL have announced the format which will decide the two Grand Finalists for 2009 and beyond. To say it is innovative is an understatement.

To summarise this top eight system quickly, the first two weeks of the four week format is basically a carbon copy of the AFL Aussie Rules finals system currently in place. The top four face each other while the bottom four also play off against one another like so, using the Super League XIII final standings as examples of how this might work ;

St Helens V Wigan
Leeds V Catalan
Bradford V Wakefield
Warrington V Hull KR

The losers of the teams that finished in the bottom four of the play offs are eliminated. The winners progress to week two, where they will face the losers of the top four contested matches. The winners of these matches advance straight to week three where they will have a week off.

In the second week, the top two losers will play at home to the bottom two winners, a bit like this if results went the way they are expected to.

Wigan V Bradford
Catalan V Warrington

The losers will be eliminated while the winners would wait for the highest ranked team that won their top four play off match to decide who to play at their home ground. Thats right, the highest ranked team gets to decide which of the two Preliminary Semi Finalists winners they will play for a chance to appear at Old Trafford. The scenario may look a bit like this;

St Helens V Bradford
Leeds V Catalan

Or you may see this;

St Helens V Catalan
Leeds V Bradford

Either way, the losers of both games are eliminated and Saints will still lose to Leeds at Old Trafford.

So what are the thoughts on the new system? Like I said, its certainly innovative. No other sport will use it in a rush that's for certain. Going off the previous system, it seemed it disadvantaged the team who won the Qualifying Semi Final. St Helens won both in 2007 and 2008 but lost the Grand Final to the same opponents Leeds two weeks later on each occasion. The new method will see both Grand Finalists play a crucial game a week before the final, giving top four team one week rest maximum. And this format certainly plays advantage to the top four within the first week. The winners take the week off, while the losers get the second bite of the cherry. It also give the highest ranked winning team in week one a huge advantage in the Qualifying Semi Finals as they choose who their opponents are. While they can't select the other winner of the top four week one match, they can decide who to face from the two Preliminary Semi Finals, which adds spice to that particular match. Basically what the team who chooses is saying, we think you are an easy passage to the Grand Final. Any decent team will see that as motivation, and to go on someone else's patch and win such a game will be more than rewarding.

So finally we have a system that is defiantly more rewarding to the higher ranking sides. There is no doubt about that. Whether the system is feasible, supported and seen in the public domain as interesting is the big question. This is as opposed to unworkable, disliked and a case of lunatics running the asylum at Red Hall.

On a personal level, I am willing to sit on the fence until I see the format played out. I cannot wait to see it played out as I believe it will liven up the the matches in the penultimate weekend of the competition. I also want your views and opinions. Please tell me if you like or dislike the new system put into place before the new season starts in February.

The Premier League tried to copy Millennium Magic with its matches abroad idea, the RFU stole the professionalism idea from us after criticising us for it after 100 years, so you can probably bet your soul another sport will steal this idea from us as well eventually.

Can't you?