Rugby 06

8.1
Great

Gameplay	7.0	"If you're into rugby, this game is for you."
Graphics	8.0
Sound	8.0
Value	8.5

By Sam Waldron

It's an exciting time to be a New Zealand Rugby fan. Last year was a year of victories. But some of us are not content with the Tri-Nations and the Bledisloe, with beating the Lions and pulling off the British Isles Grand Slam. It's all about the Rugby World Cup. And I don't want it in 2007 - I want it now!

Fortunately for me (and I'm sure for many other impatient sports fans) EA Sports Rugby 2006 is here, putting the major rugby competitions within reach of anyone with a gamepad or a keyboard.

(Obviously) I'm a rugby fan. I was originally attracted to the EA Sports Rugby games when I found myself watching a demo game playing in a games store - it actually looked like a game of rugby; even watching it was fun! Thus I obtained myself copies, first of Rugby 2001, and then of Rugby 2004. I played them to death.

It had been a while, though, since I'd actually played an EA Rugby game. Burned out as I was from Rugby 04, I chose to give recent iterations in the series a miss. And, picking up a copy of Rugby 06, I was very impressed. Things have come a long way, and not just in terms of graphics.

For a start, the game comes fully loaded with teams, players, and stadiums. All the rugby nations are present and accounted for: from giants like England, France, Australia and South Africa, down to the likes of Russia, Namibia and Japan. But that's not all! In addition to the Tri-Nations, Six Nations and World Cup tournaments, Rugby 06 features the Super 14, along with its European equivalent (and you can even play through a British Lions tour).

More importantly, the gameplay has improved. I won't claim that the controls are easy to master, but they are at least easy to gain a working knowledge of. That is: after half an hour, you will probably still be a button-masher, but you'll be an educated button-masher. There do seem to be problems in terms of defense: I am bad at controlling defenders, but somehow the defenders I am not controlling fare even worse (oh, if I had a dollar for every time my players had aimlessly run backwards in a pack, ignoring the ball-carrier...) But the attacking game is both easy to grasp, and very exciting.

And, dismissive as I may sometimes be of good graphics, I must concede that it is wonderful to have player models which are recognizable. I wouldn't mistake the digital rendering of Tana Umaga for the real thing, but I can clearly make out that he isn't Carlos Spencer or Joe Rokocoko. In fact, the players are rendered in incredibly impressive detail (especially considering how many of them there are in the game). I do kind of wish, however, that they hadn't bothered to replicate Jerry Collins' awful hair.

In general, the animations in the game look pretty realistic. Passing, tackling, rucking, and even scrums and line-outs, are well represented. And the fact that knock-ons always look like the ball bouncing off a player's face is more comic relief than it is a game-breaker.

The game's audio is for the most part what you would expect: crowd-noise and the necessary grunts and thumps. Plus, of course, 06 has exactly the same kind of inane commentary you are familiar with from previous EA Sports Rugby titles (and, indeed, from any televised rugby match).

The soundtrack, on the other hand, I found to be a pleasant surprise: not standard-fare background music, but some good guitar-driven rock songs, including tracks by Australian band Wolfmother, and locals, the D4. There are a couple of quite catchy tunes in there, but it's the sort of music which doesn't get irritating quickly - an important quality, as there are (unfortunately) only about half a dozen songs.

One of the things which frustrated me in the past about EA's Rugby games was the lack of attention given to choosing your squad. Sure, you could pick different players if you wanted, but it was usually a lot of wasted time, as the games didn't really back the idea. Rugby 06, however, has made some progress in this area. In addition to a static rating, each player now has variable scores for their current level of performance. So, it can be worth your while to put a generally more qualified guy on the bench if he's not currently playing his best. And you can save your favorite squads, so you don't have to make all the adjustments every time. This still isn't Pro Rugby Manager, but it's more than I expected, and impressive for an arcade-style sports game.

This isn't a game for everyone. If you're not a fan of rugby, it probably isn't for you. But, for anyone who does like to cheer for the All Blacks from time to time, Rugby 06 will, at the very least, provide you with some manic and entertaining two-player action.

Rugby 2006 is out now for Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC. Personally, though (having played EA Sports Rugby games on both Xbox and PC), I would recommend the console version - the gamepad is your friend.

For more on Rugby 06, check out my interview with the new face of the game, Daniel Carter. And keep checking NZGamer for all the latest from the rugby, I mean gaming, world.

NZGamer.com - Rugby 06 Facebook