Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

EA Sports Franchise brings us with another Rugby Union game, this time it's Rugby 2006 – the best game in the franchise so far, better than Rugby 2008 if I may say so myself. EA Rugby 2006 enables the player to play in competitions such as the World Championship (which is similar to the World Cup), Super 14, Guiness Premiership, Lions Tour, Tri Nations, 6 Nations, 10 Nations and the World League Franchise in which you get to trade players and there are 4 seasons at most. This is already a good sign; a lot more tournaments to play in than that of Rugby 08. Gameplay, controls and graphics are excellent, with the player easily able to pass, offload, srummage, line out etc.


In the game, the player has the role of controlling many teams including the Wallabies, All Blacks, England, France, Scotland, Wales, NSW Waratahs, Lions, ACT Brumbies, Crusaders, Barbarians, Toulouse – and this is just naming a few. A special addition which adds to the better general gameplay is the ability to offload pass, which is a sensible addition – and easy to do in the game.


There are three difficulties for the different player – Club difficulty for the beginner, Pro difficulty for the average player, and Elite difficulty … well it's for the elite players. Due to the addictiveness of the game, it is an easy transition from club to pro, and pro to elite. A transition from Club to Elite straightaway… well good luck there! A criticism that I have to make here: The player can only choose from 5, 10 or 20 minute halves. I'm the sort of guy who considers 5 minutes too short, and 10 or 20 minutes too long. I'd like 7 or 8 minute halves – a total of at least 14 minutes spent on a game. What I find is that the player starts to get slightly bored after playing 10 minute halves. Well, maybe that's the attention span of a teenage boy… only 20 minutes!


The game graphics are pretty good – players look like replicas of themselves in real life during the 2005/2006 Rugby season, and their last names are clearly written below their replicas whilst they are running so as to avoid confusion. Bear in mind that the graphics obviously do not match up to the standards of today, and the original X-Box console itself is outdated, and Rugby 06 was made in 2005, so do not judge the game too harshly.
Along with the large amount of tournaments that the game has to offer, it also has a quickplay mode, in which you can choose any team, to verse any other team, at any stadium you wish to play in. For example, you could get the England team to play against the Western Force if they wish. This increases the players addiction of the game by quite a lot.


The controls in the game are straightforward – easy to use, easy to master, easy to remember. However, if the player is still unsatisfied with the standard control system – the player may change setting if they wish. Personally, I think the scrums in Rugby 06 are a lot more realistic than that of Rugby 08.
AI in this game varies on difficulty, however on Elite difficulty, I still find that AI are stupid if you run diagonally. However, this still keeps the game fun because of the linebreaks made at ease whilst running diagonally, and doesn't make the game seem impossible to beat. The AI in this game are sensible, again, this is variable depending on difficulty. The AI on your own side seem to know how to set up a backline automatically, how to tackle automatically, which makes the whole game easier for the player.


Another minor flaw in this game is the kick-off and "punt" penalty option – it is very difficult to find the "out" line or "touch-line" in the game, because the camera angle only stays in one position whilst the player kicks, which is a setback. However, again, this is simply a minor flaw, as penalties rarely come by.


Sensible additions to this game include the addition of "Impact Players" – usually they are players with a high rating such as 90 or above (Rating System: players rated out of 99). These impact players excel in their particular abilities, be it fending/palming off the opposition, speed, playmaking, linebreaking etc. Another sensible addition is offloading, which may be done at the tap of a button – however, beware, as offloads are easily intercepted by the opposition team.


The audio in this game is crisp and clear. The game soundtrack consists of mainly rock and metal and alternative music – I will not state whether I like the soundtrack or not – that will only draw criticism. The commentators, annoying they may be at times, their voice comes out in clear sounds and it is easy to understand what they are saying.


Multiplayer on the Xbox for Rugby 06 consists of up to 4 players. Players choose their team, and face off against the mates, it's as simple as that – and it's fun.


To conclude, I recommend this game for… well anybody, even those who aren't 'rugbyheads'. It's an excellent game, it's cheap now (you can buy this game second hand on Xbox, or brand new on PC). If you're thinking of buying Rugby 08 or Rugby 06, I say get Rugby 06, as Rugby 08 isn't much of an improvement – infact, I think Rugby 08 has gone backwards. Rugby 06 has nearly 10 tournaments, whereas Rugby 08 only has 5 or 6. With unlimited possibilities in this game, players may find themselves stuck on this game for quite a long time.