Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Pro Rugby Manager 2004

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Review:

27th April 2004:
Pro Rugby Manager 2004
Once more men with odd shaped balls get ready to find happiness in a hot ruck.
Posted by Chris Snook - PC - UK and Europe

With the recent Rugby World Cup in a land-down-under and all the even more recent Six Nations Championship the rugby world is on a bit of a high. So when Pro Rugby Manager 2004 thudded through the letterbox I was quite pleased.

UK Publishers Digital Jesters seem to have a real knack for picking slightly oddball, hybrid type games and PRM is no exception. Part management game and part tactical simulation, PRM let's you take almost total control of the team you pick, leading them to glory, and yourself to possibly an international job.

There is quite a selection of teams too. With three official leagues, the Zurich Premiership and the top two French leagues and another thirteen competitions to delve into, choice of who or what to play is fairly comprehensive, with the official teams rendered in all their glory, complete with accurate player lists and styles of play.

The bulk of the game is taken up by the management side and for many it will take up most of the playing time. Starting well into pre season and extending if you are lucky enough all the way through and into any cup competitions you have made progress in, there is plenty to do.

Those who have migrated across from footy management games will feel almost at home. With everything you would expect. From developing your ground and the facilities that surround it to sorting out training schedules for your squad, setting your scouts off to find new talent and players for you your squad.

Though it happens rarely, sponsorship is a major element, selecting a good sponsor is crucial both for cash flow and to give your team s a target to aim for, one which you fail to make could prove to be your demise. You can also hire various specialists to aid your cause, better scouts, doctors and new players. Or you can pick your way through the academy and deliver a contract to the stars of tomorrow as they rise on up.

There are also enough statistics and numbers to make an accountant happy, ranging from how aggressive the player is to how well he positions himself on the pitch to find that crucial break. There complete team stats and other juicy stuff such as suspensions, injuries and how fit your players are. Which seems to be anywhere from superhuman to barely able to make a veterans fourth side.

Once you have done with managing your side, you finally get to have a run around on the park and see if that nifty training regime of yours has made your squad invincible or as is often the case not.

Tactics is the order of the day here and thankfully for the majority of those who may be drawn to this game Cyanide have done a decent job at paring down the gameplay to a state where you can enjoy yourself even if you have no idea as to the laws of the game, without sacrificing the feel of the game for those who have played in, or maybe even coached a rugby side.

Control can be either via a nice easy to use interface that dictates the broad tactics that are to be used, kick for touch, go for a drop, play it down the wings for attack to forcing the opposition to be spread out towards touch by your play in defence. Whilst real time there are gaps where you have time to select how you are going to play for the next phase. The other mode is where you control the actions of a single player and effectively play as that player for a while.

For those who actually like a bit of managing there is an open able pane that displays endurance remaining for your players, critical if you wish to time your substitutions correctly, a smaller section that details possession and indicators as to whether a player is injured or not.

Graphics are detailed, certainly with the players on the pitch and how they move, though backgrounds are more functional. There are some nice lighting details and the weather effects are well done. The translucent info panes are also a nice touch.

Sound is more of an issue, mostly the spot sounds are just that, indicators of some events and the commentary at times tends towards the obvious with a flat delivery and no sense of enthusiasm for what is happening. Music however is smooth and mellow and helps remove some of the rough edges.

There is something for everyone in terms of gameplay, you can either play it as a straight management game, using the simulate match option to gain a result without ever looking at a blade of grass or play it as a tactical sim, by just accepting the default settings for things and advancing a week at a time. However it is when you combine the two that PRM shines, as each segues into the other almost seamlessly.

There are problems, though the minimum specs are fairly low you do need a decent machine to approach a smooth game, even in the management interface mouse movement can seem languid, almost lazy. This can make navigation less straightforward than it could be, certainly when there is next to no acceleration of the mouse.

Training is another area that can become frustrating. There are training regimes that can be used, one is automatically assigned depending on what is considered a weakness for that player, also custom regimes can be created and are almost an absolute as each standard regime is a single block that is not player editable. If the squad member is to do weight he does weights for the whole week, unless you create a customised program. It might have been better to have the stock selections capable of being 'tinkered' with, the best of both worlds, certainly with a reset to default option.

In all a nice game that has more merits than flaws that manages to deliver to many different people a layered way to play the game. Satisfying.

Chris Snook

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Review Summary:

A nice way to loose yourself for a few hours, with a blend of styles and options and bucket loads of stats. Split between a sim and a management game Pro Rugby Manager 2004 manage to pull of the trick of combining the two and making it understandable to the non-aficionado.

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