The league-licensed sports video games that release annually — the Madden, FIFA, and NBA 2Ks of the world — are celebrated for their authenticity and complexity, but that also makes them incredibly difficult on players who are unfamiliar with them or the sports they represent.
Every year developers try to implement ways to make them more welcoming, easier to learn and easier improve at without hitting a wall of frustration, but that hasn't proven enough to draw in new consumers. With arcade-style games — which once acted as bridges to the simulation games — now largely extinct, there is little middle ground, leaving many feeling overwhelmed by the current state of sports games or simply disinterested in the genre because of it.
REVIEWS: 'Madden NFL 16' | 'NBA 2K16' | 'FIFA 16'
Where "Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" succeeds most is in its accessibility. It offers an enjoyable and easy-to-comprehend gameplay experience that will satisfy not only fans who are passionate about lacrosse but also those who may know very little about the sport.
Having lived on the West Coast my whole life, I went into the game without a great deal of knowledge of lacrosse. My exposure to the sport has been limited to the rare appearances on highlight shows and having briefly flipped across matches that were being broadcast on ESPN3. I knew what lacrosse looked like but wouldn't have necessarily been able to explain the rules or procedures behind it.
Unlike those other major sports games mentioned at the top of this review, "Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" is not intimidating even for someone new to the sport. In fact, it's very accommodating, and most importantly, fun even through the process of gaining an understanding of how to play.
There is no interactive tutorial in the video game, and lacking one has sunk some other sports games before. Surprisingly, it turns out to be unnecessary here. All one has to do is look over the controls and pay attention in-match to button prompts that appear above the players which act somewhat as a tutorial on their own.
The only issues I had as a newcomer were related to two rules which resulted in numerous penalties early on. One is offsides, which is explained in a loading screen but may not be spotted initially. The other relates to offensive players who enter the goalie crease. There's no explanation when this happens. A ref appears, makes a signal, and play resumes with the opposition in possession.
"Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" is the product of a 2014 crowdfunding campaign, from developers with considerable pedigree when it comes to lacrosse video games. That shows in the quality of game and the design decisions that have been made.
MORE: The full 'UFC 2' roster, revealed
The vision for the game was originally described as having “the player movement and passing of basketball with the stick control, shooting, and hitting of hockey to create a high scoring, action-packed lacrosse video game.” Crosse Studios and Big Ant Studios, who co-developed "Casey Powell Lacrosse 16," have achieved exactly what they sought out to do.
The gameplay does feel wide open and movement is fluid, there are some big hits, and most of the matches do feature a lot of goals being scored — all of which is realistic to the sport. Important to translating all that are the controls which are simple and responsive, with a few modifiers adding complexity when skills have improved enough to handle them. The only thing that doesn't feel completely natural is assigning sprint to the pressing down of the left stick on the controller.
"Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" ships with generic teams but the game has a brilliantly implemented community sharing system that allows for them to be switched out for real teams right out of the gate. Upon starting the game for the first time (this can also be done later), the user is presented with the option of downloading the top-rated community file. After that is done, 67 real college teams and all nine Major League Lacrosse teams are available, though they won't have their real logos.
While it would not be completely fair to compare the level of content offered in an independently developed game to those from massive publishers with near unlimited resources, ultimately consumers have to make spending decisions based in part on the content included and the longevity a product offers. This is where "Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" comes up a little short.
There's actually more than one might expect to be in the game and that helps to justify the $50 pricetag. The modes included are Single Games (exhibitions), Career (as coach or player), Online (quick or custom matches), Competitions (custom season and tournaments), and Lacrosse Academy (create, edit and share teams, players, coaches and officials).
MORE: How to move the Rams to LA in 'Madden NFL 16'
Career Mode, and potentially Online, will be where users wind up investing the majority of the time with the game. Like many other sports games, Career lets you play as either the Coach or a Player. With the former, the whole team is controlled and activities like player acquisitions and drafts take place. The latter involves playing as just one individual, though you can choose to control the whole team there also, with the goal of performing well and earning attribute boosts.
The basic expectations of a career mode are all met but that's pretty much all there is to it, and it brings into question whether Career will be compelling enough to hold interest beyond a few weeks of playing. Online has simple quick games through matchmaking and custom ones that allow for particular settings to be selected. In limited opportunities to play online thus far, it ran smoothly, though some sync issues were present.
Visually, the game looks great. It's evident that a lot of work went into the lighting for both day and night games. The player models and stadiums are also excellent. There are some collision detection issues, with players and sticks occasionally clipping right through others, but those instances don't really detract from enjoyment of the game. A weaker aspect is the presentation, as there is only one pregame and one postgame sequence, but the commentary is adequate.
The sports gaming genre has contracted to the point where creative entries in the space or those representing sports with smaller followings are few and far between. "Super Mega Baseball" and "Rocket League" have recently emerged as winners in filling that void, though the cost of entry with them was much less than the $50 it is here. That has to be considered for how widely it will be adopted and whether word of mouth will build to where the game captures more than just core lacrosse fans. Still, as the first sports game for consoles/PC to release this year, "Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" is a pleasant surprise and may be the next to be considered in that same class of alternatives to the traditional league-licensed sports games.
"Casey Powell Lacrosse 16" was reviewed on PC and is also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A download code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of review.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, has co-founded the new site HitThePass.com, hosts the Press Row Podcast, and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.