Rugby 2005 Critic Reviews

The controls are responsive and the animation has been smoothed out with motion-captured animations and virtually seamless transitions. The Xbox version is much better looking than the PS2 although there are some traces of slowdown, flicker and online lag.

Clearly the best rugby title every made and a vast improvement on what was seen in the series' two previous outings. Sure there are still some frustrations and plenty of room for growth, but Rugby 2005 stands as a worthy virtual alternative to the stud-happy reality.

Despite the fact that the developers still quite haven't managed to replicate the bounce of a rugby ball entirely satisfactorily, kicking now forms a vital part of the gameplay and every kick imaginable can be used to your advantage, including the good old 'Garry Owen' and grubber.

The controls just feel right and the game moves along at a smooth pace. In short, this is a game easy to get into whether or not you're new to the sport.

I hope that EA will adjust the game's camera and offer an online mode in the next installment.

A triumph, and had it not been for these few clumsy fumbles, it could have been a world-beater. As close to the real thing as you're likely to get without strapping on a groin guard.

Includes all the modes that rugby fans would want, with a ready-to-play engine that improves on everything that has previously been available in a rugby video game. The graphics have made a quantum leap, the soundtrack is fun, and the commentary is excellent.

This is one of the few games recently released that fed my "just one more game" desire - and I really had a hard time putting it down.

Everything from the graphics, audio, animations and commentary have all been vastly improved from last year. Unfortunately there's no Xbox Live support.

This game is addictive, pure fun for those who find the sport to their liking, and its presentation is actually pretty sharp, a lot more focused than the somewhat flawed "Rugby 2004" over on the PS2.

A stepping stone to a better game and if EA continue to build on this engine and title they could possibly have the definitive Rugby game.

Audio does a fine job, with some great commentary that never gets old, and is spot on accurate when calling the action on the pitch.

Some very fun moments arise in the various tournament offerings. Hits in the game make "Madden" look like its players are playing patty cake with each other. Controls could have been handled a bit better but what we have is acceptable.

The commentary, though accurate, is repetitive and doesn't induce you to pay attention. It just isn't very interesting to hear the same lines over and over again.

In a market of precisely one, this package lacks a number of bells and whistles (decent multiplayer most of all), but it had me pursuing a repeat of England's World Cup victory for many hours.

While the game serves as only an adequate primer to this tough-guy sport, it's a fairly approachable and fun game, and it's one that does a decent job of conveying the finer aspects of the sport it portrays.

Defense is all about bone-jarring tackles, and after every one there's a mass shoving match (called "the ruck") for possession of the ball.

Rugby lovers will love how far this franchise has come since last year's version.

There is a bit of difficulty with the camera, however--that being the lack of a universally useful view of the pitch. The default side camera is restrictive when it comes to all that punting, and more than once a bit of critical action took place out of view. That's fine for art films, but frustrating here.

Rugby 2005 still sucks. Why? Well, how about the dumbest AI we've witnessed in a sports game since, well, since "FIFA Street."