Review
Rugby World Cup 2011 Review (PS3)
Rugby fans must feel hard done by. Nearly every other major sport receives at least one annual addition. From football to basketball and MMA, the quality of these titles have slowly been improving over time. They've got more refined, the creases have been ironed out, you could say. It's bewildering that this world cup release is the first to depict rugby on the current generation, especially with it's popularity in all corners of the globe. With the real-world tournament reaching it's conclusion this weekend, is this game just a flash in the pan?
To be honest, it's not even that. There's very little to get excited about here, as this title quickly outlines itself as a shallow, repetitive and thoughtless showing of the sport. It's obvious from the opening menu that this hasn't been designed to outlive the tournament in New Zealand, as only a handful of options are available to choose from. Of course, the headline act is the world cup, but it couldn't have been applied more dully if 505 Games had tried. There's no build up, no party fever to get sucked in by, it's straight into the games without any hesitation.
As the 'official' game of this year's world cup, you'd expect every team, stadium and player to be licensed. Bizarrely, only half of the sides have been given the proper treatment. Even New Zealand, the host nation, aren't represented properly. This is hugely disappointing, as it seems the upcoming Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge title has stolen some vital likenesses. When you consider that RWC 11 doesn't feature any club sides or tournaments such as the Six Nations and Tri-Nations, there's really not much to keep you coming back in the long run.
Getting onto the field, the stripping down continues. Passing is controlled via the shoulder buttons, with each directional corresponding to it's position on the pad. Tackling is loose and lacks any strategy, as players just fling themselves towards the opposition with no care in the world. A satisfying shift in momentum often happens if you catch a stop a player in their tracks, but there's no feedback on power. You won't know how hard you're going into a tackle until you've launched it, as everything is pretty much full on. When you've been brought down, it's a case of fastest finger first, as you tap rapidly to keep the ball. This favours the team in possession, as there's a slight delay for those trying to win the ball. Unfortunately, this system isn't entertaining to use, as the bulk of gameplay amounts to an extended QTE.
Scrums and line-outs are also massively simplistic. With the former, it feels as if the game flips a coin to see who comes away with possession, as feeding and hooking the ball seems to be centred around luck rather than skill. Each line-out is a guessing game too, as you pick whether to throw a player in the air from the back, middle or front of the pack. The A.I is consistently unpredictable, meaning you never know what you're coming up against. On the hardest difficulty it's a real challenge, as the enemy make endlessly amazing tackles and won't hit the ground easily. At the easier end of the scale, you'll be skipping between threats with ease, as matches aren't even competitive.
Alongside these problems, RWC 11 also serves up a number of other basic mishaps. Graphically it's grainy and drab, flaunting the prowess of a last generation game that's extremely late to the party. The stadiums look adequate, but when running with the ball, a hilarious game of follow the leader takes place. Every player on the pitch sprints to whoever has the ball, making the game feel like it's situated on a school playground. Commentary is repetitive, and there's no tutorial to improve your game with. Want to try out certain plays? It's never explained how to use them properly, so for newcomers to the sport, they become pointless. How 505 Games can miss out something so fundamental is beyond me.
Other aspects of the game hardly feel like they're worth mentioning. Sure it has an online presence, but I'd be surprised if it's still alive after Jonah Lomu's game touches down. A goal kicking challenge has also been included, but this adds absolutely nothing to the game's limited lifespan. In essence this is a penalty shoot-out without the drama and without the repercussions. Fun for five minutes with a friend, but other than that, it's a waste of time.
In a year that has seen plenty of top-notch sports games, this is arguably the worst of the lot. Even Supremacy MMA, 505 Games' other dire effort, is more substantial and fun than this. For an official title, it never recreates the excitement or drama of the tournament. Most of the time, it hardly feels like you're playing a finished title, as proceedings on the pitch crumble once you realise the limitations it puts in place. At the start of this review, I felt sorry for rugby fans for not receiving an annual update to their favourite sport.. After spending time with Rugby World Cup 2011, I feel even more sorry for them.
Top Gaming Moment: At least it's only every four years?
To be honest, it's not even that. There's very little to get excited about here, as this title quickly outlines itself as a shallow, repetitive and thoughtless showing of the sport. It's obvious from the opening menu that this hasn't been designed to outlive the tournament in New Zealand, as only a handful of options are available to choose from. Of course, the headline act is the world cup, but it couldn't have been applied more dully if 505 Games had tried. There's no build up, no party fever to get sucked in by, it's straight into the games without any hesitation.
 |
As the 'official' game of this year's world cup, you'd expect every team, stadium and player to be licensed. Bizarrely, only half of the sides have been given the proper treatment. Even New Zealand, the host nation, aren't represented properly. This is hugely disappointing, as it seems the upcoming Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge title has stolen some vital likenesses. When you consider that RWC 11 doesn't feature any club sides or tournaments such as the Six Nations and Tri-Nations, there's really not much to keep you coming back in the long run.
Getting onto the field, the stripping down continues. Passing is controlled via the shoulder buttons, with each directional corresponding to it's position on the pad. Tackling is loose and lacks any strategy, as players just fling themselves towards the opposition with no care in the world. A satisfying shift in momentum often happens if you catch a stop a player in their tracks, but there's no feedback on power. You won't know how hard you're going into a tackle until you've launched it, as everything is pretty much full on. When you've been brought down, it's a case of fastest finger first, as you tap rapidly to keep the ball. This favours the team in possession, as there's a slight delay for those trying to win the ball. Unfortunately, this system isn't entertaining to use, as the bulk of gameplay amounts to an extended QTE.
 |
Scrums and line-outs are also massively simplistic. With the former, it feels as if the game flips a coin to see who comes away with possession, as feeding and hooking the ball seems to be centred around luck rather than skill. Each line-out is a guessing game too, as you pick whether to throw a player in the air from the back, middle or front of the pack. The A.I is consistently unpredictable, meaning you never know what you're coming up against. On the hardest difficulty it's a real challenge, as the enemy make endlessly amazing tackles and won't hit the ground easily. At the easier end of the scale, you'll be skipping between threats with ease, as matches aren't even competitive.
Alongside these problems, RWC 11 also serves up a number of other basic mishaps. Graphically it's grainy and drab, flaunting the prowess of a last generation game that's extremely late to the party. The stadiums look adequate, but when running with the ball, a hilarious game of follow the leader takes place. Every player on the pitch sprints to whoever has the ball, making the game feel like it's situated on a school playground. Commentary is repetitive, and there's no tutorial to improve your game with. Want to try out certain plays? It's never explained how to use them properly, so for newcomers to the sport, they become pointless. How 505 Games can miss out something so fundamental is beyond me.
 |
Other aspects of the game hardly feel like they're worth mentioning. Sure it has an online presence, but I'd be surprised if it's still alive after Jonah Lomu's game touches down. A goal kicking challenge has also been included, but this adds absolutely nothing to the game's limited lifespan. In essence this is a penalty shoot-out without the drama and without the repercussions. Fun for five minutes with a friend, but other than that, it's a waste of time.
In a year that has seen plenty of top-notch sports games, this is arguably the worst of the lot. Even Supremacy MMA, 505 Games' other dire effort, is more substantial and fun than this. For an official title, it never recreates the excitement or drama of the tournament. Most of the time, it hardly feels like you're playing a finished title, as proceedings on the pitch crumble once you realise the limitations it puts in place. At the start of this review, I felt sorry for rugby fans for not receiving an annual update to their favourite sport.. After spending time with Rugby World Cup 2011, I feel even more sorry for them.
Top Gaming Moment: At least it's only every four years?
Comments
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Nov 01, 2011
