Rocket Arena | Review

The most interesting part of the recent conference broadcast by Electronic Arts was, undoubtedly the one dedicated to the EA Original line, a series of semi-independent productions designed to show the most creative and experimental side of the famous publisher. Among the various IPs presented, however, Rocket Arena was certainly the one that made the most chatter of itself, both for its pimp style and at the same time intriguing, and for the courageous willingness of the Final Strike Games developers to enter the wild, and crowded, competitive arena shooter industry. After spending several hours together with Rocket Arena, however, we can anticipate you right away that while not going to invent anything new for the genre, its disengaged vein, and the care taken by the developers, they left us with decidedly general impressions positive.

so Many explosives contained

as A result of that social phenomenon that responds to the name of Fortnite, the world of securities “multiplayer-only” began being subject to a set of very precise rules to be able to think of a confrontation with the champion of the category. Then each new challenger, which is part or not of the vein of Battle Royale, it must ensure a good package of content if you want to request an entry price to the player. Rocket Arena is no less, and, with two editions that will be made available at launch, it presents you with a plethora of content are quite satisfactory for the price charged (which we remember from 29,99€ for the basic version). Not taking into account of the editions which are more expensive, that merely to insert a plethora of cosmetic items only available through these versions of the game, Rocket Arena, in its basic version, features: four modes, PVP, a PVE mode, the 10 heroes, 10 maps, the credits required for the first purchase of a season Pass and some more skins. A package of content all of the above is in relation to the asking price if compared to other similar titles, such as Overwatch, which were offered at launch, a series of similar content for double the price.

the 10 heroes to hundreds of rockets

Entering in the detail of the ten heroes available, we face the first, and perhaps only, factor that has left us more perplexed: the artistic style with which they have characterized the various heroes. We are faced, in fact, a plethora of characters that look like a cross between the characterizations that have already been seen in Overwatch, and the graphic style made famous by Fortnite. The real problem, however, is that these characters do not express their “possible” potential, their lore is not narrated and are not able to empathize, as is the case with the shooter Blizzard, with the one or with the other hero, leaving constantly, the idea of a roster anonymous but who could express himself best through the right pen. Characterization, however, that is not lacking on the side of fun where each of the protagonists expresses itself at its best thanks to the skills that are unique that will allow the player to play different roles inside the games, with a consequent stratification of the teams are always balanced and stimulating, and that, together with the excellent level design of the maps of the game, you appear as the highest points of the production of Final Strike Games.

another element that has impressed is the fact that each of the ten heroes featured in the Rocket Arena, has a the growth of the individual through levels of experience, which allows you to unlock a series of artifacts, in addition to the canonical plethora of items and cosmetics, that can be equipped, up to a maximum of three, to enhance specific characteristics of the heroes. This system, combined with a careful classification of the various heroes, allows the player to devote themselves to mastering a specific hero to go and fill a specific role inside of the games, taking advantage of the artifacts in such a way to make it less “binding,” its role in those series in which you play with casual users. In conclusion, between the activities of support, offensive, defensive and useful to control the field of battle, each of the characters available you crop a specific role within the economy of the game, maintaining an overall balance that has pleasantly surprised.

Welcome to Rocket Arena

But as the matches take place in Rocket Arena? Exactly as in the most hectic of the arena shooter, with the only difference that the rockets play a leading role because they will allow you not only to damage your opponents but also to jump, to move quickly on the field of battle, scale walls, and perform any type of aerobatics that the physical delirium of the title will pass to the head. The system of elimination of the opponents embracing a methodology similar to that seen in the Smash Bros. series, the greater will be the rockets, a player will cash in, the higher will be its value as a MegaBoom. Once the said bar will be at the maximum, a last shot of the rocket it will shoot into orbit, eliminating it from the game. Of course, there are some abilities, and game mechanics such as dodging, that will allow you to avoid the collision with the rockets, or simply to lower the bar MegaBoom allowing you to stay in the game for as long as possible.

The four PVP mode available in Rocket Arena, however, is not limited only to the classical challenge to the elimination 3V3, but range in activities from the thematic divested, but with a high rate of strategic importance. Whether it is to go treasure hunting, eliminating opponents and collecting the most coins from the enemy team, or to score improbable goals in the door of your antagonists, each of the modes present at the launch, the exhibition varies in content and intriguing on the side of the tactical limiting the “baraonde party-game” to the few moments where the gun fights terrestrial, degenerate thanks also to the many supporting objects to be found on the field of battle. There remains no doubt that the stunning verticality, offered by the ten maps available, encourage the creativity of the players making the mere run-and-gun futile for the purposes of the bring home the victory. Always on the map in Rocket Arena, we applaud their architecture and the ability of the developers to facilitate the exploration through a multitude of secrets and shortcuts that will allow those in the know the best plan to obtain a distinct strategic advantage over their adversaries.

about the fund's PVE, Rocket Arena is limited to a horde mode that adds nothing and takes nothing away from the strength of the title if you do not provide the ability to level up with their characters and be able to test some formations, with associated synergies and strategies, in a chaotic environment, but are less tense than a game against the real players. The rest of the production is based on the canonical plant by the seasons, with the classic Pass, to be purchased separately (remember that it is included in the standard version of the title for the first season) and with a progression that is split between ranked matches and levels to climb to reach the heights of the leaderboards and unlock items cosmetics dedicated to the various seasons.

A rosy future?

we Come now to the crux of the matter: Rocket Arena deserves to be purchased? Undoubtedly we are facing a production, fun, fresh, balanced and with an air disengaged, which can easily get under the skin of those players in search of a title competitive but not overly serious in the subject matter. Final Strike Games has designed a product perfect in every aspect and that, with the right support, post launch, you could really find the consensus of a wide slice of the public. The real unknown remains, of course, the support that the developers decide to give their work even in the case does not find immediately a success with the public and, especially, how many players will decide to pay a price of entry for a further production of the multiplayer that is going to enter in a market that has become saturated with contenders of the most disparate genres and forms. Certainly, for our part, we can tell you that if you want to give confidence to the Rocket Arena you will not have that regret, the roster is solid, the modes are fun and well put together and the content offered by the edition basic a good quality / price ratio even in the remote case that the developers decide, in the future, to issue a version free-to-play.