RRP: £0.00
Creator: Alex Thomas
Website: www.rugbyleaguemanager.com
They say the best things in life are free, but I fail to agree with that statement. The NHS isn't the rousing success it should be. Many experts agree we are letting our children down in state education, and the Lancashire hotpot given away by my local community centre the weekend before Christmas tasted like plastic in boiling water. But of course, there are exceptions to the rule.
I'm not talking about the toilet attendant who gives you a free lollipop if you freshen up during a night on the town either. I'm talking about one of the most addicting series of Rugby League games ever made. Admittedly the 2005 edition of this RL Manager series looked like an 11 year old had made a website and stuck a few hyper links together, it captured your attention for a whole three seconds. But the 2008 edition was a breakthrough, and set the platform for a scheduled 2010 and 2011 release as well as the current 2009 edition. The achievements of RLM2008 is the foundation to the 2009 game.
The presentation is the same similar theme from RLM08, and almost as if you were playing Football Manager. If it worked for Sports Interactive, it defiantly works for RLM09. The same 2D match play returns, which in my opinion is better than Football Manager's early games. It gives you a realistic bird's eye view of the players down below, as opposed to small circles running around a football field on FM. Away from the matches, the menus from RLM08 have been given a nice paint job to look like the entire game is sponsored by Leeds Met Carnegie, otherwise its exactly the same layout. The same list of managerial aspects down the left hand side. The same layout of player's names after clicking a sub-menu. The same female voice when trying to select the club to start your game with. And yet in an obvious way, this game is different.
Other than the layout and presentation of the game, 2009 it a completely different game to its older brother. You are given a lot more options when choosing your team tactics. They are no longer simply broken down into red zone, orange zone, yellow zone and green zone. Each zone has been split into three sections, meaning you can have different pre set tactics for centre yellow zone and left yellow zone. Up to 12 sections of the pitch can be tactically altered depending on where you are with possession. But here's the clever part, you can only plan up to six different sets-of-six tackles, and assign each set of six (labelled Set A, Set B etc) to any of the 12 sections of the pitch. Not only that, of the available set of advanced moves your team learns while establishing cohesion, only one advanced move for the forwards, and one advanced move for the backs can be used in each set of six. The challenge is finding the right move to use on the right part of the pitch while trying to break down the opposition defence.
Another new aspect is you now have more involvement with both the academy an alliance teams. You now have to pick the sides your young protégés will line up in. Of course the more games a young player plays in, the faster he will develop. As a result I myself am developing a fullback that is good enough to allow me to get rid of Richie Mathers. This more limited approach into young player development means I have more choice in selecting what players I need in specific position to nurture. Thankfully, you don't get to watch either the academy or allience teams play. The result is simulated, which means your not spending too much time with the kids, but that leaves more time to focus on the main squad. After all, even the best of the youngsters won't come to you if your first team isn't winning.
Who that team is, is now up to you. The selection of teams to manage is phenomenal. Every team from Super League and NRL, to both Championships and Rugby League Conference. My only critisism up to now is that conference team line ups are not real players. But who has heard of a bunch of amateurs anyway? Not when you can expand you coaching career beyond the domestic game. State of Origin and the now defunct War of the Roses teams are included, as well as eleven national sides including the ten from last year's World Cup. And all of whom allow you to select your own squads from scratch. Don't like Billy Slater? Don't select him for either Queensland or Australia. Think that Kevin Penny deserves an England spot? Put him on the wing. The choice is entirely up to you.
Now I've never been a fan of games being released for the sake of it. Its annoying when games like the FIFA series take their previous year's game, update the teams and release it as the next instalment. Thankfully this game isn't a carbon copy of last years edition. All the good ingredients that made RLM08 a good game, plus some new elements, have turned RLM09 from an good home cooked meal into a appetising plate full Toby carvery dinner. Its nowhere near the standard of The Ivy, but this game doesn't intend to be perfect. What it does is give you an exciting gaming experience full to the brim with teams, features all nicely packaged and presented with a pretty bow on top. I love it.
Graphics - 8/10
Gameplay - 7/10
Sound - 5/10
Presentation - 8/10
Overall - 7.5/10
Who that team is, is now up to you. The selection of teams to manage is phenomenal. Every team from Super League and NRL, to both Championships and Rugby League Conference. My only critisism up to now is that conference team line ups are not real players. But who has heard of a bunch of amateurs anyway? Not when you can expand you coaching career beyond the domestic game. State of Origin and the now defunct War of the Roses teams are included, as well as eleven national sides including the ten from last year's World Cup. And all of whom allow you to select your own squads from scratch. Don't like Billy Slater? Don't select him for either Queensland or Australia. Think that Kevin Penny deserves an England spot? Put him on the wing. The choice is entirely up to you.
Now I've never been a fan of games being released for the sake of it. Its annoying when games like the FIFA series take their previous year's game, update the teams and release it as the next instalment. Thankfully this game isn't a carbon copy of last years edition. All the good ingredients that made RLM08 a good game, plus some new elements, have turned RLM09 from an good home cooked meal into a appetising plate full Toby carvery dinner. Its nowhere near the standard of The Ivy, but this game doesn't intend to be perfect. What it does is give you an exciting gaming experience full to the brim with teams, features all nicely packaged and presented with a pretty bow on top. I love it.
Graphics - 8/10
Gameplay - 7/10
Sound - 5/10
Presentation - 8/10
Overall - 7.5/10
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