Rugby League 2

8.2
Great

Gameplay	8.5	"Is the sequel good? In one word, yes."
Graphics	8.5
Sound	8.0
Value	8.0

By Aaron Scott

Stacey Jones Rugby League was a welcome addition to my gaming collection. There had been a void since the days of ET’s Rugby League on C64. SJRL was great and highly enjoyable, but there were a few bugs I really wanted to see ironed out. There also seemed to be a lot of untapped potential in the game. However, it can take a line of sports games several tries before they really hit their stride - just look at the Madden series, which arguably didn’t perfect the formula until Madden 2001, years after its inception as Tecmo Bowl.

With that in mind, is the sequel any good? In a word, yes. Does it surpass the original? Yes, but not in every way. While it generally does a good job of refining the gameplay of its predecessor, Rugby League 2 falls a bit short when it comes to some of the new features. An example of this would be the Franchise mode. It’s not that bad, but you get the feeling that it could have been a great deal better. Consider the information displayed between matches on suspensions, injuries and various other elements. Instead of being displayed at the base of the screen, we could have been presented with, say, a newspaper that gave us the information with a bit more flair. It’s in moments like these that you feel like things could have been taken further.

Franchise mode starts with the selection of your team, as well as your representative commitments for International, State Of Origin and City/Country. These choices come as a slight relief, as playing as your chosen club might become a little tedious after a while. The information available is fairly detailed – you can access anything from financial reports to club standings. You will also receive emails that range from injury reports to representative selection - and even the occasional cheeky email from a departing player, or an angry one from a player who is unhappy with his contract. The anti-tampering deadline in RL2 is a master stroke. This adds heightened realism to the game - I found myself going into a must-win game prior to the cut off date where my star players could be head-hunted, which was a little nerve racking. I totally forgot about the deadline until after the game, when I found a flurry of emails in my inbox. One in particular was titled, ‘See ya later Alligator’ from a certain S. Jones! Stacey was off to the Rabbitohs next season, the traitor!

Commentator Andrew Voss is back again and delivering a great performance. I’m a huge fan of the Boots ‘n’ All show, but the game reminded me of one episode without Phil Gould co-hosting, which was a little repetitive. The commentary would be significantly improved from, say, Peter Stirling or Matthew Johns. The referee’s absence in RL2 has sparked a little bit of controversy in some gaming circles, but I found that the game runs a lot better without the appearance of the ref. You aren’t going to confuse one of your own players for the referee now, for instance. Sure, it would be nice to spear tackle Tim Manda at times with his dodgy decisions, but you’re a going to forget about the absence of the ref in the first five minutes.

RL2 has over 500 player likenesses within the game - you’ll spot your favourite league stars at a glance. The cut scenes show key players within the team communicating with each other while there’s a stoppage in play, which is a nice touch. The presence of both NRL and Super League are in there for our UK cousins, as well as Kiwis who’d love to have a crack with NZ Warriors favourites Ali Lauitiiti and Henry Fa'afili with their respective Super League clubs.

A giant step forward from SJRL is the playmaker control. I would endlessly hand the ball on the last tackle to someone I thought was Stacey Jones, only to realise it’s Awen Guttenbeil - and Awen can’t kick! The new feature allows you to distribute the ball to key players and skip pass your dummy runners. I found this form of passing to fall over if you’re trying to push a pass with a front rower, or trying to pass without momentum going forward. Still, this one move opens up more tactical options than ANY other new feature could.
Dummy half-running, oh god bless it! It allows the attacking team to gain a significant roll on. A player like Craig Wing (don’t worry non-Roosters fans, we hate him as much as you) can now turn a game for you. Gone are the days where you’d just be thinking about outrunning, or the monotonous passing from one side of the field to the other to beat a team.

Rugby League games are often won on both possession and territory, most notably via a great kicking game. RL2 returns with the Matrix-type effect of slowing the surroundings whilst a player is kicking the ball. An added feature of RL2 is the ability to grubber kick the ball, which really comes into play in the wet, where the ball will skid along the ground. Another notable add-on is the ability to kick the ball while it’s on the ground, and diving on the loose ball. Contesting for the high ball is another welcome feature, so there are no more dodgy short kick offs. The kick system is much more refined when compared to SJRL. It allows the player to have a little more time to react to the situation - there were moments in the first game where you only had an instant to perform an action, which could get very frustrating.

Most of the great franchise games have gone through various trial and error periods to reach the level of success they enjoy today – just look at the original Grand Theft Auto, and then compare it to San Andreas. Rugby League 2 is a marked improvement on its processor, and while it still isn’t fully fleshed out or problem-free, it’s a step in the right direction. I’m sure by the next instalment, the game will really shine.

If you’ve even watched a league game for 10mins, and or are vaguely interested in sports titles, I’d recommend grabbing a copy of Rugby League 2 on December 8th.


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