Prefixing the words Jonah Lomu to a rugby game is fraught with risk – back in 1997 the original Jonah Lomu Rugby set a benchmark in terms of gameplay that is still yet to be matched. Whether or not this 2011 incarnation can replace its predecessor at the rugby-sim pinnacle is open to debate but it's certainly an impressive effort, and far superior to the recent RWC 2011.
Visually it's good, with realistic player likenesses and well modelled stadiums. The weather effects in particular stand out: when it rains the ball becomes slippery and harder to handle, while swirling winds make kicking tricky.
It plays well, but there are a few odd aspects – scrums appear to float above the pitch and a well-timed push allows packs to gain an unrealistic amount of ground. Offloading in a tackle is also too easy, while getting a lineout throw straight is harder than you'd expect.
There's a large selection of sides, clubs and nations, with a good number of competitions, providing plenty of replayability. The main complaint is that with RWC 2011 snatching official licences, quite a few national teams have fictional kits and players – although an extensive editor allows this to be corrected with enough time and effort.
