Rocket League

By: Robert Murphy

“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