Rugby Challenge 3, the third (really, Captain Obvious?) iteration of the Rugby Challenge series and the first to hit the new consoles, invites you to take the bad with the good. This is unavoidable, unfortunately, as developer Wicked Witch and publisher Tru Blu aren’t the most well-heeled of studios. If you just went ‘who?’, then you know exactly what we mean.
It’s also your best crack at a fully-fledged rugby video game in years, since Electronic Arts stopped making their own series in 2008. For starters, the teeny little studio that did also went out and licensed all of the major teams, players and tournaments.
Getting Your License
RC3 has extended the licenses beyond just the player appearances for the major countries and the major contests. Iconic stadiums have also been reproduced, which goes a long way to enhancing realism. The regional leagues and even the Sevens series which has been included are quite the detailed lot, beyond what we could have reasonably expected from a title that was made on a budget. Already you’re lucking out but there’s more to come.
Personalised Players
Having A Ball
Straight gameplay is what you’d expect if you played any rugby title released on consoles since 2008. The shoulder buttons let you pass the ball, with longer presses equalling longer passes. Handy for getting to the outside. You’ve got four different kinds of kick to choose from and getting used to those will take an hour to two and there are only really two tackle options: Safe and unsafe. Use them wisely.
And then there are the other problems. Yes, Rugby Challenge 3 has been made on a budget and the player models, replays and commentary – even though it features Grant Nisbett and Justin Marshall in that capacity for the English assessment (there’s French as well) – can’t disguise the fact. More money would have meant more polish and when we look at what they’d done with what they had…
Verdict
Still, you have single games, entire tournaments, a full career mode, online play and then the Be A Pro mode, which owes more than a little of its existence to the EA FIFA’s mode of the same name, at your command, with official, named teams and official locations. We can overlook a few flaws in order to finally play a rugby title that has some legs and a whole lot of options.