The Review Thread of RWC 2011

[raziel_eire]

First Official Review is up @ IGN...

... and it's not good

check out the link: http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/118/1189590p1.html

They've given it a score of 5/10 and were wholly unimpressed by it.

They tread over much of the ground that has been discussed on TRF, regarding lack of licenses, stripped down modes, similarity to R08, graphically not current gen standards etc, some of which is valid but also does not take into account the change in circumstances for HB since R08.

They speak very little about the gameplay, bar that the controls are passable... something I find strange/harsh as the controls match that of R08 and I was of the belief that the vast majority of people don't have an issue with the controls, but actually think they are good.

I can't say it's a great review piece but some will like their style and some won't. I personally think their movie reviews are very similar to my own views, but found some of the their games reviews to be very off the mark from what I think.

Anyways, there it is, love or hate IGN and their reviews, but they're mainstream games press and they're reviews will be noticed - not a good start for RWC11 (if you take heed of review scores).

 

[jim546]

Meh, it's IGN, I believe the same people who think next GOTY will be MW3. Yeah....

 

[action1978]

I guess that is about right for a mainstream games site, 5 is normally average in my book but mediocre in theirs, I have played plenty of average rated games and enjoyed them. one thing I noticed is that once the big review sites set the bar most others follow suit.
not a good start at all

 

[abczyx]

It might well be. MW3 looks amazing. Bad games don't sell 20 million copies like MW2 did.

I've gotta say, I've been expecting this. The demo felt very much like '08 and had many of the same flaws, and just focusing on the World Cup was inevitably going to lead to a shallow game. And before you ask, no, I'm not a Sidhe fanboy. I'm just a gamer who's patiently waited more than 4 years for a next-gen Rugby game and is a bit disappointed with the end product.

Edit: The first line is obviously aimed at jim546

 

[stan_stan]

Gonna be hard to strip an out of context quote from this bad boy for marketing.

 

[markshaw]

eeeek not good at all.

 

[DorceOutSide]

the game is okay apart from the running

 

[Dizzy]

sounds completely and utterly fair imo. I mean come on guys, you dont really rate this game do you??... It pretty much IS Rugby08 without the longevity and lack of licenses... after years and years of waiting you guys are seriously satisfied with this?... come on guys!

 

[Thingimubob]

Didn't think that was that well written a review, he seemed to ignore a couple of key areas of gameplay, and focus on the missing licenses (which is obviously a big disappointment) instead. No mention of the ruck overhaul, which is a huge improvement on the previous games, and doesn't really bother saying about the different AI difficulties, so we have no idea if he found the AI 'dopey' on all difficulties or just the one he played (if he only played one, doesn't say at all).

EDIT: Little harsh on the commentary too, since it's one of the better one's I've heard on a sports game for a while. Also think it's one of the first to have a choice of commentators? Someone might have to correct me on that one though. Prefer it to the Fifa's I've got anyway, but then again I think Andy Gray is a knob.

 

[Dizzy]

you really dont think so?.. I mean come on, its been 4 long years and we have the same game with a SLIGHTLY better ruck system, come on guys dont tell me you're satisfied with this...

 

[UilamOsa]

Actually IGN do some decent reviews. And they've been picking a few others (rather than MW3) for GOTY.

That said - it is the AUS IGN.

They've come up with some completely childish articles.

And the review pretty much attacked the licensing issue which should have been at least 1 paragraph. In the 10 Paragraph review it takes up 3.

Feels like a thinly veiled attempt to troll, rather than just an unbiased review.

 

[Ripper]

sounds completely and utterly fair imo. I mean come on guys, you dont really rate this game do you??... It pretty much IS Rugby08 without the longevity and lack of licenses... after years and years of waiting you guys are seriously satisfied with this?... come on guys!

Charlie and Dan gotta pay those bills somehow...

 

[Rez]

The review is actually probably too fair considering this game is sub-par and simply a money grab. I realize HB studios had budget constraints etc but even so this is really no excuse to release a game in this state and is going to do nothing but heavily tarnish their brand and likely call the end of their rugby game endeavors.

 

[joydivision1979]

you really dont think so?.. I mean come on, its been 4 long years and we have the same game with a SLIGHTLY better ruck system, come on guys dont tell me you're satisfied with this...

My sentiment exactly.

Although I do understand why people have been so big on this video game (The undendiable passion for Rugby by the guys on this forum and that is comendable) but sadly from a gamers point of view it looks destined for the scrap pile. Anyone who knows anything about sports video games could tell the minute they played the demo it was going to be very, very average.

Although not always spot on, IGN is usually the benchmark for the internet reviewers and sadly the rest will follow suit.

 

[joydivision1979]

The review is actually probably too fair considering this game is sub-par and simply a money grab. I realize HB studios had budget constraints etc but even so this is really no excuse to release a game in this state and is going to do nothing but heavily tarnish their brand and likely call the end of their rugby game endeavors.

It dosnt have to be that way if everyone would just back RC- They reckon they need 300, 000+ sales worldwide to make the second ***le.

Cmon rugby lovers this is your only hope- get out there and pre order RC

 

[RS88]

It dosnt have to be that way if everyone would just back RC- They reckon they need 300, 000+ sales worldwide to make the second ***le.

Cmon rugby lovers this is your only hope- get out there and pre order RC

So that is where all the hate comes from. You think that if you slag it off enough we will all finally see the light and not buy RWC and in so doing RC will be victorious. I admit that RWC has its faults but from what I have see from gameplay videos so has RC. But I am a rugby fan and will get both. Regarding the article, it seems a RC fanboy finally got his opinion printed.

 

[dan the man]

It's a very fair review IMO... Now i know that they had a small budget and no longer had the backing of EA Sports, but thats not a valid excuse. Especially as they said that the game is at full price release!

I'm glad to finally see a review that talks about the MASSIVE short comings of this game, now i'm sure that someone will tell me i'm just stupid fanboi but i don't really care... I've played the 'other game' and although it does have it's flaws, it's light years ahead of RWC 2011...

 

[kovana]

My gosh.. Pretty fair review...

IMO, the lack of any other tournaments made quite a lot of people disappointed. I know they did not have a big budget as before.. But perhaps, they could have added some other tournaments... Just fake ones as well..

A European nations cup, A 4 nations cup... Americas Cup, Pacific Cup... Etc etc... Im just saying.. We should have seen this coming..

I dont mind the graphics or the gameplay.. (hopefully they just fixed glitches),

But i do see myself buying this game because i wanna play a rugby game.. And im also buying RC.


I really hope that HB can do a better game in the future.. Hope they dont close shop.

 

[Jedi Rugby]

Actually IGN do some decent reviews. And they've been picking a few others (rather than MW3) for GOTY.

That said - it is the AUS IGN.

They've come up with some completely childish articles.

And the review pretty much attacked the licensing issue which should have been at least 1 paragraph. In the 10 Paragraph review it takes up 3.

Feels like a thinly veiled attempt to troll, rather than just an unbiased review.

I think you're wrong about this. The author went out of his way to make the point that PES was a quality game without licenses. It's just that the game itself (in the authors opinion) didn't do enough to overcome these shortcomings.

 

[ozmanoshe]

I think this sort of review was always going to result. Most of the people on this forum forget that we represent a minority of gamers who are willing to overlook glaring flaws in game adaptations of a sport we love. The fact is that the reviewer has to take into consideration the benchmark set by other sporting ***les out there, the same as when you review fps or rpgs, you don't review them in isolation, but compare them with other offerings out there.

Obviously when you do this rwc is always going to come up short. I think it was a fair call to ignore the budgetary restrictions when the game is being sold at the same price as a AAA ***le. It will be interesting to see if they take note of the gameplay more in the RC review