After having a few issues with the poor distribution in the UK (N. Ireland to be precise) I got hold of my copy last Wednesday from Gamestop and can happily say that the game is definately a grower and between it and RWC2011, is currently my preferred rugby game.
Spent a good 5-6 hrs solid at the game on my first night and I do admit to coming away feeling totally underwhelmed with it, to the point of considering returning it the next day. Was this really what all the hype was about? Really? It felt more like a Rugby League imitation of Union.
I persevered and focused on a couple of things that have improved my perception & enjoyment of the game so much:
1. RC needs to be played without a controls or game-flow hangover from RWC2011. The 2 games play very differently in terms of control layout and gameplay style or flow.
2. Use the "find playmaker/FH/FB" (or whatever its called) pass option regularly to control the game. The first pass off a ruck is generally not going to your main man as in RWC, so once this is understood, you can't complain when a lock is the first receiver when the option (albeit less known for a beginner used to playing EA ***les or RWC2011) is there to bypass that incorrectly postitioned player regularly.
3. Strongly consider who you bring in to contact and where... running your scrumhalf off a ruck, away from support and into a clutch of forwards will rightly lose you the ball, whatever ruck bind options you then use.
I was very sceptical about the game and the first few hours, despite loving the high quality presentation and graphics, left me really wondering how I just couldn't connect with this game.
After a further 2 nights of extended gameplay (5-6 hrs each again as well as playing with customisation - Currie Cup, yay!) I can say my opinion has severly shifted. It needs to be given a chance, preferrably on the easier modes to learn the controls and gameplay style, before moving up to hard and expecting to still enjoy it.
I enjoy the forward play and structured/tactical gameplay in real rugby, so loved these options and the ability to execute them in RWC2011 and as such my time with that game overshadowed how I was playing RC. The fact that the ability to easily execute the set-play and forward based game was missing really grated with me initially.
But giving the game another chance and playing it to it's strengths has really started to make it shine. Loose play, running lines, tackle momentum (and the superb animations), general AI attacking play and lineout gameplay are all far superior to RWC2011.
These are in addition to the presentation values, general animations, tournament/team options, and the multitude of customization options that are also much, much better then those offered by RWC2011.
The final overriding plus point for this game are the excellent camera options/angles that offer just so much more ability to see the game and the options open to you across the pitch whilst also keeping the quality presentation and graphics visible & enjoyable.
There are numerous areas where I'm less then happy, but the positives are good enough to make these inconveniences as opposed to game breakers.
Problems/Improvements
1. Lack of structured, planable forward play - let us pass to forwards from a ruck, pick and go from a ruck with a forward, N8 pick up from a scrum, maul from a lineout
2. No setplays - whilst the free form, running rugby in the game is good, providing set plays would allow a planned attack to begin that can later develop into the open, off-the-cuff running rugby that the game is so good at. Making it up as you go along all the time is not always desirable.
3. No quick lineouts - too often has a great defensive clearing kick been made but with no pressure following up on it, and still I still have to wait and reset for the full lineout.
4. Lack of breakdown tactics (cannot infringe, steal/kill the ball). Leads to less kickable points options.
5. Passes that can cover half the pitch and more - very unrealistic... should the ball be given defined distance value that it can't exceed?
6. Limited place-kick gameplay - allow us to adjust the trajectory and power applied to a kick, have the kicking meter always on display as opposed to hidden by the "press A to start kick" prompt which disappears to show the kicking meter already on the move. We should be able to see when it starts as opposed to playing catch-up with the already moving meter! The wind direction/speed display is great and makes you have to judge it yourself (as opposed to a generic 12kph wind speed value) but otherwise RWC2011 kicking meter options win out when compared.
7. Allow varied trajectory on chip kicks - again I see RWC2011 being the better option here.
8. Quick grubber kicks are nearly useless - to use them properly they almost always have to be held down to bring in the slow-mo mode, increase their default speed/distance to make the quick tap grubber a viable option.
9. Scrums move far too much and the ball doesn't move at all. - been said alot already, but they do go all over the place yet the ball seems to sit static until your N8 walks over it (other then that the mechanic in place is very good)
10. Custom logo options - a very poor selection. With the editing options being so good, it's a shame more generic options couldn't have been added.
11. Custom team names - again could be improved upon with more generic names/places used that would not infringe on unobtained licenses.
12. Limited custom kits - whilst the selection is decent, it is limited enough to make you realise what this could have been. Provide a greater selection of varied kits or alternatively allow us to change the colours used on those kit designs provided (2-3 changeable colours on jersey, change shorts & socks colours independant of the jersey selected)
13. No cup mode available in "Create a Competition" - why are we unable to create a straight knockout tournament (no groups involved)?
Much of the above has been said before by others, so I'm just adding my weight to the already established wants (for a further patch or probable sequel) and there are some things I've not mentioned that are probably a given to be improved upon, such as decreasing offloads and the need to remove player movement restrictions between leagues, but they have been covered better elsewhere and the game does provide some means to get around those 2 problems.
I honestly didn't think I'd enjoy the game having watched the videos and learned the reputation of the previous Sidhe League games. I did (still do I think?) enjoy the limited RWC2011 game for what it did well, but it's RC that I think about when not playing and which I come away from with a sense of fun & enjoyment (RWC2011 tends to be a tenser affair, online and offline).
The game does deserve a chance and should be played without control pre-conceptions from other games. It takes time to learn and become competent at, longer again to master it I suspect.
Well done Sidhe!
(but boo to the crappy UK distribution & release policy... surely it won't be repeated should a sequel be commissioned!)