alrighty...
I've had my first few games (halves!) on it and my first impression is I like it, its good and it is very similar to HB's previous games in the series.
First game I drew 3-3 playing as England with a Flood drop goal on 40mins. Initially I was surprised at how fast the gameplay was, but I suspect that was due to me trying to remember the old controls now on an Xbox360 controller (previous versions I always played on PS2) and trying not to use the button combinations that are programmed into my brain for playing FIFA.
Difficulty level for the 1st game seemed good, but that was probably down to my crap controls. Subsequent games are now getting much easier as I spot the gaps (same gaps in R06 & R08) in midfield and sprint around them.
Hape & Tindall are set to too fast in my opinion!
I've drawn 2 games, lost 1 and won 3 so far, with my win margin gradually increasing up to 14-0 and above. Though I play in a way as to not always exploit the known AI gaps just so I can score the most tries and win by huge margins. I like to keep it close up front and attempt as many life-like and intricate play as possible.
Things I've liked...
- Quick-tap penalties - much improved, you no longer get smashed after touching the ball to your foot
- Scrumhalf pick up from a ruck - this has been done really well, becomes a viable option to use now and not only to burst 2-3yards for the tryline
- Pick & go from a ruck - again, this is now a viable option for play.. yards can be gained - really like it
- Winning my own put in at a scrum, dillydallying over a set piece choice and the opposition getting a shove on and winning the ball back through the scrum... colour me surprised!
- General pick & go forward play from rucks/mauls & scrums feels improved and useful ingame
- Commentary, sounds very fluid and in keeping with real life commentary. I never listen out carefully (in any sports game) to see if they match up saying exactly with what move has just been performed on the pitch, but as background noise and soundbytes while playing, my opinion is that it sounds very good.
- Grubber kicks, tried this once and was not superman tackled or made to knock on, so from that limited perspective its a 100% improvement
- The AI does infringe, initial memory is that I got 2 penalties in a brief spell of a match in my own half when SA were loosing and trying madly to win back possession. This was a very rare occurrence in previous ***les.
Generally, all the animations while the same/very similar to previous ***les, run much smoother or are better suited to this engine their using.
Dislikes...
- same old gaps as previous ***les in the midfield, but we're on Easy, so letting this one slide until I play the full version
- graphics... not great for this generation at all, but I had my eyes open coming into this as to what they would be like, so I'm not going to complain about them when I was already prepared for it. There is a slightly cell-shaded quality to them as Teh Mite had mentioned, but after a few games now this is becoming less noticeable.
Undecided...
Still getting to grips with the Ruck play, initial feel is that I like it, but I need to give it more legs to see how it develops. I do like the rucking strategy options though, as nearest man has helped me out a few times where I'd have been done over in past ***les.
Setplays... not really used them as yet
Lineouts... not seen too many so far, but have seen the AI steal one from me - waiting to see just how random/automated this aspect might become
Chip kick... I've actually not tried it yet
Overall at first impression, IMO it is nothing like a ground breaking or tipple A ***le, but it is a smooth, well paced rendition of rugby that I can already see (with the numerous tweaks and improvements) will be a great addition to the genre, particularly when online play is activated in the full ***le (if the online setup is capable of giving seamless match). There are that much more actual useful gameplay options for a human player to use now, that when faced against another actual person, it should be a proper contest.
(I've never actually played against another person on any of the previous ***les, so am keen at having to pit my wits against another thinking/breathing opponent!)
