Rugby 2001

Herald rating: * * * * *

EA Sports, PC

$99.95, General

Review: Peter Eley

A lot of us would like to rewrite the rugby history of the past five years. A World Cup loss to the South Africans, the Hart years, that defeat by the French, and the recent Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations disappointments.

Well, now we can thanks to EA's Rugby 2001. It was meant to come out in time for the 1999 World Cup but technical delays took it past the 2000 crop of titles.

The wait was worth it. Rugby 2001 is a five-star game that really captures the essence of rugby. The graphics are great, the gameplay's brilliant and it's jam-packed with fascinating statistics.

Twenty teams are featured, and all have full squads. The graphic detail is so good — if you have a high-end system — that many of the more famous players are clearly recognisable, including most of the All Blacks.

There are 23 stadiums from around the world.

It can be customised to the nth degree and if you're feeling mischievous, you can tweak the game-settings to give the Wallabies all the punch of Napier Girls' High. Cheating perhaps, but truly satisfying.

If you play by the book, the All Blacks will always beat Japan, just like real life. It's not until you get down to the hard core of NZ, South Africa, Australia, the Home Nations and France that there's any real contest. It's hard to pick up and you need nimble fingers. Thankfully, there are some smarts to help you along.

Required: Pentium 200, 32mb ram.

Recommended: Pentium 11 300, 64mb ram, 3d accelerator.

E-mail: peter_eley@herald.co.nz