Rocket League: Review

Hello again fellow gamers, hope you enjoyed my first blog and now I will be moving onto “Rocket League”. The concept is as silly as it is simple: football with rocket-powered cars. But it’s the execution that really makes this multiplayer fun-fest really take off.

Whatever you think of video games as an entertainment medium, you’ve got to admit that replacing footballers with rocket-powered cars is an attractive idea. And Rocket League hits like a rocket-powered train. From the first seconds, as the engine growls under your all-powerful trigger finger, this feels not just fresh but perfectly-formed.

Teams of rocket-propelled cars face each other in an enclosed arena, where the walls can be driven up and all corners are rounded for maximum bouncability. At both ends is a large goal, and somewhere in the middle is a giant ball, around twice the height of the cars, which has what feels like its own low-gravity rules: it hangs in the air, moves begrudgingly after taps, and even when whacked will rarely outpace a rocket engine.

Then each team tries to score more goals than the other. The dynamics of hitting a ball with a small rocket-propelled vehicle obviously differ from those of the foot, but the same principles apply – anyone who’s ever played five-a-side will instantly be at home with the key role of ricochets, knocking the ball into walls for clever bounces or smashing it at angles for surprise shots. Even if hitting the thing head-on can be a little tricky at first.

One of the things that make “Rocket League” really special is the depth of the controls, and the learning curve you go through while getting better with them. Simple things are enormous fun. Your early games will be full of flailing vehicles and mosh pits but it still feels great, and pulling off more complex moves feels even better. You soon learn the delicious kinks in acceleration, how long you can hang a jump in the air, and when to go all-in or back off. Soon you’re “flipping” the car to overtake parallel rivals, riding up walls to nose a ball ahead of the jumping mass, even hitting the juice mid-jump and taking to the skies.

The titular rocket engine is a double-edged sword, capable of blasting a car across the pitch to a loose ball (sometimes right through an unfortunate opponent) but just as easily leaving you hopelessly stranded after a misjudgment. The combination of such blistering precision with the ball’s lazier, grounded momentum is irresistible.

It’s so good, in fact, that Rocket League can put the game front-and-centre. It doesn’t waste time with extraneous modes or gimmicky rule sets, but focuses everything on rocket car football with varying team sizes and the same simple rules. The austere, one-on-one duels teach you the skills, but it’s in the 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 playlists that Rocket League takes off, serving up match after match of player-authored brilliance: end-to-end slugfests, delicate tactical exchanges and full-blown wars all fit into quicksilver five-minute sessions.

The match length, such a boring stat it almost passes unnoticed, is what gives Rocket League seriously addictive qualities. As it’s so quick to play, a swift game of Rocket League is always tempting and, after that, you’ve already got it up and running so why not have a few more? Rocket League steals hour after hour and sometimes entire evenings in these five-minute increments, each effervescent hit just making you want more.

Rocket League’s visual style is brighter, its ball physics are that all-important touch heavier, and its matches are a slightly slower but much more substantial and chunky experience.

The difference is phenomenal. Few games can survive on one core loop repeated ad infinitum, but Rocket League is among them. What has made this game special is the extra layer of polish on an idea that was already refined, and the resistance to adding unnecessary extras: in this way, it feels like a Nintendo game. Rocket League is simply a joy to play, win or lose. And with friends? Wow. This is the most fun you’ll ever have behind the wheel of a rocket powered football playing car.

Anyways, here's what's good and bad about Rocket League.

What i love about Rocket League:

• Football with cars that can jump, flip, and have jet engines on the back
• Hilariously awkward gameplay, especially with novice players
• Rules and objectives are simple and to the point
• Controls are simple to pickup and play
• Detailed car editor

What i have mixed or no Feelings about:

• No option to change game length (one period of five minutes per match)
• Inability to change quick messages (the defaults are fine though)

What i hate:

• AI teammates often leave goals wide open for no reason or score on themselves
• Cannot search ranked and unranked matches at the same time (I don't care about my stats, I just want to PLAY!!!)
• Both camera options can be frustrating since they follow the car so close
• Matchmaking can take a painfully long amount of time
• In-game lag can be horrid

Games Similar to This:

• ATV Offroad Fury 4 (Ice Hockey mini game)

What did you think of “Rocket League”? Leave a comment below, or email me at cheshirechats@gmail.com and let me know what you think!.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3: Review

Hello fellow gamers! This is my first try at a blog so I have decided to share my personal experiences of games that I love and hate, as well as throwing in some tips. I am a marketing student and I have always been gripped by gaming from a young age. It all started with my mums Nintendo 64 and Golden-eye 007. Most of you will have found this blog from my social media accounts where I share what I have to say, something I’m prone to speak before I think but it has never let me down.

Seeing as I’m new to this my first blog will be about Call Of Duty: Black Ops III but please suffer in silence as I will be rougher than a badgers arse, nevertheless I am anticipating to upload a new blog each week so keep up to date with my social media accounts @csd_cheshire  

I’ll be the first to admit, I was not enthusiastic about “Black Ops III” when I heard about it. The previous installment from the “Call of Duty” franchise was “Advanced Warfare”, I was tired of the whole sci-fi portion that has taken the franchise by storm. It’s more like enough already stop trying to be like other competitors. I admit that I was dead wrong about my expectations about “Black Ops III.”

I’ve always believe Treyarch develops the best “Call of Duty” games, and “Black Ops III” is a additional proof to that. Personally the controls feel effortless and straightforward which make your personal character have some substance. Graphically, this game really shows what the current generation of consoles are capable of. “Black Ops III” is a gorgeous game to look at from the ominous sounds of the robots and the splatter of blood when someone is shot.

Of course, what kind of horrible world would it be without “Call of Duty” and its multiplayer? “Black Ops III” brings the typical offering with this installment. The “Pick 10” perks system returns, which means players can have a total of 10 guns, tactical grenades, attachment, perks, lethal grenades and wildcards. 

Together with the “Pick 10” system, players can choose a specific specialist class who has their own unique abilities. Specialists are identified by a unique Callsign. Each has one special ability and one special weapon. These abilities and weapons become available after enough time has passed and/or score has been earned in a game. Outrider is my personal favorite and I always use vision pulse, this ability when activated it sends out sonar-like waves that penetrate walls and other surfaces, giving the player the ability to see enemies through objects. This ability makes it easy to track down campers and wipe them out before they even know what hit them. It’s a good bit more powerful than the Tracker perk, which just allows you to see digital footprints of nearby opponents.

Firstly I’ll admit, I was so worried with the idea of Specialists, and though it would just make players to spam their abilities and make me very angry. Again, I was wrong because matches always seem to be very close this year. Specialist abilities have potential to cause real damage in the right hands, but weaknesses make them vulnerable at the same time. Nothing makes me happier than killing someone who is using their Specialist ability or gun because I understand how frustrating it is. As of this writing, my kill to death ratio is 1:56 which is my highest since “Modern Warfare 3” 

I will say, personally I think the sub-machine guns need to be adjusted because they are a little bit OP, and some of the spawn locations can cause very quick deaths. This does cause my controller to be nearly thrown out of the window at times.

Of course, “Black Ops III” also boasts a zombie mode this year featuring a cast of Jeff Goldblum, Ron Perlman, Neal McDonough and Heather Graham. The mode I’ve played so far is a noir-style mode, which is unique and one of the more memorable ones out there. Admittedly, my experience with zombies hasn’t been as positive due to a lack of communication with random teammates. The people I have been paired up with usually run off and do their own thing, and before I know it, I’m surrounded and quickly killed. I’m really hoping to get a solid group soon because zombies this year feels like it could really prove to be a time sink.

Coming off of the fairly underwhelming “Advanced Warfare,” Treyarch did something special with their turn at “Call of Duty” this year. “Black Ops III” has a campaign that, while confusing at times, is actually worth playing even if it’s just to unlock aesthetic things for online play. Cooperative campaign mode adds value to the single-player mode, which is something that really should be implemented in every “Call of Duty” game.it’s worth noting that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 users don’t have access to the single-player mode since the developers opted out of it due to system limitations.

Multiplayer mode, for the first time in years, feels like a fair and balanced system that rewards skill. Of course, spawn kills and questionable kills will always exist, but they’re far and few between this year. There’s also a giddy sense of satisfaction when using a specialist class to really bring the pain. Zombie mode once again uses an all-star cast to give players an opportunity to go zombie hunting, and it’s a game mode with loads of potential next to the campaign and multiplayer modes. There are also some hidden modes to be unlocked, which I’ll let you discover on your own. At the end of the day, “Black Ops III” is what every “Call of Duty” should be - a complete package that is full of content without relying too much on one game mode.

What did you think of “Call of Duty: Black Ops III”? Is it the best in the series so far? Leave a comment below, or email me at cheshirechats@gmail.com and let me know what you think!