Best rugby game up to this date
Hands down, this is the best Rugby game out on the market... largely because there hasn't been THAT many rugby orientated games ON the market. Ever since England's win in the 2003 rugby world cup final against Australia, more and more software developers and publishers are getting there hands dirty and creating rugby games, arcade as well as simulation.
The number of game options is a joke, not in a bad way, but in the sense that if I wasn't a rushing player (as I set the game for 5mins each half) and actually set it for a 10mins a half game, I would be there forever as there is Tri-Nations, World Championship (World Cup), European Tour (Heineken Cup), Six Nations, GUINESS PREMIERSHIP (about time), The Lions Tour (maybe not :p), Super 14, and this is to name a few. But lets not ignore Rugby 06's answer to a "franchise" or "career" or "season" mode... World League where you must take a struggling team from the lowest lows of the divisional and league tables respectively, and take them to the highest highs. And by playing the game on different settings and game tournament options, you can unlock videos of the Australian Wallabies squad and for the first time play AGAINST the British & Irish Lions.
Like many things EA Sports put their name to, it comes out as true to a simulation of the sport they aim at, as humanly possible, and this is no different. You get a real feel of the game, mainly due to the introduction of a number of improved gameplay attributes, mainly offload passing and quick penalties. In previous EA licensed Rugby games, after an infringement, you had no option but to choose a scrum, kick at goal, punt, or to run, all in which gave the opposing team time to regroup and organise. Rugby isn't like that in real life, there's always the choice of a quick-tap if the opportunity arises, so this inclusion this year made me smile from cheek-to-cheek.
The option of accepting job offers from rival clubs in the World League is another vast improvement on last years game as the team you chose, you had to stick with, which was just horrid, and even if you were the best team in the world like Toulouse or the worst team in the world like Leeds Tykes, you were still entered in Division 3 and had to work your way up, very unrealistic. In this version you choose one of 8 or 10 teams, the worst in each country (England:- Bristol, France:- Castres, Scotland:- Glasgow etc.) and you only get the job offers if you're producing well on the field. Also introduced this year is the ability to be handed job targets, such as avoid relegation, reach the quarter-finals of the knockout cup, win the world league division 1 title, a real mix and match depending on your team pre-season, and previous league positions and knockout cup progression.
A couple of flaws, not as much flaws, but improvements come Rugby 07 (as it is fast becoming a year-after-year title much like Pro Evo or FIFA) must include the possiblity to negotiate a players contract or negotiate transfer fees, because currently, Rugby 06 runs on a "this is how much money you have, come the end of the season, it has to exceed the amount of money your squad of players have coming to them". Adding divisions OUTSIDE of the Guiness Premiership would be nice as being a Harlequins fan, I couldn't play as them as they were relegated come the end of the 04/05 season, much like Leeds Tykes fan won't be albe to play as their favourite side come 07 if it continues this way.
Otherwise this is a great lil' game, sure it has some way to go, but this is definately promising as I remember an EA game POSING to be about Rugby... must have been as it was in fact called Rugby, even had the gentle-giant that is Martin Johnson on the front, and my goodness that was a joke. Looked blocky, could only play limited match types and the handling and controller response was beyond words. This is definately a game for the Rugby lovers, playing or armchair, if you've only STARTED watching rugby because of England's World Cup success and that's about it... go for "Rugby Challenge", that game is more for the arcade fan, as this gaming franchise is going places, and soon.