.co.uk Review

In a nutshell:
With the Six Nations more popular than ever there’s never been a greater demand for a decent rugby sim and this game is good enough to satisfy almost all comers. With a full range of both international and national teams this has everything a rugger fan could ask for.

The lowdown:
Rugby is not the easiest of sports to simulate for a video game but this is undoubtedly the best effort yet. It plays hard and fast with the rules sometimes (which is to say it ignores them if it will unduly affect the flow of play) but as an arcade style sports game it all works perfectly in context. Although occasionally unresponsive the controls cope well with the complexities of the game and the tutorials are great at helping you no matter whether you’re more unfamiliar with rugby or video games. There are also mountains of tournaments and cups, as well as some wholly original concepts like the Superstar mode - where only one player on each team can score points.

Most exciting moment:
Winning a virtual Grand Slam in the Six Nations cup with the country of your choice.

Since you ask:
Developers Swordfish Studios also produced the excellent World Championship Rugby for Acclaim, as well as the classic John Lomu Rugby for Codemasters.

The bottom line:
It’s not the Pro Evolution Soccer of rugby but it comes close.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description

For the first time in many years the Northern Hemisphere Rugby nations are now on equal billing with their Southern Hemisphere counterparts and the competition for the top position has never been so close with even the minnows of the International scene coming up with shock results. Rugby Union has never been so competitive or so popular, even at club level.

Rugby Challenge 2006 promises to deliver the action with slick presentation, together with unsurpassed hard hitting encounters that avid Rugby fans richly deserve and expect. Developed by Swordfish Studios, which was recently named Developer of the Year at the second annual TIGA awards, Rugby Challenge 2006 will feature/include:

Fast and Fluid action, - true realism - with gameplay that is highly addictive and is accessible for every fan.

Prestigious licenses: The 6 Nations tournament - The Heineken Cup - Official domestic premierships (The Guinness Premiership for the UK, The Celtic League for Scotland, The LNR and the Top 14 for France) - The official national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy Legendary stadia such as Murrayfield, Lansdowne Road, Twickenham and Flaminno.

Updated data for the 2006 rugby season including; over 450 official teams and 2000 official players! Play in any type of rugby championship together with exclusive new gameplay modes: Cups, Championships, Premiership Leagues, Test matches& Play the most mythical matches of the 20th century with the appropriate rules. A realistic and detailed career mode including player transfers, coach hiring, weekly training sessions, financial management, injury management. A comprehensive training mode to learn and understand the rules of Rugby. With three levels of training (easy, medium, expert), perfect your skills and become the king of the stadium! Motion capture of professional players for even more realism.Play with up to 4 of your friends.Thanks to the editor mode change the names of the players, teams and tournaments! Create your own leagues and cups!Utilizing a mixture of motion captured and hand animation for top class presentation, along with cutting edge AI for sophisticated tactical manipulation, Rugby Challenge 2006 will delight gamers with its immersive gameplay and easy to understand manipulation.