Rugby 2005 (PC)

---

---

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2006-02-21 rating:
good game this
This game is really good and it gives you a real insight into the game of rugby union. You get a to find out how important a fly-half is to a side, and how tactical kicking can win you a game. You get to find out how a crap scrum-half will lose you a game and a good one will win the game for you. All in all, a really good game, but it could be excellent with just a bit of tweaking. If you've got an advantage for a penalty and you kick , it's advantage over. This only happens for a advantage for a knock-on. For a penalty advantage the ref should bring play back. Its only a minor beef tho. Also you choose to play as Richmond and the commentary names you as harlequins. if you play in a league with the new points system, sometimes another team will win summat like 64-0, and only be credited with 4 points. Surely they scored four tries in that 64-0 to get a bonus point! With just a bit of tweaking this game could be excellent, but dont let that put you off. I'm a rugby union fan and I play it all the time

---

review by: paulr103 date: 2005-12-01 rating:
Give me Rugby 2004 any day.
Rugby 2005 has it all. Great graphics and effects, the moves, the passing, the tackles and the players - everything except intuitive gameplay.

When a conversion is taken, there seems to be an endless number of camera angles but none when it comes to gameplay. Camera angles are limited to four - sideline (speaks for itself), broadcast (like sideline but zoomed in) and classic and classic 2 both of which seem to limit you to one end of the pitch only. All this leads to a real lack of depth and perspective.

It doesn't stop there unfortunately, player selection during fast moving play is haphazard at best and the tendency of the scrum half to throw the ball half way down the pitch to anywhere except one of his own team is infuriating. Which is a good way to sum up the game, infuriating, and unintuitive.

I'm sorry, I have to say it: Give me Rugby 2004 any day.

---

review by: date: 2005-11-09 rating:
Definite improvement
This is the best so far. The graphics are improved although not to the standard of EA's football equivalent for 2005. The gameplay is good although the laws aren't applied perfectly which can be annoying for somebody who knows them. One thing that I find very irritating though is that you can't pop a pass from the tackle - very annoying.
EA has, as only EA can, got most of the team's sponsorships and official jerseys which is excellent, it certainly adds to the authenticity of the game.
The voice of the referee is dreadful, it sounds like they got Stephen Hawking in to do it but the commentary is very good. The long replays also take up time and I for one certainly don't like seeing the opposition's tries again and again.
But overall this is a good game, certainly the best rugby game on the market. The playability is good which is really the most important aspect of a game.

---

review by: mystery757 date: 2005-10-27 rating:
Good, fun game.
This a good, fun game and great for rugby fans.
You start by choosing your favourite team - which is very handy if you want to play with that team most of the time and then before you can play you have to do a tutorial. The tutorial is a good idea as it makes sure you know the basics before you play a match.
Once you can play, i'd suggest you started on easy. Easy is very easy but is good to get the hang of the game and once you feel that you are ready you can go on to normal and then hard.
Saving and loading can be confusing and frustrating to begin with but once you know how it is alright.
One flaw i feel is that you cant edit already made players. This is a problem if there is a position mistake or if you want to make your favourite team much better.
You can create players though and there is probabally too much detail, it's as if you are making a sim on The Sims (another EA game).
Overall it is a fun game and well worth the buy for any rugby fan.


review by: coates888 date: 2005-03-22 rating:
OK, but room for improvement
Heaps better than EA's last effort, Rugby 2004; but still a way to go. Reviewed on a 2.8Ghz P4, 512Mb DDR-RAM, with 64Mb graphics...

Looks: improved, about FIFA 2002 standard, can go up to 1600x1200 resolution (high-end graphics cards recommended). As expected, EA has all the brand/franchise/team licenses, so all jerseys, stadia, emblems, etc. are authentic for 2005. Menus updated and are customisable to your favourite team.

Gameplay: essentially the same set-up as Rugby 2004 but explained much better through tutorials and on-screen during play. Set-piece/moves are selectable in play (rather than the tedious and clunky screen overlays of yore). Most (but not all) laws and game physics are accurate. Easy is peasy, hard takes getting used to.

Controls: Expert controls a bit tricky and quite a handful for keyboard/mouse users (definite lag experienced; unfortunately, I don't have a joypad to test out). Frustrating thing is player selection, which doesn't always pick the player you need most (or think you do anyway!). Sometimes there can be a delay going from offense to defence and vice-versa; e.g. a player might leap into the air to make a diving tackle when you actually meant to commit him to a ruck.

Extras: player creation centre, but some problems. Isn't clear how you can import an already existing player and change their stats. Otherwise, you must create a player from scratch right down to such details as "nose protrusion", "brow height", "lip size" (seriously, no joke!). So still some problems there which need work (perhaps EA can update/patch, or Modders out there will eventually make life easier in this regard?)

An improvement, certainly; but more of it needed again! WCR's gameplay is somewhat better and more intuitive; even Codemaster's 1996 Jonah Lomu rugby is to an extent. If you're into management/simulation, then perhaps ProRugby Manager is more your thing. Nevertheless, if you like seeing all the big names/teams/franchises out there in your colours, then there's only one choice really.

---

Similar products

Rugby 08 (PC DVD)
Pro Rugby Manager 2 (PC CD)
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II (PC DVD)
Rugby World Cup 2007 - Official Review
World Championship Rugby (PC CD)

---

Similar categories

PC & Video Games . Categories . Games . Sports . Rugby
PC & Video Games . Substores . Content Stores . Brand Stores . Electronic Arts Games . PC Games . Sport
PC & Video Games . Substores . Custom Stores . Promotion Tree . PC & Macintosh . Games . Sports
PC & Video Games . Refinements . PEGI Rating (age_range) . 3 years and over
PC & Video Games . Refinements . Platform (feature_browse-bin) . PC & Macintosh . Windows

---