Rugby 08 Review - PS2

7.5

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Audio: 7
Multiplayer: 7
Innovation: 7

Introduction

With the world preparing for the Rugby World Cup in France during September, EA has impeccably timed their release of Rugby 08 in order to capitalise on this great tournament, which only comes around every four years.

Gameplay

With Rugby 06, EA created a very popular and fluid game, and thankfully they have kept it up with Rugby 08. The game is very similar to the previous version, but if you’re onto a good thing, why change it?

Again, EA has created a game that can be picked up by almost anyone. Due to the simple controls you can instantly begin playing the game, though there is a tutorial that demonstrates the fundamental skills if you need help. Despite this, if you haven’t come into contact with the sport of rugby union before, you’ll be sitting there for hours trying to understand the game as it assumes you have prior knowledge and a grasp of the rules.

The controls make use of the L1 and R1 shoulder buttons to pass the ball left or right. Unfortunately, just like all the other rugby games released over the years, Rugby 08 can suffer from delayed responses when you get your player to pass the ball. You press the button, and a few seconds later the ball gets passed. In the game of rugby, fast ball movement is essential in attacking and not being tackled. Many times your player will have the ball and the defense will step up to stop your run but instead of the player passing when you press the button, he stands there and gets gang tackled. Not something that someone would want to be happening to them when they are down in the World Cup final with five minutes left to play. Even though this does not happen every time you pass, it can happen at the worst of times and can be very frustrating. Otherwise, the controls work well. Tackling is effortless as it is handled automatically. All you have to do is move your player in the direction of an opponent, and when he’s close enough you have your tackle!

Rugby 08 not only allows you to perform the basics but it also allows you to perform the fun and entertaining moves like shoulder charging and fending off players as you strive to reach the in-goal area and score a try. You can also sidestep or turn players as you run. To execute these moves you must use the right analog stick. Timing is crucial and as the difficulty of the game increases these moves must be called upon more often. A new addition to the game is the Authentic Defense Formations feature. It allows a player to change their defensive strategy on the fly. Once you learn all the controls it’s time to start playing the game. There are many difficulty levels to pick from which is good because it allows you increase the difficulty as you ...