EA announce rugby game for PS2

via Playstatic

In celebration the 2007 Rugby World Cup EA are going to cash in with the release of EA SPORTS Rugby 08, the event’s only officially licensed video game featuring reigning Player of the Year Richie McCaw, captain of the New Zealand All Blacks, as its cover star. The game will ship on July 17th, just in time for the kick-off of the real world tournament.

Coming out on the PS2, this title looks to encapsulate all the drama and magic of the Rugby World Cup. The 2007 tournament, taking place in France, is one of the highlights of the sporting calender this year and EA are naturally looking to piggy-back on the hype surrounding the tournament. Tristan Jackson, lead producer of the game, had this to say:

“The 2007 Rugby World Cup unites rugby fans from around the world and our game, EA SPORTS Rugby 08, celebrates this passion by capturing all of the national rivalries in-game, enabling fans to play as their favorite teams from qualification right through to the championship final,”

The 2006 Player of the Year by both the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the International Rugby Players Association (IRPA), McCaw is considered the world’s best openside flanker. EA are going to plaster his lovely face all over the advertising for the game and of course on the games box. The 26-year-old McCaw was first called up to the All Blacks three years ago when he debuted against Ireland and was named Man of the Match.

Joining McCaw on the front packs of EA SPORTS Rugby 08 in selected territories around the world are 11 additional athletes who EA call ‘excellent’. Joining McCaw on the cover of EA SPORTS Rugby 08 in the United Kingdom is England’s Mark Cueto, and in France is Frenchman Yannick Nyanga. Bryan Haban, Schalk Burger and Andre Pretorius will be showcased on the cover in South Africa, brothers Mauro and Mirko Bergamasco in Italy and Australia’s Stirling Mortlock will be the featured athlete in Australia and Asia.

The game will see you to take control of your favourite team, allowing you to manage them and emulate their style and play on both offence and defence. Using new defensive formations you can adjust your defense on-the-fly to keep momentum on your side or counter your opponent’s attacking style by changing your defensive strategy based on score, field position and more.

This year EA SPORTS Rugby 08 introduces a layered pick-up-and-play control system for set pieces and drop kicks. Now you take full command over every scrum and maul with enhanced push and rotation controls. Make lineout throw-ins look easy with a simplified control scheme for the novice player and advanced mechanics for the pro. Master the new kicking meter to score those key penalties and conversions, while new truck and zoom camera angles zero in on all the breakdown and set piece action during the game’s biggest moments.

In addition to enabling gamers to participate in the 2007 Rugby World Cup by taking control of one of 20 national teams, the game features a new, compelling mode of play named World Cup Challenge. Testing even the most hardcore rugby fan, it re-creates the biggest moments in World Cup history and challenges you to re-write the results with today’s teams to unlock exclusive World Cup highlight videos.

We would show you some screens, but EA haven’t released any yet.