Rugby 08 review

Smashing nations into smithereens, one World Cup rugby match at a time

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

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    Winning the World Cup

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    All the best players are here

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    Superb dual stick controls

Cons

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    Passing can be frustrating

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    Occasional choppiness

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    No online play

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Pads? Helmets? Bah - those are for wimps. Just in time for the quadrennial Rugby World Cup in September, the toughest sport on the planet makes a return appearance to your PlayStation 2 in the form of Rugby 08. If you know your rucks from your mauls and your blood bins from your scrums, you’ll be right at home with Electronic Arts’ latest tribute to football’s forebear. What’s that - you don’t? No worries, as it teaches you the basics and lets you go from there.

The muddied, rough and tumble action on the field is quite solid, although the movement can get slightly choppy when the action gets overheated. The controls respond particularly well; some nifty dual analog stick tactics let your carrier sidestep, smash into, or otherwise pummel the opposing tacklers with relative ease, while the ruck, line out, and kicking mechanics are intuitive too. Knowing that many of us Yanks will be wholly unfamiliar with much of the goings on at the outset, the fairly good controls tutorial and additional in-depth training really let you soak up the knowledge and familiarize yourself with the fundamentals.

More info

GenreSports
DescriptionRugby might be football's rough-around-the-edges cousin, but nifty dual stick controls make for bone-jarring tackles and plenty of satisfaction.
Platform"PS2"
US censor rating"Everyone"
UK censor rating""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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