We’ve been playing Rugby League Live 4 for over a week now and these are the tips that we wish we knew before starting. Rugby League Live 4 is out now in New Zealand and releases in Australia next week.
Forget Everything You Know
It might not look it from our gameplay footage but Rugby League Live 4 plays different to any other Rugby League game that’s ever existed. Kicks off are different, passing is different and defending is most certainly different. You’re better off approaching this game with a fresh and open mind, instead of trying the old tricks that you’ve used in previous games.
Start On An Easier Difficulty
If you start on Pro difficulty, I can guarantee you’ll lose by some margin, and probably get frustrated by your lack of ability. I’d recommend starting on Rookie to get your bearings on the controls, movement and some of the new techniques that we’ll talk about in this article.
Pass Early Or Don’t Bother
Something I noticed more in Rugby League Live 4 than ever before was that if you pass close to the line, you’ll either hit an opposition player or flat out get intercepted. If you’re going to pass, then do it early. Thankfully, RLL4 has a great new passing system that allows you to scoot out of from dummy half or plan your passes early.
Pay Attention To Offside Indicators
Rugby League Live 4 has a great online/offside system. In previous games, you’d be constantly penalised for being offside without any good way of knowing when you were in an offside position. However, this indicator is just as good in attack. Players often won’t tackle you if they’re offside, so you know when to take advantage of this and find space (or get a penalty which is just as good).
Defensive Tactics Are More Useful Than Offensive Tactics
Tactics are a new part of Rugby League games. You’re now able to control your line in both attack and defence by pressing the D-Pad. I found it quite useless in attack, but defence is actually decent depending on who you’re playing. Dropping your wingers back actually does strengthen your final line of defence, which is probably the most important part of defending in this game.
Compress Your Defence
One of the best new mechanics in RLL4 is the ability to compress your defence. Using the left trigger, you’ll get more controlled movement over the player that you’re currently controlling. This will stop you from missing players (mostly) and bring in other defenders to come in over the top (or bottom) and stop offloads.
Use Big Hits And Forward Momentum
Your right analogue stick in attack is incredibly useful this time around. You can go for a big hit by pressing R3 when 1-on-1 with a player in offence, you’ll run over the other play. When you’re in defence, you’ll potentially knock the ball loose. If you’re not going for a big hit you can hold up using the right analogue trigger to continue going forward in the tackle.
