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must be joking

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: August 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

im sorry but if anyone has played johna lomu rugby for playstation one then im sure they will be just as dissapointed as i am with this excuse of a game. i am aware that johna was not available for america but with the advances that developers are claiming with the playsation two, how can a game released five years ago for the playsation one be so supperior to this effort from EA sport, who i may add have done so well with their other sport games. No sidesteps in a game of rugby, thats like having no slam dunking in a basketball game!How can a company like EA sport fail to improve on a game produced five years ago by codemasters????

Not great

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was pleased that Ea sports finally decided to release rugby in the USA. However if you are expecting the allround excellence of Madden 2001 you will be disappointed. it seems like they just chucked it together in a rush. The graphics are poor, every player is the same size,compare this to Madden where the players are indiduals and have a resemblance to the guy. There is no sidestep button, and the players do not have name/number icons, so you never know who has the ball. This is a major fault, would you want the hooker kicking the ball upfield? or a prop making a long pass from scrum half?? This is a major weakness. I'm just very disappointed that the guys that brought us an amazing comparable game like madden on PS2, could also bring us a game that looks like it shouls be a sega game from 1991!! oh dear.

Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have played rugby for many years. I was excited when I saw this game, but am very disappointed by the performance. The camera angles make it very difficult to tell when you have the ball. One second you're running back on defense and the next you have the ball and are running backward. The graphics are very poor, not anywhere near PS2 quality. More control of how the backline is set up and being able to reposition players waiting for the kick off would be handy.
On the other hand my son who has never played rugby loves the game.
I echo the advice of the people who say rent this game, unfortunately it appears to have disappeared from rental places and toy stores alike. Good luck trying to find it.

Camera angle PLEASE!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 12
Date: December 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ok, this games cool if you leave out the corny camera angle the language that nobody knows like "line-out, scrum", and crap like that. I wish somebody would just make a game without trying to go overboard. Unfortuanetly they did.

Could have been great with ONE improvement...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game with very high expectations, having heard that EA produced a Rugby title for the European market for the PS1 a few years back. I brought it home and started to play. Great graphics, though it looked like they ported over much of the PS1 programming (PS2 can do much better - look at Madden 2002 screen shots). Gameplay and commentary were very good, as was the inclusion of an extensive practice mode. The worst thing about the game was that it DOES NOT USE ANALOG CONTROL. There is nothing worse than having to use the D-Pad to move players around the screen. Hopefully for next year's game they will make that change.

not all I had hoped for

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was really hoping this would be a great game.

I played rugby, and love the game . . . considering it the most complete game I ever played (b-ball 2nd, baseball 3rd, football 4th).

I however found this game to be disappointing:

Controls -- no analog stick, and the D-pad is cumbersome . . . I had trouble executing up and under kicks with the spinning camera angle making it tough to run straight up the field. I also found the rucks / mauls difficult to master . . . I got tired of losing every one in a button mashing frenzy.

Graphics -- compare this to Madden 2001, then tell me you can be satisfied with the effort here.

Sound -- I liked the announcers . . . but didn't play long enough to get annoyed by repetition.

Bottom line - I found it hard to justify time spent playing this with GT3 sitting by idle. There are moments to this game (and if I invest more time to master the controls, and find a better camera angle, then I may have to give it another star). However, I recommend renting this game first, because it is clearly not for everybody, but does have some merit.

Not as good as the '95 version; rent first

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The three games I was most excited about when I purchased my PS2 were Madden 2001, Silent Hill 2 and Rugby. I owned the original '95 version on the Sega (before playstation). It was a great game. This games stats are unreadable. I'm 30 and have 20/20 vision and on a 35" tv I can't read the names to sub players in for. The scrum isn't as realistic as it once was either. The gameplay is average. Tourneys, league play and stats are disappointing. Maybe the next time out EA will get it right with Rugby. Off to sell this and get college football 2002 for ps2.

Is this a joke??

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: January 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I can't believe the company that makes Madden put this out. The graphics are terrible. It looks like either PS1 or N64. The camera is far away and the words are very hard to read. It is entertaining if you are a rugby fan but not for anyone else. The graphics are a disgrace I cant believe EA Sports put this out with a clear conscience.

Not bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As soon as this game came out it was a must add to my PS2 games.
Graphics are great, the gameplay is ok. Overall considering the lack of Rugby games around this is easily the best >
All the "best teams" are here. The fields look right. Some disceprancies on the surroundings around the fields. Refs are reasonably good and don't interfere with the game too much.
Person to Person this is a blast to play. For going all the way on your own it can get very annoying in some of its options..

Rucking is an all out thing which is not lifelike where only one body is on the floor and then the perfect scrum rucks over the top. And to win rucks you nearly have to put in the whole pack. Not very "Dynamic". The other down side is you can only play the big tourneys 6 nations, tri nations and the a world championship, no club ball available. Also when you select your ideal squad you have to repick it every time you play there is no way of saving your best team. They should have taken a leaf out of any other EA game where you select the squad and you change it, the game doesn't return to the default every time.
All in all I like the game I will play it a lot and all the rest boys come round to play. That said they can do a lot to improve it.

Great Game - if you know what you're doing!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: July 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I finally got my long awaited game - EA Rugby - yesterday, and had a lot of fun last night. To cut to the chase, this is a GREAT game if you are familiar with and enjoy rugby.

Yeah, the graphics aren't amazing, but certainly passable. Some of the text is too small and/or moves too quickly (in the teaching mode). Also, the camera movement was driving me crazy until if found a fairly stationary angle that I like. ANY improvements on these in the future, and it'll be 5 stars for sure.

That said, if you don't need ALL of the bells and whistles (there are some in the game) and if you enjoy rugby and know the rules, get this game! I can't imagine trying to play this if I didn't know the game, but knowing rugby, this game plays like a real good game. After one night, I had most of the basics picked up. This game really requires you to be on top of the controls. But once you get them down, it is very fair (i.e., rucks, line outs, etc.) Anybody who says otherwise probably doesn't understand the intricacies of rugby (both on the field, and in this game). For example, it is hard to win the ball out of a ruck when the other team is attacking. All the button mashing you try is still not going to work usually.

Mostly, I am excited about this game because I really don't see getting bored with it any time soon. You can adjust your level and your opponents level so that I shouldn't be able to beat the game all of the time. Like I said, if you like rugby, don't need all of the bells and whistles, and have the patience to learn this version, pick up the game.

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