I was surprised to learn that Rocket League was actually a sequel to a PS3 game by Psyonix called Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars. With such a catchy title, it's hard to see why it never took off to the same extent as Rocket League did. Having said that, apparently it was downloaded on PSN over two million times, so if anything it just goes to show how I don't keep up with trends any more.
Anyway, when I found this out I saw it was on sale on PSN for £1.99, and since I got Rocket League for 'free' via PS+ I thought I would try it out. It was only after I had bought it that I discovered that there's an extensive trial version which I could have tried for free, since the way PS3 games are sold on the store is ludicrously complicated.
It's ... not bad. The essence of Rocket League is there, and many of the pitches and arenas are recognisable from the sequel. There is a single-player mode which is different from the standard tournament I played through in Rocket League - here there are minigames and a tournament of varying rules and opponents, which I have already played through once but am likely to do so again. As with Rocket League, the game comes into its own with the online side, which is great fun but finding a match is a pretty bare bones experience, reminding me of Half Life deathmatch servers from 2002.
But the cars feel less weighty and solid, it's slower and less precise, and there's either awful screen tear or quite a poor (and varying) framerate. The controls feel a bit untidy, and aerials are much harder to pull off. It is a great demonstration on how controls can make or break a game.
I'll probably complete the single-player game and play a few more online matches, but other than that it'll be back to Rocket League.
Anyway, when I found this out I saw it was on sale on PSN for £1.99, and since I got Rocket League for 'free' via PS+ I thought I would try it out. It was only after I had bought it that I discovered that there's an extensive trial version which I could have tried for free, since the way PS3 games are sold on the store is ludicrously complicated.
It's ... not bad. The essence of Rocket League is there, and many of the pitches and arenas are recognisable from the sequel. There is a single-player mode which is different from the standard tournament I played through in Rocket League - here there are minigames and a tournament of varying rules and opponents, which I have already played through once but am likely to do so again. As with Rocket League, the game comes into its own with the online side, which is great fun but finding a match is a pretty bare bones experience, reminding me of Half Life deathmatch servers from 2002.
But the cars feel less weighty and solid, it's slower and less precise, and there's either awful screen tear or quite a poor (and varying) framerate. The controls feel a bit untidy, and aerials are much harder to pull off. It is a great demonstration on how controls can make or break a game.
I'll probably complete the single-player game and play a few more online matches, but other than that it'll be back to Rocket League.
