“This is utterly ridiculous” was the first thought that
entered my mind when I set out to play the latest game on Steam I’d been hearing so much about and while my opinion did not
change, my attitude towards its ridiculous nature sure did. Rocket League is a game that takes r/c
styled cars brought life sized to play a game of soccer in monolithic and neon
infused stadium. Sounds crazy I know and that’s the beauty of it all as rocket
propelled cars zip across the field smashing into one another and trying to get
gigantic metal ball into your opposing team’s goal. What adds to the fun is the
gravity defying things your cars can do, think hydraulics but with boosters
that can pop you up with one touch of a button and help you send the ball
soaring into the goal for an explosive victory.
Matches are divided into modes of your choosing, the main
one being a 3 v 3 match up of you and two other teammates going up against
another team of three. However there is also 4 v 4, 2 v 2 and for the truly
confident players out there 1 v 1. Whatever you choose things are presented in
a very straight forward way that people can pick up fairly quickly. The rules
are to simply get the ball in the goal any way possible as it goes up and down,
left and right and all over the variety of fields you will find yourself
playing in. Your car is able to keep up and go most anywhere the ball goes as
well since gravity is a bit off for the fields but in a good way. Players can
drive up the walls and perform aerial boosts to hit the ball wherever it may
go, it is a bit tricky to do some of the stunts you will see but I found myself
picking it all up rather easily as I went along. There also boost pads littered
throughout the field to help you keep pace or prevent the ball from reaching
your goal just in the nick of time.
While most of the time things may feel utterly chaotic,
there is a bit of strategy to be had as you play along too. Getting right up
into the thick of things is essential as you will need to get the ball lined up
or get it far away from your own goal before the other team finds their moment
to score. What helps with the finesse is the ability to do stunts and tricks.
The boost feature allows players to not only pop up into the air but if done
again and with the use of the directional pad you can perform bicycle hits,
barrel roles and other moves to give the ball that final tap it needs to get
into the goal. Most of the time the ball will find its way into the goal if
your shot is true but this little feature helps out a great deal especially
when you’re climbing up the wall and need to bat the ball back to the playing
field.
When you finally manage to break away from the metallic madness
of the main game, Rocket League features
some small but enjoyable features to make your little death machine stand out.
There is a progression system in place where players start off as “Rookies” and
progress further as you earn experience from winning matches, special hits,
goals and basically just about anything you do. This in turn unlocks items to
personalize your own vehicle and also unlock other cars to try out as well.
There are a number of fun decals, different jet streams to change your boost
and items that give your car hats and antennas as well. And while these are
only small cosmetic options they nonetheless add to the overall fun spirit that
Rocket League was aiming for from its
gameplay.
Everything isn’t all about multiplayer and online either,
there happens to be exhibition matches and full seasons that players can do by
themselves. This, however, points out a flaw for the usual easy going dynamic
and that is with the games AI. In single play and online matches you will most
likely come across AI players who don’t quite prove up to the ability of taking
the place of a real player. It is reassuring to know that the teams remain even
with the same amount of players but I found myself often getting sad when that
final player isn’t found for a match and an AI takes its place. This proved to
be especially true when facing tougher opponents but it did not stop my
addiction for more rocket propelled action as the crowd around me cheered and I
soared across the field in my spunky little racer.
Simplicity is never a bad thing as many of the games I’ve played
over the years have proven that a simple concept can be insanely addictive and
warrant a lot of replay value. This is something that Rocket League is in no short supply of as it pits players against
each other with nothing but a car and an indestructible ball that you try to
get into your opponents goal. In the near future I would love to be sitting in
one of the many virtual crowds that are featured in the matches watching
boosting cars do insane tricks that lead the explosive conclusion of a goal. A man
can dream, right?
Good:
- Easy to learn concept and controls
- Insanely fast paced/crazy matches
- Vehicle customization is filled with cheeky items
- Surprising degree of strategy at subtly to the art of
explosive car soccer
Bad:
- AI can be somewhat boring and unreliable
Scully Rating: 8.7
out of 10
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