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Favourite 5 & Least Favourite 5 Features of our Games

i only know rugby 2008, but i loved it although I stopped playing quickly

5 favorite
- game-play was really fun and engaging despite limitations hereafter
- shooting was good, altough penalty kick should have a more developed engine (shooting gauge to be more difficult, wind more important, luck more impact, player's morale etc...)
- passing combination and variety
- league, career mode with budget management and possibility to recruit new players

5 cons
- Missing the official French leagues Top 14 and Pro D2, really need to expend that. Should have H cup and ERC Amlin.
- Not possible to create your own team, customize jerseys, create players etc...
- AI not challenging enough, need more difficult mode
- Maul / scrum / ruck management was poor. Scoring was too easy thrugh mauling + pick & go.
- Players tiredness from a game to the next one and injuries during a game or before (training) not at all realistic
 
Best:
*Lions Tours and representative teams
*world cup (which will no doubt be a feature in Rugby 2012) as well as the domestic tournaments (although could have been more like the french leagues and championship sides)
*the kicking tools - not much else you can really do with the kicks HOWEVER the animations were extrmeley slow
*the dump tackle. nice little feature in there that gave a bit more impact on the whole game
*the stadium models were all quite decent

Worst:
*no online
*faces and player models were terrible(oh and since when has david strettle worn a head guard?!)
*no variety in moves and set pieces, all generic. i didnt want to see jason robinson doing a 'swirve' rather than a side-step and then use a prop who could exactly the same thing
*being able to tackle a diving player over the line and sending them back 5 feet. thats just not realistic enough especially when using a big forward against a small full back
*difficulty - on the hardest setting in the game i was still putting 50 odd points past new zealand with teams like romania
 
Five favourite features:
1. End to end camera view
2. Play as and edit Barbarians squad
3. Lions Tour (Perhaps you should be able to arrange own tour ex. New Zealand's upcoming grand slam tour)
4. Playing against other users (online would be awesome)
5. Just being able to play a rugby game

Five least favourite features:
1. When 2 (or more) users play on the same team, if you attempt to pass the ball to another user controlled player he will either drop the ball or miss it entirely, usually the latter.
2. Kicking on-the-run. For instance, if you attempt to kick/grubber whilst sprinting, after breaking through a gap, you will usually get tackled as you try to kick and therefore loose the ball forward in the tackle. Therefore less delay in getting the ball from hand to foot is needed.
3. Hand-off, sidestep and shoulder charge only had two possible outcomes. should be more like Madden.
4. You should be able to pass to the fullback, in the pocket, from a ruck or scrum in the 22 for kicking purposes.
5. Stats tracking for all competitions should be like World league tracking, ie. top point scorers, try scores etc.
 
5 Favourite thing:
1. Rugby08 Haka - Would be cool if HB Studios could incorporate Kapa O Pango, Nz Maori Timatanga, Sipa Tau, Siva Tau and the Cibi.
2. Rugby06 passing and the dropkick was better than Rugby08. Passing was more controlled by the gamer and the dropkick was more controlled and could also be used as a crosskick.
3. Rugby08 Camera angles were better and could be tweaked by the gamer so it made it more enjoyable to play
4 .Rugby08 Simulated offloads are better and are more accurate than offloading the ball a million times before the opposition get a chance at it.
5. Rugby08 Had alot of glitches which some of the more advanced players could exploit :)

5 Least Favourite things:
1. No late tackles they should be pulled up, chip kick is also a major part of the game I'd love this to be a feature and also a cross kick would be very good for the game too. Also another biggy no online play this would sell alot more if it had online play.
2. Ref calls opposition ball if you run out even if you've got a penalty and gain no advantage
3. If you get high tackled than offload it to another player the ref calls it up straight away instead of seeing if the play could lead to a try which more than often does for most gamers.
4. Turnover from Rucks. Needs an option where any player can pick the ball up from ruck because sometimes your halfback takes an age to get there so the ball gets turned over when it shouldn't.
5. Menu Scrolling not being able to hold down or up when scrolling when your're replacing or swapping players.
 
5 think i liked
>in 2008 you could run on to the ball from a ruck, or scrum, very good
>There were some very accurate player picture, like adam jones
>the challenges thing was cool, made me play the game for much longer than i did with '06
defensive formations were good, but if you could maybe add a few more variations to them, and the set plays


5 think i disliked
>if a winger played at center, thus playing out of position, he would pass like crap, when really he would be able to pass just the same.
>the difficulty of the game was to easy
>the player special ability icon, and star player, made some player superhumanly fast and strong
>more tackling, passing and running animations.
>and last but not least, THE MENU MUSIC/ SOUNDTRACK WAS NOT A RUGBY THEME TYPE OF MUSIC. IT SHOULD BE MORE OF ROCK, THAN A"" Expatriate - "The Spaces Between""
 
I have alot of dislikes but I'll do five for now

-When you tackle someone and they cough the ball up and it goes forward and one of their offside players goes back and picks up the ball which only results in a scrum... It's supposed to be a penalty, which sucks because everytime I do it I have a supporting player inches from picking up the loose ball and out of nowhere an opposition player dives on it or gets it first.

-The charge down and intercept animations... They shouldnt be automatic.. I think you should have control over performing these acts simply because, when I want to make a tackle, it either poorly attempts an intercept or a very poor charge down attempt.

-Rucks, After making a break, you lose the ball everytime, even if you pick a support player whilst you're being tackled and you run to the breakdown first. Ball retention must be heavily looked at in the next game.

-No in game stats, like tackles made, metres gained stuff like that, i think this was all involved in Rugby 2001 but not in the rest of the ea releases.

-The challenge mode had some really ridiculous challenges, like perform four consistent offloads, its hard to do something like that when you never have control of actually attempting to offload. And the intercept challenge, again, you have no control over attempting the intercept therefore its down to pure luck.
 
Favourite Things

Official teams in later versions
Realistic stadiums
Lions tour
Controls been the same
*

Least favourite
The annoying "super dive" When you broke the line if someone pushed to tackle you they would dive and follow you even when you change line or were far away!
Rucking
Turnovers were far too easy
No online mode
And in rugby 06 if you wanted to play with another person on the same team, then you could run awesome lines and catch the ball. In 08 you ended up running past the ball or knocking on, meaning 4 way play was difficult!

Still awesome games thoug..I still play 08 today!
 
Favourites:

1. Liked in Rugby 2001, you could actually modify the players in the database, why is this not incorporated in rugby 2008?
2. In Rugby 2001 as well their were more stadium options, should be more in rugby 2008, this is a favourite in rugby 2001 but also pointing out a reservation for rugby 2008
3. I liked the Rugby World Cup 2007 being licensed, an d the drop goal shootout was really good
4. Gameplay is really fun and accessible
5. World League is good

Cons:

1. The ruck and maul area is a concern, the management has no efficiency, in terms of the control when you have the ball it is unrealistic, you seem to lose the ball even though their is a 5 on 1 situation in a position in the game. Sometimes you just see the ball roll to the other side of the ruck.
2. Licensing is also a problem; Alot of players didn't have their full names or incomplete names. Even in the Rugby World Cup which was susposed to be licensed, some players still had incomplete names or wrong names.
3. Set Plays: As good as they are their are no variations, I would like to set playmakes such as ball being designated to Daniel Carter for example. Set plays need more variations, like setting up a rolling maul, theirs cross kick but they needs more. Also could designate place kickers and tactical kickers as secondary kickers for suck example Daniel Carter being out of position ,Mcalsiter is the secondary kicker and is automaticaly passed to him.
4. Passing; Needs more variation, similar to set plays needs a designated set play, with players having different abilites in passing, such as normal pass, dummy pass, and long ball in varied sitiuations that suit. Example on the verge of scoring, and their is a 3 on 1 situation, if a player who doesen't have that specefic ability to do a good long ball, than ball goes into touch. Just adding more realism to the game.
5. Coaching Strategies: Management such as subs and changing kickers is good and well; But it would be nice to have pre-determined strategies from a coach, dont know what but some form of strategies.
 
It's great too see you guys reading our posts!

Love the game, but my 5 favourite things have already been said so...

5 least favourite aspects:

- Player motion physics needs work:
the players all seem to run at a similar speed, and changing direction is far too easy, especially for a prop. the skill moves like sidestep and hand off need to be redone aswell as a side step is meant to be quick and powerful, not slow and awkward.

- A greater variety of body types are needed for the players, not just huge muscles for all and tall short, fat thin etc.

- Todays rugby is all about picking good lines and hitting them with speed and power:
so it would be good to see more intellectual AI lines off the ball carrier or maybe even player control of a player without the ball to run a really penetrative line. (perhaps a be a pro mode)

- The tackle system needs changing:
as the dive animations are so eratic and can send you in completely the wrong direction, so a more accuracy required here. Also perhaps a hit stick like in madden and NHL to really put the shoulder in like in real rugby.

- modern rugby is an extremely powerful game and i think the animations need to emphasise just how hard the collisions are.

-Rucking needs improving,:
definitely an animation of the first defensive man to the breakdown hunting for and ripping the ball, and then one of attacking players clearing out.
 
Last edited:
Another dislike I just remember is that when you dive to tackle the first five but he just gets the pass away you automatically dive further and hit the 1st receiver before he gets the ball resulting in a penalty.
 
5-Favourites:

A) PLAYER ROSTER: Having extensive range of players are great. Although, would like to have the stats and apperances more accurate - if not, at least add Player-Attributes & Appearance Editor.
B) GRAPHICS: Rugby 08 had great graphics.
C) ALTERNATIVE STRIPS: Having different Home and Away jerseys add realism to the game. It would be good to add more variations though as to even adding TRAINING gears.
D) SET-PLAYS: Would like more plays though, even creating moves like the Madden franchise.
E) WORLD-LEAGUE: Career mode promotes longevity in EA 08, especially if it's not a online game.


5-Least Favourites:

A) MAUL: Mauls are only formed from set-pieces, i.e. Maul-drive after the line-out. If a player is held in the tackle (i.e. not grounded) during broken play, his supporting players should be able to form a maul to advance further up the paddock, i.e. like the Bulls in Super 14, "Rolling Maul". Even the good ol' "JONAH LOMU RUGBY" had better variations to forward-plays.

B) PLAYER ATTRIBUTES (IN SIGNIFICANCE OF): It seemed as though, the most useful attributes regardless of the overall player rating are SPEED, STRENGTH, TACKLE and KICKING, e.g. Anthony Tuitavake with an overall rating of 69, is much more of a threat than say, Stephen Jones with much higher overall rating but with lower ratings on the features I've mentioned.

C) CREATE-A-PLAYER MODE: Not much you can do in Rugby 08 with this feature. You couldn't tweak any facial features in details apart from putting generic forms into a mosaic. Should grab some tips off, the WWE franchise games for creating players and even new teams. BUT MOST OF ALL, THE NEWLY CREATED PLAYERS ALL LOOK LIKE BUBBLE-HEADS so there's no motivation to put 'em in the team where they stand out so much.

D) LIMITED-RANGE OF PLAYER ANIMATIONS: Forwards shouldn't appear to jog and sprint like backs. There should be much wider variations to player-animations, e.g., Bryan Habana's running style vs Doug Howlett's style; grass-cuts, held-up tackles, player being fended-offs more dramatically/simple; injuries that is actually animated during play (e.g. accidental poke in the eye resulting in injury). Each individual players or at least "Star" players should have different running styles, characterised tackling animations, TATTOOs.

E) TOO EASY: The game is simply too easy. AI is very predictable. Japan should not be beating the All Blacks by 50-points in a 15-minute-half game. WE NEED ONLINE-PLAY.
 
I loved the set plays involved, but also feel there should be a wider variety or if possible a set play creator similar to the set piece creator in fifa 10 would be awesome!
Also a hit-stick for the right analog stick to perform big hits or shoulder charges, similar to the madden series would be immense.
 
Favourites:

  • Depth of rosters
  • I thought the graphic of '08 were pretty good - for the most part player faces were good. Needs updating though.
  • I liked the variety of tournaments (particularly pre '08)
  • gameplay was really smooth for the most part.
  • Realistic stadiums (would be better with more weather and day/night options)
Least Favourite:

  • Breakdown mechanics. Every time you make a berak you lose the ball.
  • That in '08 the only world cup you can have is the 2007 one. Playing the same teams with your favourite team in the pool got OLD.
  • COMMENTARY! Why not get a couple of the best from UK/SA/AUS/NZ. I think no matter where you went for it, players would enjoy hearing a new and respectable voice. More comments too.
  • Special moves. It'd be better if a side step was simply a quick left-right with the thumbstick or arrow keys etc.
  • Putting someone out of their best position makes them play like a 4 year old.
 
with all respect the hit stick is a wicked idea but i think it would be used better in a rugby league type game more than union
 
rugbyman9 said:
with all respect the hit stick is a wicked idea but i think it would be used better in a rugby league type game more than union
Click to expand...

You know it isn't an exclusive thing.. they could both use a hitstick
 
Favourites:

  • Gameplay
  • Scrums and lineouts were great but the lineout can do with more options
  • Graphics was good
  • World League was great
  • Camera angles
Least Favourite:

  • The Menu sucked in all the rugby games, if you compare them to Fifa you'll see there's major differences
  • The game needs more teams and more competitions, if it wasn't for world league I wouldn't have been playing rugby 08 for as long as I did
  • Rucks & Mauls
  • Please get rid of the star players
  • We need more variety in the commentary, maybe even base the commentary on where your playing, eg. Murry Mexted and Tony Johnson in New Zealand, Hugh Bladin in South Africa
 
On the commentary front, having many different commentators is good, but they have to say different things. On Ricky Ponting International Cricket, when you hit a four, Ian Bishop will say "I'd pay money just to come and see that," and Tony Greig will say "I'd pay money just to watch that," and so forth and so on for each commentator. The script hasn't been changed since Shane Warne Cricket '99, as far as I can tell. Different voices is good, but they actually have to say different things.

And I'll echo the comments of all who have mentioned the problem with turning the ball over every time you make a break.

Nostalgic side note: Bill McLaren's catchphrases on Jonah Lomu Rugby. :wub:
 
Five Goods:

Great likeness in some players
Good Stadiums

Five not-goods:
Too easy
No control on rucks
Set pieces are a lottery
Most players are not like their human counterparts at all
Maybe you could use some animations and engine from the Madden Saga?

Cheers!
 

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