Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge Review

Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge has many names. It’s known as All Blacks Rugby Challenge in New Zealand and Wallabies Rugby Challenge in Australia. Whatever you want to call it, (we’ll stick with Jonah Lomu) it’s still the same game and is arguably the best ever Rugby game ever made. How does it stack up to all the others?

Should I get this or Rugby World Cup 2011? Is this really the best Rugby game ever? Answers to these questions and more as we take a look at the HOTs and NOTs of Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge.

HOT

Presentation
The overall presentation done in Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge is slick and professional. It may not be as flashy as NBA 2K12, but it is miles ahead of its main competitor Rugby World Cup 2011. This is mainly because the actual stadiums used are rendered with complete accuracy. Many of the stadiums used in New Zealand for the real Rugby World Cup 2011 are all animated in fine detail. The newly refurbished Eden Park in Auckland looks wonderful as is the beautiful indoor stadium in Dunedin. You won’t get any more realistic when it comes to Rugby stadiums than in Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge. There are also stadiums included from Australia and South Africa too.

Graphics
If any of you have played Rugby World Cup 2011, fear not as Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge looks nothing like that game. Whereas that game looked exactly like Rugby ’08 for the PS2, Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge thankfully resembles a game that should be on the PS3 and Xbox 360. The character models are accurate to their real-life counter parts even when it comes to their skin complexion. Even though New Zealand’s Dan Carter is a white person, he appears very pale in other video games. However in Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge, he’s as tan as he is in real life. I should know as I had the honor of getting his autograph a few years ago.

Many Game Modes
A major advantage Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge has over Rugby World Cup 2011 is the fact that you can be more than just the international teams. You can compete in many of the domestic rugby leagues from around the world including the annual Super Rugby competition and New Zealand’s own ITM Cup. It keeps the gameplay fresh knowing you can play in many other competitions. In Rugby World Cup 2011, you can only play as the international teams which isn’t a bad thing but could get repetitive after a while.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge is miles more realistic than that of Rugby World Cup 2011. That video game recycled the exact same gameplay from Rugby ’08 which made it very outdated. Thankfully, this is not the case with Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge and it offers a far more satisfying experience. You cannot just sprint and avoid the defense as easily as the opposing team is smarter and will try and tackle you whenever they can. There are also other little intricacies included in the game that only hardcore rugby fans will notice. This includes different styles of kicks, a dummy pass, and side stepping techniques. All these features make you believe you are actually a part of the New Zealand All Blacks and not just playing a video game.

Commentary
The two-man commentary is done by Sky Sports’ Justin Marhall and Grant Nisbett. Both men (especially Nisbett) have been commentating Rugby for many years in New Zealand which adds the authenticity of the game. The commentary may not be as insightful as that featured in NBA 2K12, but it is better than the commentary featured in any WWE video game…

Only Game With The All Blacks
Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge is the only rugby game out there featuring the All Blacks and the Wallabies. If you live in New Zealand and Australia, this is no doubt the game you will want to purchase. Although New Zealand and Australia are both featured in Rugby World Cup 2011, they are unlicensed and don’t include the players’ actual names, uniforms and likenesses.

The other great thing about Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge is that it includes the All Black’s iconic “haka” in all its entirety. Much like in real life, the “haka” is staged before each and every game the All Blacks play in.

NOT

Lots of Other Unlicensed Teams
Although the New Zealand and Australian teams are fully licensed, this is not the case with many of the other international rugby teams. Apart from Georgia and the USA, every other international rugby team is unlicensed. This is because many of the international licenses were grabbed by Rugby World Cup 2011. On the plus side however, some players are included in the domestic league competitions instead. Still, both Rugby World Cup 2011 and Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge are not fully licensed video games.

Some Parts Of Gameplay Still Unrealistic
Although developer Sidhe Interactive are hard at work releasing several patches for the game, some aspects still feel a bit unrealistic. For example you can run in a zigzag motion and change direction completely and still make a try. This has been a major flaw in all rugby games and it is sad to see this hasn’t been fully rectified in this game. Some of the offloads and other minute details also needs some work.

VERDICT

Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge is by far the best ever rugby game ever made. The graphics look splendid and the gameplay is accessible enough for any gamer to enjoy. Despite the obvious lack of licenses and some areas of gameplay being unrealistic, Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge is a game all rugby fans should pick up and play. It’s a thousand times better than the awful Rugby World Cup 2011 video game.

[Editor’s Note: Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge was reviewed on a PlayStation 3 hardware. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]