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.
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
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