There has been no better story in the world of sports video games in recent years than that of Rocket League. Independently developed and released by Psyonix Studios in 2015, the game combined car racing with the base principles of soccer, and became a smash hit by appealing to both sports and general gaming fans alike.
The post-release support for the game has been phenomenal, with several updates adding in free content and paid DLC that has remained only cosmetic in nature, with additions like Back to the Future and Batman V Superman licensed vehicles.
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Late last year, Rocket League added a hockey mode for free which turned the ball into a puck and completely changed the way the game had to be played. Now another highly anticipated new mode has made its debut through the latest completely free update.
Rocket League Hoops is the new basketball mode, played in a special arena, and again it offers up a completely new experience. While hockey emphasized board play, basketball will make the air-game and playing deflections more of a factor than ever before.
The Hoops mode is probably the most difficult way to play because of those factors, and in early time playing there appears to be a greater reliance on luck for scoring due to unpredictable ricochets and the area below the rim being solid only for the ball and not for the cars.
Additionally there is a new DLC pack being sold for $2 that provides flags for all 30 NBA teams that can be placed onto the vehicles.
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Rocket League is currently available for $20 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and is on sale for $12 on PC. Cross-platform play allows for PS4 and PC users to go up against each other online, and later this spring Xbox One owners will be able to get into that action against those on PC as well.
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.