The Review Thread of RWC 2011

[TRF_Olyy]

peks89, you don't like the game?
I got the impression from your last hundred or so posts that you loved it?!

 

[donmcdazzle]

Yeah quit saying you don't like the game, you're making these guys look bad. Would you guys (mods) be so quick to stop people repeatedly criticising the other game of do you just protect RWC?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Eh?
All I meant is that literally every post of his in quite a while has just been on this game - I don't care if he like or dislikes it, just wanted him to tell us how he really feels


It was a joke, lighten up

 

[JW.]

​

But there are some such as Banahan, looking nothing like the real life counter part, one reason being that his tattoos are not in the game, as no tattoos of players are in the game. Likenesses on the whole are not bad, but they could have been better. One thing which I would have liked would be body shape difference, Courtney Lawes looks like any other lock with a bulky body, not his wide shoulders and small waist.

Banahan does not deserve to look like himself. But I can't see how you found the graphics good? I thought they were terrible even if this was brought out 3-4 years ago they would've been bad. As for the gameplay I have only played the demo. But from what I found out it was nearly the same thing as 08. You can still run around the post once or twice with everyone behind you. You still score the same way, same glitches same tackles from miles out etc. I can't say i'm impressed i'm very dissapointed in what they have done and I think they have let us down. Especially seeing you still have to pay 40 pounds or something like that?

That saying I like the game but that is only because it's a Rugby game would this have been anything else nobody would have bought this imo.

 

[cimbomjubi82]

In my opinion, there are improvements, but nothing that should not be standard by now. I knew this would be a disappointing game for a few months now, in terms of licensing and depth of game.

It is almost like a 'lite' version of Rugby 08, with a few new things added, but is generally more of the same old schtick.

But, the game is great fun, i enjoy the online greatly, but to compare this to another market, lets say energy drinks.. it markets itself as redbull (a brand leader), but tastes like a budget energy drink (budget quality, ok taste) but you'll pay Red Bull (over exaggerated need for product) price.

I'm not dissing this game, I think it's a good effort, but not from HB's perspective. If it was from a first time developer, it'd be a good stab, but HB need to reflect with this game, especially after TRF was involved and it doesn't seem like they've taken that much into consideration of what we'd like to see in a 'new' game.

HB need to really commit to a rugby franchise, and develop it into a fifa-esque franchise to succeed at it, which means licenses, new engines once in a while and plenty of game depth.

I've seen RC released now. To compare, i'd say Sidhe offer a game that's rather like 2K sports games, very impressive on the front end (it looks amazing), and trying to do something new but it'll take a few games to get it spot on, which i can say if i buy a 2K game, i know it's going to be excellent. I think Sidhe is the way to go they can build on this, as i think HB should really look at themselves and this game and ask themselves, did they really produce a game worthy of their name and rugby background, or game that's going to compete with a hungrier, more driven developer?

It's just little things that annoy, like you can only play as licensed England online or in WC mode. Just take a look, and notice (if i'm correct) how many national teams RC has. It even has Germany. It's those little touchs that make it like JLR, which to my mind was the best set-up for a rugger game, but just happened to be in the wrong decade.

 

[Scotsman]

I just found this review on youtube and i was just woundering if you thought it was fair?

http://youtu.be/h_ORVZPIFOM

Sad to say, I agree with the majority of what this guy is saying. Hopefully it will give HB the wake up call they need.

Also its funny since the game has come out the HB guys have gone very quiet. Reality sinking in maybe? Or just ashamed. Sad really.

 

[Scotsman]

In my opinion, there are improvements, but nothing that should not be standard by now. I knew this would be a disappointing game for a few months now, in terms of licensing and depth of game.

It is almost like a 'lite' version of Rugby 08, with a few new things added, but is generally more of the same old schtick.

But, the game is great fun, i enjoy the online greatly, but to compare this to another market, lets say energy drinks.. it markets itself as redbull (a brand leader), but tastes like a budget energy drink (budget quality, ok taste) but you'll pay Red Bull (over exaggerated need for product) price.

I'm not dissing this game, I think it's a good effort, but not from HB's perspective. If it was from a first time developer, it'd be a good stab, but HB need to reflect with this game, especially after TRF was involved and it doesn't seem like they've taken that much into consideration of what we'd like to see in a 'new' game.

HB need to really commit to a rugby franchise, and develop it into a fifa-esque franchise to succeed at it, which means licenses, new engines once in a while and plenty of game depth.

I've seen RC released now. To compare, i'd say Sidhe offer a game that's rather like 2K sports games, very impressive on the front end (it looks amazing), and trying to do something new but it'll take a few games to get it spot on, which i can say if i buy a 2K game, i know it's going to be excellent. I think Sidhe is the way to go they can build on this, as i think HB should really look at themselves and this game and ask themselves, did they really produce a game worthy of their name and rugby background, or game that's going to compete with a hungrier, more driven developer?

It's just little things that annoy, like you can only play as licensed England online or in WC mode. Just take a look, and notice (if i'm correct) how many national teams RC has. It even has Germany. It's those little touchs that make it like JLR, which to my mind was the best set-up for a rugger game, but just happened to be in the wrong decade.

I could not have said it better myself - bang on.

 

[abczyx]

Having, finally, had the chance to play the full version of this game, I can only echo the sentiments of cimbomjubi82 and others. It's not a terrible game and is fun with friends or online, but it makes very few meaningful additions from Rugby '08 (which I played a lot) and strips out most of the content. I'm looking forward to getting RC in about a week's time to see how that is, but I have to say, on paper RC has a ton more potential to grow in to something special.

 

[Duckdee]

http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/874517-rugby-world-cup-2011-review-world-in-union

 

[Ziplock]

I never played Rugby 08 but if it was even half as good as 2011 i seriously missed out .__________________________________marking this game purely on gameplay & fun factor & for how well it captures the feel of Rugby ( which has got to be hard to do in a game ) .... then id score it 9/10 . ...............i have 50+ games for my PS3 & im honestly having the most fun i've had in ages on a video game ( especially online against other good players ), cant get enough

 

[jovialjonny]

I finally got this yesterday as have been on hols.

There's definitely good news and bad news to it.

Good news is focusing just on the gameplay theres a lot of fun to be had here, the extra options at the breakdown and the chips and grubbers open up whole new ways to attack that are much more fun than the limited ones available in R08.

Guard control is also excellent, it removes the crazy random diving direction thing and adds much greater realism to tackling as you can execute tackles much more like the real world rather than a hit and hope as its hard to gauge the camera angle.

I'm a bit on the fence about the rucking, I think I like it because I'm starting to get the hang of the need to switch tactics against aggressive teams up front (e.g. SA) and also its not just a button mash because I played a guy online last night and he had me pinned in my 22 and I was mashing the hell out of it, kept conceding penalties and then got jamie heaslip binned! I thought that was very good as I was taking the mickey and the game punished me in realistic fashion.

I'm also a convert to end on camera, I really like the feeling of space on the pitch versus side on and it allows for more creative attacking.

Bad news wise its all been covered really but it is hard to deny that the off the pitch part of the game is pretty bare boned. I dont understand why not have a tournament mode that would allow you do custom 6 nations/tri nations for a bit of variety. Wouldnt matter that its not licensed.

Also the online is really the bare minimum that could have been done. On the pitch against a good player its great. But its ridiculous that there's no option to replay the match, some of my best online encounters in fifa have been where I find a similar style player to me and we end up in a best of 5 bonanza. Its also poor how detached it all is with just random match ups and no feeling of progression, points or ranking that allow you to keep playing better players. They really missed out on building a passionate online player base on this.

We may not get another rugby game for years, having a really strong online community and a few thousand strong leaderboard would surely make it an easier sell on the business case to build this into a franchise.

So in summary the experience on the pitch is really a fun one, everything off of it leaves a lot to be desired and that's the main reason these reviewers seem to be hammering it.

Better online capabilities would be my main wishlist item.

 

[Ziplock]

as for IGN's review , i dont rate their reviews at all on ANY game . & the gamespot review i watched on youtube was 'literally' the worst & most biased one sided review ive ever heard, the guy doing the review just shouldn't be reviewing anything 'ever' , not only is it suspiciously one sided, he also makes lots of things up, for example he says goal kicks are "trial & error" ???? wtf , lol , goal kicks are simple & easy to understand & do , & he also says hooking in scrums is a complete mystery ????? eh lol , what pressing a button to hook once the ball has been put in is a mystery ?? how ? ... the whole gamespot review is VERY suspicious IMO , strange they gave it a 7 though after tht review , after listening to him you'd think he'd of scored it a -1 or something , i can only assume a different person scored it to the one who wrote the review .

 

[Ziplock]

@jovialjonny______________ yeah i agree about Online , its seriously Fun , but a few extra things would make a huge difference . if they were to only patch one change into the game i'd say a REMATCH option for online would be great ........ I just write people's names down so i can say good game , & if they're a good player i'll try & add them to my friends list, got quite a few decent players on my PSN friends list already , been having some Great sessions with some of em , love doing 10 min half's against good players were you both have to really battle hard & pull of some good plays to score _________ anyone on PS3 who wants a tough opponent with a good connection, add me >>> ZIPLOCK13 ,

 

[jovialjonny]

@jovialjonny______________ yeah i agree about Online , its seriously Fun , but a few extra things would make a huge difference . if they were to only patch one change into the game i'd say a REMATCH option for online would be great ........ I just write people's names down so i can say good game , & if they're a good player i'll try & add them to my friends list, got quite a few decent players on my PSN friends list already , been having some Great sessions with some of em , love doing 10 min half's against good players were you both have to really battle hard & pull of some good plays to score _________ anyone on PS3 who wants a tough opponent with a good connection, add me >>> ZIPLOCK13 ,

Grand I'll add you later, you may want to get yourself into the PSN list on the gaming leagues in the other forum: http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?149-HB-s-RWC-2011-TRF-Online-Gaming-Leagues

 

[jovialjonny]

Forgot to mention one of my favourite parts...hard is hard! Hallelujah!

And not just cant get ball hard, the defence is tight and the AI attacking good so you really have to work through the phases and build gaps to attack with a few phases in the forwards, you cant just spin it wide and toddle around people.

Single player on hard is much more of a good challenge than I was expecting, I've yet to play a human player whose defence is as good as the AI on hard.

 

[smurfsdabomb]

Most of my enjoyment has come from this being the "only" recent video game harnassing my love of rugby. And I'd hazard a lot of others are the same with that.

Looking at the game more objectively and its content deficiency is unforgivable. Huge lack of customising options, no real interest in forging an online community, next to no in game stats after performances, a low player roster, no competitions other than the world cup, dodgy commentating, no soundtrack or anything bar the official anthem.

The game itself is Rugby 08 running on more efficient systems, it flows nicer as a result particularly the speed of moving through menus. In a word, lazy. But when theres no competition theres no motivation for the developers to churn out anything different. Best that could happen would be if Challenge was considerably better so HB studios would know this barebone game is unacceptable and people won't buy it. As is a weaksauce rugby game is better than no rugby game and thats about the highest praise I can give this, if this was in any other genre it'd be exiled to obscurity but alas we're stuck with it for the moment at least.

As somebody whos undertaken game development in university I can honestly say it reminds me of a student project, its incredible they released it.

 

[dakkadakka]

Most of my enjoyment has come from this being the "only" recent video game harnassing my love of rugby. And I'd hazard a lot of others are the same with that.

Looking at the game more objectively and its content deficiency is unforgivable. Huge lack of customising options, no real interest in forging an online community, next to no in game stats after performances, a low player roster, no competitions other than the world cup, dodgy commentating, no soundtrack or anything bar the official anthem.

The game itself is Rugby 08 running on more efficient systems, it flows nicer as a result particularly the speed of moving through menus. In a word, lazy. But when theres no competition theres no motivation for the developers to churn out anything different. Best that could happen would be if Challenge was considerably better so HB studios would know this barebone game is unacceptable and people won't buy it. As is a weaksauce rugby game is better than no rugby game and thats about the highest praise I can give this, if this was in any other genre it'd be exiled to obscurity but alas we're stuck with it for the moment at least.

As somebody whos undertaken game development in university I can honestly say it reminds me of a student project, its incredible they released it.

I am not RWC's biggest fan but wow. Where can I sign on.

 

[trigger49]

Come on guys. If you are a serious rugby gamer then you would have to be very disapointed with this game. Again I agree its R08 with better rucks but....to be honest it is not the same. Everyone was waiting for a game with slighly better game play to R08 but with all the flexibilityof rugby challenge. Rugby challenge is rubbish game play but you can create teams and tournaments etc....its almost like they should combine the tow.
Question to those in the know: Will there be any!! DLC. Teams or editors etc