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It's a flawed but enjoyable experience on the easiest difficulty, although beating the AI becomes laughably simple after a while. Winning the ball on the ground seems to hinge on something of an internal coin-toss if you tap the A button too frantically, your team risks being penalised for having hands in the ruck. The ball physics are more than a little questionable, with passes flying to their intended recipients with laser-guided accuracy. The on-pitch action is a little arcade-like, but manages to capture the free-flowing movement of the back line and the frantic scrabble for possession once the ball goes to ground. Scrums are played out in a similar fashion, although the timing on when to hook the ball is something of a mystery. Mauls are handled by tapping the A button and pushing the analogue stick in the direction of the opposing team's try-line. Right trigger activates sprint and rucks are won or lost depending on the speed with which the player hammers the A button. Passing is mapped to the shoulder buttons while kicking and tackling are on the face buttons. These are the same folk EA Sports tapped up for their last rugby outing, which explains why RWC 2011 looks and plays a lot like Rugby 08.
#Rugby 08 tournament mode license#
The developer of 505 Games' Rugby World Cup 2011, which holds the official license for the tournament and several of the competing teams, is HB Studios. No other publisher has taken a stab at constructing a decent rugby sim - until now. That was four years ago, on the last generation of consoles. The last rugby video game came courtesy of EA Sports and was tied to the last Rugby World Cup tournament. The rugby faithful have had to spend quite a few years in the wilderness in this regard. Last year's Madden entry must have provided heaven-sent relief to Chicago Bears supporters, while this year, Arsenal fans are probably using FIFA 12 to begin their fantasy football title run early. When a sports tournament begins to wind down, fans of every team that's out of the running turn to video games to set the world to rights. Find out which one deserves your hard-earned in our head-to-head review. With the Rugby World Cup climaxing in New Zealand, 505's officially licensed game faces competition from a new challenger this week: Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge from talented Kiwi studio Sidhe (Gripshift, Shatter).