Result : 7 - Feels like Rugby, but needs modernising
 | Graphics: 5 - Were good once upon a time.... |
| FMV : 10 - Simply perfect - NZ flags, Haka, Jonah scoring tries. |
| Sound : 6 - see graphics. |
| Music : 7 - Good, but no in-game music?! |
| A.I. : 7 - Nasty. |
| Lifespan : 8 - Loads of tournaments. |
| Gameplay : 6 - Hard, but victory is that much sweeter. |
| Adrenaline : 8 - fast and furious. |
Jonah Lomu Rugby, is unsurprisingly, a rugby sim. Using both the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and the big man himself to boost sales, it comes across as being pretty good, and not at all some cheap cash-in. There ain't a lot of rugby games out there, so it is hard to know how good a job they have done. I guess most comparisons will be vs. soccer games, but the level of competition between the different soccer software houses, and the age of this game makes these comparisons difficult. The other problems are technical aspects. In soccer you may only have say 10 people on-screen at once (half of each team, plus a ref), the nature of rugby means you will often have all of both teams (15 people each) plus a ref and two touch judges to be animated - a definite increase in processor consumption. Also you will want to see the whole field not just a part of it, thereby making the players smaller and harder to detail.
So then, how does JLR do? well the sounds are reasonable, with adequate crowd noises, and numerous grunts and kicking noises. The commentary seems pretty basic, and it interrupts the crowd noises occasionally (without smooth fading). The opening FMV is totally impressive, I love it! but there doesn't seem to be many other sequences in the game (haven't won the World Cup yet). The graphics are ok, given the above explanation, but definitely seem dated compared to the realism from the current crop of soccer games. The controls are extensive, but you cannot customise the buttons. Every move is there, from adding people to mauls, through to grubber kicks. It takes a little while to get used to the number of different moves (for different situations), and this will probably put off non-rugby fans (especially since the game itself is a little more complex than soccer). The AI is quite brutal, at the harder levels, against top teams, they really push you around, win lineouts, and burst through your lines quite easily. This may just be my incompetence, as I haven't played this much yet, but it looks like it will be challenging even once the game controls become more instinctive. I have noticed that the "better" teams just seem faster. Faster running around the field, and faster joining mauls, and getting loose balls. The main problem is that you can't seem to make your guys respond as quickly. This means you often get turned-over, and lose mauls, as they get their men pushing forwards, while yours are still running about. It is also annoying that your sides AI isn't very good, they don't dash to pick up loose balls ( I have had 2 people stand there looking at it while the opponents run past, pick it up and score...), and seem to get themselves offside continuously. This makes playing any matches where you cant turn off the penalties very hard. Also on this point, the forward pass and knock-on rules don't seem to be enforced, and the opposition seem to break these more than you! I can happily beat bottom to middling sides (no penalties) but play tournaments and you get killed with the number of pennies you concede.
With loads of different tournaments, various game modes with up to 4 players, and lots of team tactics to learn, this is a big game, much more involving than many sports sims. I would like to see use of pre-set game plans, and more on the management/tactical side of the game. Especially since it seems a little hard to tackle, and perceive just where the loose ball is with the very limited 3 camera angles you are allowed (this is a big mistake, the best view would be from always behind your side - getting oblique TV-like views just gets confusing).
Addictive and very challenging, Jonah Lomu Rugby is not for the faint-hearted. I can see myself wasting some time trying to become competent with this game, I just wish it could get a facelift and the kind of modernisation that soccer games have.
