Ra-Ra
Known for their previous title Jonah Lomu Rugby, Swordfish Studios are very comfortable in the model of videogame required for the sport. World Championship Rugby does an excellent job of capturing the basics of the sport in a matter that's easy to control, yet still makes for an interesting game. Passing is mapped to the triggers (or top buttons on the PS2) and the kicking is controlled by the face buttons, similar to Rugby 2004, with each button corresponding to a different type of kick. Defensive play seems to bear a lot of resemblance to Rugby League, with both soft and fierce types of tackling.
Two of the major aspects of the game of Rugby that have never quite translated well to videogames have been the ruck and maul. Rugby 2004 made a little progress towards making these vital parts of the sport more manageable, but World Championship Rugby blows Rugby 2004's attempt out of the water. World Championship Rugby has made the rucks and mauls much easier to manipulate by providing nice on-screen gauges to show the player the progress their team has made in the contest, as well as providing controls that allow players to add more men to a ruck, or dig in during a maul.
Artificial Intelligence is the factor which can make or break a sports game, and fortunately in this case, AI happens to be one of World Championship Rugby's stronger points. Although they're not perfect, the opposing AI in the game puts up a decent challenge, even to those with a good grip on the basics of the sport. The AI does a good job of reflecting a team's strengths and weaknesses, and will adjust its playing style to suit the team it is using.
World Championship Rugby may be on top of the pack when it comes to gameplay, but it is quite lacking in the feature department when compared to EA Sports' Rugby 2004. One of the most concerning omissions in the feature set is the lack of real player names outside of the English team. This is interesting, because all of the player's appearances reflect their real life counterparts, yet have different names. One can edit all of the player names in the options menu if they wish, but in this day and age, we expect to see the real thing as a default. Game statistics are on par with other games on the market, but seem to lack the glitz presented in Rugby 2004. The camera options are quite thin, with only three different view points - a sideline angle, a bird's eye view and an above angle. The most annoying thing about the camera in this game is that you can't always keep the camera behind your team, which leads to the player having to make blind kicks if they are using the bird's eye or above angles. World Championship Rugby does have a nice array of game modes, with the usual tournaments, World Championships, Leagues and Cups, but lacks both the licensing and local competitions that were featured in Rugby 2004.
Comic Book Football?
Normally, sports game development teams try to capture as much realism in their games as is possible - usually by placing a lot of emphasis in producing the most realistic graphics they can. This doesn't seem to be the case in World Championship Rugby. Players in the game seem to have a comic book-like design, especially in regards to facial and muscle features. This is especially amusing when you begin to realize that the players look like their real life counterparts (despite not having the correct names). That said, the facial features seem to look a damn sight better than anything in Rugby 2004, and the animation is quite smooth for the most part. Players will get progressively dirty throughout the game, with dirt and grass stains appearing on their uniforms, as the game begins to take its toll on the playing surface.
With the roots of World Championship Rugby being firmly grounded in England, only English stadiums have been recreated, which is a bit of a disappointment to international fans. The grounds which have been selected for digitalization have been recreated faithfully, and look more than up to scratch. Unfortunately, the game still features a flat crowd outside of the occasional crowd close up shots after a team scores. World Championship Rugby features a 60 Hz mode, for those interested in a full screen experience.
(Editor's Note - We discovered after we put this review up that the Playstation 2 version of the game suffers severe slowdown at the right hand end of the field. Please be wary of this when making your decision)
World Championship Rugby's most disappointing aspect is the sound - which seems to be lagging behind the rest of the game. Menu music is rather generic, and sound effects are what you'd come to expect in a football game, but the commentary seems to let everything down. With no player names, the commentary flow doesn't seem to be as effective as other football games on the market. Add the usual grating football commentary formula to this equation, and most players will be turning the announcers off after a handful of matches.
Give the damn cup back!
World Championship Rugby has snuck up upon us, and delivered one of the most enjoyable Rugby experiences to date. While the game provides us with one of the most entertaining gameplay experiences seen in a Rugby title, it lacks the little things that make a sports game great, such as player names and licenses from the various Rugby organizations, decent commentary and realistic player appearances. If one isn't too bothered by these omissions, and is just after a solid Rugby experience, then World Championship Rugby is highly recommended.
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