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Ian Wadsworth

English 1101

Prof. Monroe

9/24/21

Rocket League Evaluation

Video games have been around for decades. In recent years their development has

skyrocketed with new technology such as the playstation and xbox being created as machines

dedicated to specifically run video games. One of these games, Rocket League, is a widespread

and well known game that was created by a company called Psyonix in 2015. Rocket League is

a car soccer game in which two teams use rocket-powered vehicles to hit a ball into their

opponent's goal and score points over the course of a match. It is a very non-traditional video

game as when you think of video games your mind goes to a shooter or adventure game, not

flying rocket powered cars hitting a soccer ball. Don’t let that idea fool you though. Rocket

League is a well thought out game with great graphics, game play, single player and online

modes, and even an esports scene. So, Rocket League is the non-traditional video game that

everyone should experience and try out at least once.

Rocket League is actually the successor of another video game called Supersonic

Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars (SARPBc). This original game that came out in 2008 left

much to be desired as both the physics of the game, and the gameplay itself were very

unappealing. That’s where Rocket League comes into play. Being the second in its generation

the developers were able to create a smoother experience for the player that made the game much

more playable. The physics in Rocket League are made to match those in real life with factors
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like gravity and maintaining speed meant to be realistic in order to keep the game running

smoothly. Consistent monthly updates add new content to the game like game modes and new

cars, keeping the game fresh even after 6 years. Psyonix even goes so far as to add joke features

on April Fools day just to appeal to the players. This creates a very fun and interesting game that

doesn’t get boring after the first week.

Customization is also a very large part of the game. Although the game itself is about

playing soccer with a car, the car you play with can be heavily modified. There are millions of

combinations that are possible for your car with almost every feature being able to change from

its original form, such as body shape, color, wheels, boost color, and toppers just to name a few.

This creates the experience of being able to show your car design off to your friends, adding a

whole new concept of car style to the game. You are able to unlock new items by just playing

the game and collecting them after every match, or purchasing them through the online store that

circulates every two days to give you access to a wide range of items. This idea of car style

created an entire second side to Rocket League that is all about having the rarest items, and

coolest looking car. This is particularly interesting as trading has become a large part of the

game with almost all players participating in it once and a while. Trading allows players to

exchange items with each other for the in-game currency (Credits), or other items that they deem

the same value. A sort of economy has been created as each item in the game has a credit value

associated with it, meaning if one item becomes more rare the price will rise before inevitably

falling again once more people try to sell it off at the higher price. This allows different players

to have a different meaning of what Rocket League is. This is because some people see it as a car

soccer game, but then to others it is a trading game to customize cars. This diversity causes

many people to enjoy the game even though it was released just over 6 years ago.
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There are some problems with the game that can cause it to be frustrating to play. Trying

to get into Rocket League can be a hard process. The skill curve when trying to learn the game

is very steep meaning that it is very frustrating to start out. The use of precise movements and

fast reflexes are required in the game which takes time to develop. So, for the first couple hours

of the game it is going to be very hard to move, or feel like you are doing anything productive.

Once you get past early stages development comes fast, but you still need to put good hours into

the game to develop further and learn new mechanics. Another frustrating feature is the servers

that are used to host the games. Since precise movements are required you need the servers to

work steadily, but a lot of the servers lag causing you to miss the ball, boost, or other things

which is very frustrating. This has been a problem from the start of the game 6 years ago, and

has still not been fixed. Although it is quite a frustrating feature it’s not enough to deter

someone from playing the game as it happens in small pulses that usually don’t last more than a

second or two.

Everybody should try out Rocket League at least once in their life. Rocket League is a

free game with millions of customization options and a fun experience of a car soccer game.

With realistic physics and fast paced game play it makes for a fun game to play with your

friends, or by yourself. Although there are a few bugs such as bad servers and lag, overall it does

not hinder the experience of the game. So, I would recommend Rocket League to anyone who is

looking for a fun non-traditional soccer based game that also involves a wide range of trading

and customization.