Available on: PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date: July 7th 2015
Genre: Sports, Racing, Football/Soccer
Football meets rocket-powered vehicles in Rocket League, the frantic and chaotic new title from developer Psyonix in which two teams of up to four players battle it out in crazy physics-defying wall climbing arenas for victory. The game is available on PC and PS4, the latter of which gave Rocket League away as part of July’s Playstation Plus offerings which quite frankly is the only reason I gave the game a try initially as its £15 retail value is a little steep.
That said I’m so glad I did, as Rocket League is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences I’ve had in some time. You can play against the CPU or against friends in a local or online capacity; the former is something that is hugely lacking in the modern gaming era so it’s a true breath of fresh air being able to play some good old fashioned split screen action.
And what action there is. You’ll start playing by basically attempting to smash the ball in the vague direction of your opponents goal, as a free-for-all breaks out due to every player on the field attempting to gain possession. As time progresses and familiarity with the game sets in you’ll hopefully utilize a more team-based tactic – crossing the ball towards the goal area in the hope that a teammate can tap it in via a jumping forward flip, or being back in your own goal to clear what would have been a certain goal had you been simply ball chasing like you were a few games before. Moments like these are as satisfying as scoring, which itself has a cool feature where the ball explodes upon hitting the goal, sending everyone in the immediate vicinity flying back towards the half way line ready for the next kick off.
Alan and Pete Play 