Excellent, excellent first effort. It isn't perfect and there are ways it can be improved and given the opportunity of a yearly franchise I am very confident this can become the "Football Manager" of rugby that everyone craves. The menus are tough to navigate until you get used to it, then it becomes a much easier game to get around and there are great levels of detail available. You can make the game as complex or as simple as you like.

A very, very positive step in the right direction.

Positives:

- Player and Staff database is extensive
A lot of youth players, attributes are quite clear how good a player is or will be

- Lots of leagues


Negatives:

- UI is not user friendly:
Navigating through different pages and what actions can be done is not intuitive

- Match engine:
It's not very clear what's going on in the way of stats or info, quirks such as making a clean break with all defenders beaten and then making a pass to a player with a defender right on top of him, running towards the touch line in the goal area with no defenders around

- Transfers:
Not very realistic, a percentage needs to be met for the player to sign and is simply increased with more salary or contract duration with no consideration of which club the player is moving from and to



Overall:
So far it's not very enjoyable to play


=============================================================================


After playing a few more hours it does get slightly more enjoyble. The not so great interface has a learning curve to it, which is not somehting you really want for a sim manager.
Better than PRM, but I wouldn't recommend it at its release price.

As i am a regular football manager user and a great fan of rugby i decided to give this game a try instead of the pro rugby manager game which was a flop. Other than the graphics and the clustered UI i am pleased with the performance of the game.

- The database is very good; able to edit players and transfers before the game starts.
- The ingame instructions are similar to football manager.
- I really rate the ingame "plays", which you see your team perform.

-However this game could have a option for a higher resolution and a more simple user interface when selecting clubs and club details.

In conclusion i would rate the game 7/10 as it is a great basis for a first attempt and i hope more will be released in the future.

Well what can I say really I was in 2 minds about this game as I must be one of the only ones that quite likes the other rugby managing game which I got for bargain £7.49. I dont regret buying this but for sure the match engine I dont like the trailer makes it look so much better than it is imo. It takes a while to understand all the controls and to figure out about staff recruitments etc I suggest you hire an agent 1st of all as he saves u lots of money when buying coaches assistants and scouts saves u %25 which i only found out about this after half hour lol so had to restart :(. I could not understand why all my matches was simulating until i realized I had put all my assistants on Auto assign help nd added them to senior squad which meant they did everything and all I had to do was sit back and see the wins pile up 3 in a row undefeated since starting game lol. For me this is awesome with all the database and many decisions you have and so many players in the game and I really like the academy and colts squads to and getting your own coach for the colt squad good to, The only thing I dont like is the match engine so for me will be getting that on auto assign with my assistants and managing that way :). I also like the features such as the best player table in your league, manager acheivements and trophies to view etc :) Will use other Rugby for match engine this will be for huge database and many other aspects I like :)

Finally, a rugby title has been released that has some depth and longevity to it. Having been disappointed with previous management titles released this year, I decided to purchase RUTM 2015 to see if this title could deliver and so far I have really enjoyed playing it.

As with any management game, it requires a couple of hours to familiarise with the UI and screen layout - And like others have commented, this seemed a little clunky at first, but given time I was able to get used to it without any problems.

The number of leagues and players is very impressive. Rugby fans will be pleased to know that both Northern and Southern Hemispheres are both represented, and there is even an editor that allows for players to customise their teams and alter the names of any unlicensed leagues, teams and players.

The match engine is intuitive and allows players to engage with their team and issue orders during a match. Adding Team Calls is a neat feature that can really help to change the outcome of a game.

The youth development and academy system is also something that I am particularly fond of, and it allows players to create a self-sufficient team that doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount to establish.

I think RUTM 2015 has been a promising addition to the management genre and has set the bar for other Rugby games to follow. If you are a Rugby fan I am sure you will enjoy this game.

Positive Aspects:

* Great player database and leagues to choose from – both Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
* Different match engine approach with Team Calls and issuing orders.
* Great Youth and Academy system, allows smaller teams to be built up over time.
* In game editor which allows for plenty of customisation.
* Lots of tactical options and statistics for players to tweak.

Negative Aspects:

* Slightly clunky UI and menu system.
* 3D match engine graphics could be improved upon.

So this is a good game!

As others have said the menu takes some getting used to but apart from that it is very enjoybale.

There are however still quite a few AI issues that I feel at the moment means its not worth the full £30 maybe £20.

However the dev is very good at adding updates so hopefully this will be sorted.

The AI issues noted so far are;

When computer AI kicks to your full-back he will 99% of the time kick the ball out on the full from the 22. Despite being under no pressure.

When your own fly-half kicks the chase is always horrendous and if their 15 runs at you he will normally do very well.

THis is a real pain as the second issue is that turn-overs from rucks are extremely rare and I have Sam Warburton playing 7 every game!!!!!! I have also on instances driven the oppostion back from my 22 to theirs without gaining possession The issue with this is that the computer can have possession for almost an entire 1/2 especially if you win it back to just knock on! More turnovers are essential.

The game also doesn't notice things like the touch line when running or when a player is blatantly isolated.

For some reason when it gets to 80 or 40 mins even if you are 5m out from opp try line your fly half will kick the ball dead. Not useful when you are on 3 trys and need the 4th for a bonus point.

When players make a clean break through the line they will often stop and pass to a heavily marked player rather than continuing themselves (this has cost me several games/bonus points) or they will not give the ball when there is a ridiculous overlap that is guarenteed a score.

It is very intermittent as to whether a player will try to but the ball down between the sticks after crossing the line unapposed,

There also seem to be some really basic back moves that seem to end up with a try. Especially as some defenders run all sorts of crazy lines that completely miss all the attackers.

Finally the back row never break off the scrum. This ties into the point above, especially during a blindside move as it creates a ridiculous overlap.

SO in conclusion this is a very good game and I do enjoy it greatly.

However with the bugs/glitches mentioned above I don't believe it is currently worth it's premium price as the bugs glitches do somewhat ruin it, especially when games are tight and you feel like the computer is just cheating you.

About 30 hours in I feel like I can make a review for this game.

Being an avid Rugby Union fan as soon as I saw this on the steam market I bought it. Initially the game wasn't great, the menu navigation and UI wasn't amazing, but after playing around with it for a while you get the hang of it and are able to move between sections easily. Whilst the graphics aren't great I don't think that's what this game is about. The in game player base is awesome with great depth. The match mechanics are okay, not a big fan but if you get the hang of the plays and what not it can be quite fun.

So yeah that's a broad look at the game. The killers for me however are more minute.

There's a few big problems IMO. First and foremost is the unrealistic simulated games. You can have a team of 'World Class' players and lose to a team of 'Nationals'. Look I know Rugby and I know you can't count anyone out and what not but this lead to a lot of head scratching from me.

Some players are not up to date; e.g. Duane Vermeulan was argueably the best player in the world this year and he's rated as 'International'. So yeah there's a few cases like that, some players over rated and other underated. Which once again left me scratching my head.

Sometimes I felt as though my team simply sucked for no reason. I would have an awesome back line, they would have a crap one, set my tactics to play a more expansive game, and strangely, I lost. More head scratching...

Overall though it's a fun game to play, if you're not a rugby fan, don't buy this unless it's on sale, I don't feel like you'll get $40 worth of satisfaction. I'll continue to play this game and learn more about the mechanics (still learning!).

Cons
- Confusing/clustered UI
- Unrealistic results
- Some players not up to date
- Bad graphics
- One or two crashes
- Players brought up through the 'Colts' and 'Academy' when selected for international duty don't have a name unless edited

Pros
- In depth teams
- Aweosme development of your players through your teams system
- Accurate coaching system

The game seems good so far, but I think it will need a bit of patching.

The editor does not seem all that comprehensive. All you can edit is players' attributes and names. The description of the game implied you could edit more?

There are way too many high tackles and no penalties so far for breakdown infringements? Game engine could do with some tweaking for sure. Quite often players pass the ball to a player who is less likely to score than them, eg after breaking the line and having a clean run at posts!

I still think that there is a lot to be please with, and I would encourage rugby fans to buy the game and start developing some mods.

I truly looked forward to this game; a genuine attempt to get that FM manager-feel into Rugby i thought. It didn't work. The detail is there, it's just held together by such a poor interface and match engine,and you only get a limited amount of seasons. I t feels like you're playing with a huge amount of data being managed by a spectrum. It's got that kind of 'nostalgic' feel to it, without ever realising that much more is expected of a game these days. If you have to get it, wait for sale.

Feels less modern than the last rugby management game I bought which was released 10 years ago.

Player database for my chosen team was pretty sketchy, suggested formations looked nothing like what would ever actually be picked. The editor allows you to fix this relatively easily but it's a fairly big investment in time just to get to the point where you can start playing.

Game engine is pretty shakey too. The most common penalty seems to be for high tackles and I'm yet to see a penalty given for scrum or breakdown infringements. Play generally won't move on at a breakdown until the scrum half has arrived (unless they're in the ruck) regardless of how long it takes them to get there. Players make clean breaks and then pass to players in worse positions.

And the cherry on the cake? It's just crashed with no reason given. I certainly wouldn't pay full price for this if I had the choice at this stage.

Poorly made game. UI is very difficult to use/understand and not very intuitive. Special attention seems to have been paid for some teams but not others, for example most southern hemisphere names are spelt wrong. AI also doen't seem to factor in things like going out etc.

Pros:

- Lots and lots of leagues and clubs

- Very flexible editor, you can basically make entire teams in here and import them into your game

- International and dream teams!

Cons:

- UI can be a bit clunky at times

Overall:

I'm happy with my purchase and I'm looking forward to spending more time with this, making custom teams, playing through differents cups etc. If you're looking a rugby sim I'd say you can't go wrong with this one.

RUTM is still a good game regardless of the negative reviews. It is far better than PRM.
Sure, I agree with most of the previous comments, but its is a fair first game effort.

Its not as polished to FM standards yet. But if the developers listen to Rugby gamers, it will surely improve with patches..

Don't allow these negative comments stop you buying this game. You won't regret getiing a dud.

I'd recommend this game to any serious Rugby fan.

This is not Football Manger. The game accuratley reflects managing a rugby but lacks any form of glossy finish, it plays like an xcel spreadsheet and has the glamour of a z-list celebrety at the opening of an envalope.

It isnt a deep game either, dispite functions such as youth team promotion and in game play calls i'd wait till this game drops to a price around £15 before paying for it.

It's fun so far, just been trying to make my own custom teams with random fun names, to see how far I can get, would recommend it since it's fun to play with different characters. It can be a bit difficult for new players, recommend starting with a new without academy/colts first to get used to the general gameplay.

Really liking it so far. Tons of teams, leagues including academy and colts squads. Includes an editor too. Going to keep playing but I definitley recommend it so far.

Great game

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!

S>>T

Overall a great game. The sounds in the game are pretty awful but the extensive player pool and gameplay make up for it.