Rugby 20 Review

[The_Wol]

Usually these reviews ended with something along the lines of "The best part was returning it to the store" This one won't end that way.

So I played Rugby 20 for a few hours last night on my PC. The game is far ahead of the previous releases (Rugby 18, 15, RWC you know the drill) in terms of gameplay, player representation and things to do.

The Good -

Set plays are great
The AI defence is good
Scrum mini game is interesting if not a little easy.
They added tattoos


The Bad -

Passing is garbage, sometimes your players just flat out ignore your key presses.
No player editor or team editor
The stamina (I will go into this more)
Goal kicking is horrific
Tutorial doesn't teach you a damn thing
Changing selected player in game is a pain


First things first. The stamina in this game is horrific, you have an international winger who is the pinnacle of the sport yet is only able to run 10 - 15m before he completely gasses and gets chopped down by a prop who has suddenly turned into the king of stamina.

The only real tactic is to get it to the wingers, because passing is so slow by the time any player gets the ball they're being tackled (Even with line depth set right back) so you can only hope for a fend off or to draw players in off the winger. But even then you're lucky to get a try because your winger has the cardio of an old woman.

I feel this game tries to hard to be a simulation and they forgot it is also supposed to be fun. At no point did I enjoy anything that happened in the game. It all kind of felt like a chore.
SO while I did not enjoy it, some people will. Some people will probably like it far more than Rugby Challenge which is fine they're completely different styles of game.

I'll give it a 5/10.

A simulation that forgets it's also supposed to be fun. If you're a die hard strategist then this may be the game for you. If you prefer free flowing and flashy rugby wait for Rugby Challenge 4.

 

[unrated]

On another note, England is rated 88, South Africa 89. Then the next tier starts with Wales almost godlike at 91 just one below the invincible All Black's at 92. I guess even a world cup can't change steadfast perceptions. Also Argentina not even making it into the 80 bracket??? Wtf

 

[The_Wol]

On another note, England is rated 88, South Africa 89. Then the next tier starts with Wales almost godlike at 91 just one below the invincible All Black's at 92. I guess even a world cup can't change steadfast perceptions. Also Argentina not even making it into the 80 bracket??? Wtf

I haven't even begun to look at ratings yet. There is a lot to be desired for the stats. I saw Tim Nanai Williams had a speed rating of like 69... a guy who's known for being reasonably fast hahaha.

 

[bushytop]

Wales 'almost' godlike at 91...

The cheek

 

[saulan]

On another note, England is rated 88, South Africa 89. Then the next tier starts with Wales almost godlike at 91 just one below the invincible All Black's at 92. I guess even a world cup can't change steadfast perceptions. Also Argentina not even making it into the 80 bracket??? Wtf

Read something on this that it was based on ratings from before the World Cup, when they originally anticipated releasing the game.

Played it last night, it seems okay so far. The training is pretty poor and I could only find the button mapping online, rather than in the game. Training covers basic basics, but nothing on special moves and actually breaking tackles etc. Agreed on the stamina issues. In casual games I constantly had Huget getting caught by a prop down the wing when it was a 25m foot race. Also had players slowing down significantly with a tiny adjustment to their running trajectory.

I haven't gone very deep into the setpieces, but to me it felt that they were being run from too shallow and the defensive line was basically on the first player when the ball was passed.

Need to look into it more though and figure out if I'm just doing things incredibly wrong. Again a proper tutorial would be nice.

 

[JohnKA]

I have not played that much but the first thing that got my eye was that my AI players do not tackle ! AT ALL .. the other team run into my players and then just past , it is as if the AI in defence (player controlled) just dont register that a tackle should be made they flat out ignore.I have to make all the tackles myself.

 

[JohnKA]

The cheek

Yeah .. Wales at 91 .. haha just wrong.

 

[Canadian_Rugger]

Usually these reviews ended with something along the lines of "The best part was returning it to the store" This one won't end that way.

So I played Rugby 20 for a few hours last night on my PC. The game is far ahead of the previous releases (Rugby 18, 15, RWC you know the drill) in terms of gameplay, player representation and things to do.

The Good -

Set plays are great
The AI defence is good
Scrum mini game is interesting if not a little easy.
They added tattoos


The Bad -

Passing is garbage, sometimes your players just flat out ignore your key presses.
No player editor or team editor
The stamina (I will go into this more)
Goal kicking is horrific
Tutorial doesn't teach you a damn thing
Changing selected player in game is a pain


First things first. The stamina in this game is horrific, you have an international winger who is the pinnacle of the sport yet is only able to run 10 - 15m before he completely gasses and gets chopped down by a prop who has suddenly turned into the king of stamina.

The only real tactic is to get it to the wingers, because passing is so slow by the time any player gets the ball they're being tackled (Even with line depth set right back) so you can only hope for a fend off or to draw players in off the winger. But even then you're lucky to get a try because your winger has the cardio of an old woman.

I feel this game tries to hard to be a simulation and they forgot it is also supposed to be fun. At no point did I enjoy anything that happened in the game. It all kind of felt like a chore.
SO while I did not enjoy it, some people will. Some people will probably like it far more than Rugby Challenge which is fine they're completely different styles of game.

I'll give it a 5/10.

A simulation that forgets it's also supposed to be fun. If you're a die hard strategist then this may be the game for you. If you prefer free flowing and flashy rugby wait for Rugby Challenge 4.

I like it way more than Rugby Challenge and think many will give it an poor review because it heavily favours someone who has a deep understanding of the finer points of rugby strategy and tactics.

I'm a lvl3 certified coach and also a former first grade amateur player in Canada(not that impressive but I've got a solid understanding of the sport).

I've played a bunch of online games and handily beaten all challengers. If you actually use the pod systems correctly, employ sound kicking tactics, etc. You will handily beat 95% of players who haven't gotten past aimlessly passing left and right.

It's definitely a simulation and not an arcade ***le though and those looking for an arcade ***le would do well to stick to something like Rugby Challenge or the rival code ***le RLL3.

 

[The_Wol]

I like it way more than Rugby Challenge and think many will give it an poor review because it heavily favours someone who has a deep understanding of the finer points of rugby strategy and tactics.

I'm a lvl3 certified coach and also a former first grade amateur player in Canada(not that impressive but I've got a solid understanding of the sport).

I've played a bunch of online games and handily beaten all challengers. If you actually use the pod systems correctly, employ sound kicking tactics, etc. You will handily beat 95% of players who haven't gotten past aimlessly passing left and right.

It's definitely a simulation and not an arcade ***le though and those looking for an arcade ***le would do well to stick to something like Rugby Challenge or the rival code ***le RLL3.

I've played rugby for about 23 of my 29 years alive. I guess when I play a video game I don't want a simulation, I want to just have fun. Similar to the way some people enjoy Forza Horizon more than they enjoy the more hardcore racing sims (I can't think of any I only play Forza Horizon lmao).

Usually I would have just ripped on the game for being **** but this is their first game that has actually been playable, which is why I didn't tank it. I think its a game for certain types of people, in the exact same way Rugby Challenge is a game for people who want free flowing flashy play with every team playing hot potato with the ball.

 

[Al Bangor]

I've played rugby for about 23 of my 29 years alive. I guess when I play a video game I don't want a simulation, I want to just have fun. Similar to the way some people enjoy Forza Horizon more than they enjoy the more hardcore racing sims (I can't think of any I only play Forza Horizon lmao).

Usually I would have just ripped on the game for being **** but this is their first game that has actually been playable, which is why I didn't tank it. I think its a game for certain types of people, in the exact same way Rugby Challenge is a game for people who want free flowing flashy play with every team playing hot potato with the ball.

You're lucky, I grew up in California and they didn't have rugby in public school. They do now at some high schools (and it's growing), but I missed out on all the fun.