Rugby League 2

Sports which are more popular in the Southern Hemisphere rarely receive the treatment they deserve from developers. Time and time again, titles like FIFA or Madden are given the multi-million dollar TLC while sports fans in Australasia are left out in the cold with Cricket, Rugby and League titles never quite getting the same level of professionalism as Soccer or Gridiron. That is set to change though with Rugby League 2 from New Zealand developers, Sidhe Interactive.

Rugby League 2 is the sequel to Stacey Jones Rugby League and is shaping up to be everything that any league fan could ever want in a video game. It goes far beyond any previous League title, it promises to look and feel as good as any of the big boys offered by EA Sports.

For starters, the presentation of the game has been taken up a notch. The game features over 500 player likenesses, which is actually more than FIFA features - not bad for a company in little old New Zealand. The players all bear a scary resemblance to their real life counterparts though and you will not fail to recognise Price, Jones or Hohaia. The player's jerseys are also accurately re-created and offer a stunning amount of detail. The texturing work on the players is second to none and you will be hard pressed to find any faults. The game's stadiums are equally impressive and some nice looking weather effects create an amazing atmosphere. The whole visual package brings a lot more to the table than Stacey Jones Rugby League did a few years back.

The game engine itself has been tweaked too. Annoyances from the first game have been ironed out to create a game that feels a lot more like rugby league. For one, you no longer have to continually push the X button to dash. Holding it will do now, and should prevent any serious future thumb injuries. There have also been extra features added. You can now strip the ball in the tackle which can lead to some pretty hectic defending as you'll reset the tackle count after the turnover. Do it close to your opponents line and he or she is in trouble. The loose ball is now up for grabs as you'll be able to kick it and dive on it. You'll even be able to pass to your play-maker (someone like Jones or Lockyer) to try and pull out some silky skills.

While Stacey Jones Rugby League was an incredibly fun game to play, one of the major complaints was a lack of depth. Well this has been set right in Rugby League 2 with a deep franchise mode which will let you play for ten seasons while managing your team. You'll handle training, player transfers and even dealing with the salary cap. Player injuries will play a part and you'll even have to draft in free agents to bolster your ranks if you lose too many players. What's best is that you'll be able to play for a whole ten seasons. It is enough to keep any hardened league nut busy until Wellington get their own team in the NRL , 'go you Orcas'!

Another amazing facet of the game is that if you aren't happy with it, the game is heavily customisable. You can create new leagues, players or teams. You'll even be able to alter and tweak gameplay settings like speed or aggression to create a game that you feel comfortable with. Sidhe have gone out of their way to make this the best League title anybody could ever want.

Finally, the game will even feature peer-to-peer online modes so you'll be able to go online to see just how good you really are at the game. The online modes are going to feature online scoreboards so you'll be able to keep track of your mates.

Rugby League 2 is shaping up to be any League fan's dream come true. It's coming to PlayStation 2 and PC later this year and if you like sports games at all, I suggest you give it a look.