M
mj44
Guest
I won't give a proper review, at least not yet since I have to get used to the pc controls (had '06 on xbox).
Am I glad I bought it? Yes. It's obvious after the first match that this game will be more enjoyable, less repetitive and less frustrating.
AI
The is what was most important to me so this is what I'll start with:
1. AI will not kick for one half and pass for the other. It will choose a play depending on the situation.
2. AI will actually put the ball in touch so you can't counter-attack.
3. AI will actually use it's support when it makes a break. Not always, but often enough to lead to a score.
4. More intelligent tactical kicking. Larkham wouldn't kick keep bombing or kicking from the 50 straight down my throat for a mark, counter-attack etc. When he was kicking he would nearly always get it in touch (ie beat my back 3). One or two balls were easy marks, but these were closer to the sideline and much MUCH less frequent than in '06.
5. AI will make good use of both forwards and backs in attack. Scrumhalf will run it and pass to the forward and they will often break the line. In my game passing it out to the backs didn't lead to many set plays, mainly more improvised stuff which was harder to defend against.
6. Slightly better defence it appeared. AI for player team don't just stand there and let opposing players run around them, so you don't actually have to control the defence yourself (although obviously a player will be better). The AI seems to close the diagonal run gap better (AI seems to rush up in a line better than before), although with the 'tahs I didn't really have the speed to properly exploit it to see if it is still as bad as '06. Either way you'll at least need a quick back to exploit it. I made a few diagonal breaks and gained some territory but I never had the space I would have had in '06.
The AI is the thing I was worried about the most and it seems much better. At no point in the game did I actually notice the AI do something stupid. Everything it did made sense.
Gameplay
Feels a bit smoother than '06. I didn't try the sim version for offloads or lineouts, but I think it is a must. The normal lineout version is picking who you want to throw it to and that is it. It requires absolutely no skill. I only used arcade version since I was getting used to the controls.
Scrums are better. You view them from the side so you can clearly see the feed and hook. The shoves are also more progressive, and it's possible to win the initial shove but then be shoved back and lose the scrum. You need to keep the pressure on until you get the ball out so this is a nice touch.
Rolling mauls are more progressive as well, and as has been said you can't get too greedy, otherwise the maul will collapse and the opposition will get the feed to a scrum. I haven't seen how far mauls can go.
This leads to a control problem I had. You use the analog stick to push in scrums and mauls, but you also use it to select a set play. So basically the stick can control two different things at the same time, which lead me to selecting set plays I didn't want. This was pretty frustrating. I must be missing something but I think it was a very poor decision to have the controls work this way.
Other control issues were the special moves: these were performed using the right analog stick on the xbox, but on the pc version I have to hold the left shoulder button and then press one of the X,A,B,Y buttons to perform a special move. Problem is that these buttons, when not holding the shoulder button, perform different kinds of kicks. Occasionally I forgot to press the shoulder button and found my player trying to kick instead of fend. Yes it is my fault, but again the controls could have been laid out better. No reason not to use the digital pad and the right analog stick.
Like in '06 the "ref" and "touch judge" doesn't always make correct decisions. Eg they might "miss" a knock-on or let the opposition get the throw in even though the ball deflected off them and into touch. Not a big deal but obviously we'd prefer it not to be there.
The exploit of running across field then kicking (for a 22 to 22) is still there although the bounce of the ball seems less predictable. I don't do this myself as it is cheap
I kind of played around with the cameras and you can actually make the game harder by choosing a camera that zooms in. One advantage we have is that in the game we can always seem when we have an overlap etc, where as in real life a player can't see the whole field. Zoom in
Graphics/menus
I had the xbox version of '06 so the pc version is significantly better. I play it on 1600x1200 resolution so it obviously looks much sharper than on xbox or ps2. Not next gen stuff but to be honest with the views we use next gen graphics wouldn't make all that much difference. The animations do feel smoother.
The menu looks better in '08 but I felt it was sloppy on pc. The "start" and "back" keys on my gamepad aren't mapped in '08, so I need to used "esc" on the keyboard or the mouse. The mouse also doesn't scroll with the wheel which would have been handy going through lists.
The developers took a step backwards in laying out the player stats screen, it takes up the whole screen in a grid layout instead of a nice list like in previous versions. When swapping player positions you have to click the player name, then a list comes up and you click swap, and then you click on the other player. I'm not sure how the pc version worked last year but the xbox version you could just click the player then the other player. It's only a small issue but it shouldn't be there.
I wasn't able to get the proper understanding of chemistry, but I like the idea. When organising my team I could find out what the best front row was, but I found that no combos were formed anywhere else. Maybe it was just the quality of the players in my team. I forgot to test a player out of position.
Subbing players, I can't remember if you could juggle players around in different positions during the game without actually subbing them, but you can in '08. Ie when a centre gets injured and you have none on your bench, you can just get another on-field player to fill in that position and bring on a sub for the other position.
Quick and messy mini-review, but I would recommend it if you like rugby games. If you will play single player a lot then it is definitely an improvement over '06. I couldn't really say how easy it is since I'm used to a totally different gamepad key mapping. I read some people saying it might actually be easier, I doubt that as the AI seemed quite a bit better. Able to break your line and use support to score and able to contain you better on defence. I will guess that us hardcore players won't have much trouble with it, but using some house rules like a slower backline, challenging camera angles etc
Am I glad I bought it? Yes. It's obvious after the first match that this game will be more enjoyable, less repetitive and less frustrating.
AI
The is what was most important to me so this is what I'll start with:
1. AI will not kick for one half and pass for the other. It will choose a play depending on the situation.
2. AI will actually put the ball in touch so you can't counter-attack.
3. AI will actually use it's support when it makes a break. Not always, but often enough to lead to a score.
4. More intelligent tactical kicking. Larkham wouldn't kick keep bombing or kicking from the 50 straight down my throat for a mark, counter-attack etc. When he was kicking he would nearly always get it in touch (ie beat my back 3). One or two balls were easy marks, but these were closer to the sideline and much MUCH less frequent than in '06.
5. AI will make good use of both forwards and backs in attack. Scrumhalf will run it and pass to the forward and they will often break the line. In my game passing it out to the backs didn't lead to many set plays, mainly more improvised stuff which was harder to defend against.
6. Slightly better defence it appeared. AI for player team don't just stand there and let opposing players run around them, so you don't actually have to control the defence yourself (although obviously a player will be better). The AI seems to close the diagonal run gap better (AI seems to rush up in a line better than before), although with the 'tahs I didn't really have the speed to properly exploit it to see if it is still as bad as '06. Either way you'll at least need a quick back to exploit it. I made a few diagonal breaks and gained some territory but I never had the space I would have had in '06.
The AI is the thing I was worried about the most and it seems much better. At no point in the game did I actually notice the AI do something stupid. Everything it did made sense.
Gameplay
Feels a bit smoother than '06. I didn't try the sim version for offloads or lineouts, but I think it is a must. The normal lineout version is picking who you want to throw it to and that is it. It requires absolutely no skill. I only used arcade version since I was getting used to the controls.
Scrums are better. You view them from the side so you can clearly see the feed and hook. The shoves are also more progressive, and it's possible to win the initial shove but then be shoved back and lose the scrum. You need to keep the pressure on until you get the ball out so this is a nice touch.
Rolling mauls are more progressive as well, and as has been said you can't get too greedy, otherwise the maul will collapse and the opposition will get the feed to a scrum. I haven't seen how far mauls can go.
This leads to a control problem I had. You use the analog stick to push in scrums and mauls, but you also use it to select a set play. So basically the stick can control two different things at the same time, which lead me to selecting set plays I didn't want. This was pretty frustrating. I must be missing something but I think it was a very poor decision to have the controls work this way.
Other control issues were the special moves: these were performed using the right analog stick on the xbox, but on the pc version I have to hold the left shoulder button and then press one of the X,A,B,Y buttons to perform a special move. Problem is that these buttons, when not holding the shoulder button, perform different kinds of kicks. Occasionally I forgot to press the shoulder button and found my player trying to kick instead of fend. Yes it is my fault, but again the controls could have been laid out better. No reason not to use the digital pad and the right analog stick.
Like in '06 the "ref" and "touch judge" doesn't always make correct decisions. Eg they might "miss" a knock-on or let the opposition get the throw in even though the ball deflected off them and into touch. Not a big deal but obviously we'd prefer it not to be there.
The exploit of running across field then kicking (for a 22 to 22) is still there although the bounce of the ball seems less predictable. I don't do this myself as it is cheap
I kind of played around with the cameras and you can actually make the game harder by choosing a camera that zooms in. One advantage we have is that in the game we can always seem when we have an overlap etc, where as in real life a player can't see the whole field. Zoom in
Graphics/menus
I had the xbox version of '06 so the pc version is significantly better. I play it on 1600x1200 resolution so it obviously looks much sharper than on xbox or ps2. Not next gen stuff but to be honest with the views we use next gen graphics wouldn't make all that much difference. The animations do feel smoother.
The menu looks better in '08 but I felt it was sloppy on pc. The "start" and "back" keys on my gamepad aren't mapped in '08, so I need to used "esc" on the keyboard or the mouse. The mouse also doesn't scroll with the wheel which would have been handy going through lists.
The developers took a step backwards in laying out the player stats screen, it takes up the whole screen in a grid layout instead of a nice list like in previous versions. When swapping player positions you have to click the player name, then a list comes up and you click swap, and then you click on the other player. I'm not sure how the pc version worked last year but the xbox version you could just click the player then the other player. It's only a small issue but it shouldn't be there.
I wasn't able to get the proper understanding of chemistry, but I like the idea. When organising my team I could find out what the best front row was, but I found that no combos were formed anywhere else. Maybe it was just the quality of the players in my team. I forgot to test a player out of position.
Subbing players, I can't remember if you could juggle players around in different positions during the game without actually subbing them, but you can in '08. Ie when a centre gets injured and you have none on your bench, you can just get another on-field player to fill in that position and bring on a sub for the other position.
Quick and messy mini-review, but I would recommend it if you like rugby games. If you will play single player a lot then it is definitely an improvement over '06. I couldn't really say how easy it is since I'm used to a totally different gamepad key mapping. I read some people saying it might actually be easier, I doubt that as the AI seemed quite a bit better. Able to break your line and use support to score and able to contain you better on defence. I will guess that us hardcore players won't have much trouble with it, but using some house rules like a slower backline, challenging camera angles etc