Review for Rocket Arena. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 14/07/2020
After the first impressions su Rocket Arena, the time comes to draw our own conclusions on the title of Final Strike Games. We were left with a question: "Will he be able to satisfy us?"
Find out with our review.
Rocket Arena is a particular, crazy title, a hybrid between a TPS and a Brawler game, all from EA Originals. The title is set on the planet Crater, made up of ten regions where each of these has sent its fighter to participate in the Rocket Championship Tour. The aim of each fighter is to win the title and honor the region they belong to. What will separate the fighter from the victory will be the young Jayto, a prodigy boy who brilliantly won the title of the previous edition.
As we said earlier, Rocket Arena is a third person multiplayer shooter with elements of a brawler game. Despite the presence of weapons, the title can easily be compared to Nintendo brawler, because Rocket Arena has neither blood nor deaths, but simple Knockouts as happens with Super Smash Bros., resulting in a title that can also be enjoyed by a young audience given the age target of the title.
Surely the production of Final Strike Games certainly does not shine for originality but it is made up of such simple mechanics and, thanks to a unique cast, it manages to entertain and amuse. The fighters available at the launch of the title are ten, each of them represents their region of origin with a precise look. Each fighter, albeit in an approximate way, boasts peculiar abilities and a rocket launcher (no fighter will not miss it) that has an exclusive alternative fire. Overall in our hands we have a roster of fighters that differ simply in aesthetics, style of fire of the rocket launcher and special ability but despite the lack of variety the title manages to have a constantly fresh and at the same time accessible gameplay.
The competitive soul of Rocket Arena remains intact thanks to the wise balance that the developers have managed to give to their production: the selection of the fighter is a fundamental part for the triumph of the match; you can be brilliant in shooter titles but find characters in your hands who will then be weak for the opponent faced, because it has a higher counter than ours, which will lead you to badly lose the match started. Just to give you an example, during our gaming sessions, we had a great time with Amphora because it was excellent for arena matches with lethal ranged attacks, but when we ran into an opponent who was using Blastbeard which can be enclosed in the category of tanks, it was more the time we spent outside the game arena being thrown out of its attacks than inside to defend the goal.
Rocket Arena compared to other shooters, rewards teamwork. Being within a team where everyone acts and thinks individually is synonymous with immediate defeat. In many ways it recalls the Ubisoft title, Rainbow Six Siege, where, if the team acts cohesive it is able to triumph and so is the title of Final Strike Games: using game skills in favor of the team is a winning recipe and will lead you to great results.
Rocket Arena's game modes are all centered around three-player squads, with six currently available, including ranked pre-season. With the pre-season you can familiarize yourself and prepare for the start of the first season scheduled for July 28th. The game modes present in the title are listed below:
- Knockout (team deathmatch);
- Rocket Ball (Variant of the best known capture the flag, where two teams will score in the opponent's goal);
- Mega Rocket (In this mode, a rocket falls into the arena, causing players to jump away. As soon as this rocket touches the pitch, a capture zone appears. The goal of this game mode is to capture the most rockets within the time limit. weather);
- Treasure Hunt (in this treasure hunt the player can accumulate points by defending the treasure chest, collecting it and defending it, alternatively he will have to collect as many coins as possible, who wins? The team with the most points);
- Rocketbot Attack (game mode where you have to team up and face a series of AI-managed rockbots with a limited amount of lives)
- Classified (game mode where the player can try his hand at the aforementioned game modes, but with the aim of triumphing at the end of the season)
Alongside these game modes we find the Social and Arena modes: if the first can be compared to a sort of tutorial, the second will allow you to try your hand at a random playlist of game modes. Of the game modes listed above, the most successful ones - thanks to the good balance - have appeared Knockout e Rocket Ball, with which we found ourselves spending several hours of gameplay without ever getting bored. Unfortunately we must note how the modality RocketBot Attack, the one that will see you engaged with bots managed by the AI, is the worst game mode: the AI of the enemies is too basic and the challenge proposed in this mode is really limiting and with little appeal.
Rocket Arena offers a customization system divided into two branches. The first branch of customization sees the possibility of aesthetic changes that can be acquired simply with the progression of the selected fighter. Each fighter will have a progression of 100 levels that will be reached by playing and as you progress through the next levels, skins will be unlocked. The customization skins made available can be purchased with the in-game currency or with microtransactions but we would like to clarify that currently the skins made available can be safely purchased without having to shell out real money. Things will change starting July 28, with the arrival of season 1. On that date, the Blast Pass will be launched at the cost of 950 tanks of rocket fuel (premium currency, available for purchase for real money).
The second branch of customization is focused on mechanics "Artifact". This mechanic offers no cosmetic customization changes but allows the player to equip three Artifacts that can aid him in combat. These Artifacts allow the player greater speed, the ability to obtain items after KO a player or allow you to have other particular advantages. Note how these artifacts can blend together to enhance their effect; Unfortunately, for the moment there is no in-game shop where to buy them, since they are obtained by collecting them randomly during our game sessions. This aspect is a bit limiting, because if on the one hand we find their functioning interesting, on the other it is not understandable how the developers did not think of allowing them to be unlocked during the progression of the individual fighters.
If the character design of Rocket Arena is particularly brilliant, the variety of game environments is not always up to par. Even if the player will find some well-designed maps with a discreet visual rendering, the animations of the fighters are not always fluid and often the player can come across some small bugs scattered around the game maps.
Graphically, the title is clean and seasoned with a cartoon style all in all apt for the nature of the game, too bad we would have expected something more. If we have to analyze the graphic aspect of Rocket Arena and draw up a ranking of EA Originals productions, surely the title of Final Strike Games would be in last place. Note of merit should be made to the soundtrack that accompanies this title: each location has its own specific music which thus increases its involvement in our game sessions.
Finally, it is impossible to judge the longevity of the Final Strike Games title. We spent over 20 hours reaching progression level 40 and didn't feel that sense of boredom or fatigue. The number of hours can easily triple, it will all depend on how you approach the title. It will certainly be understood how the production will be supported in the long term; we can be sure that the developer will soon introduce new game maps and fighters, a clear sign that he wants to support his production.
Overall, Rocket Arena with its hybrid gameplay between TPS and Brawler game is an interesting title capable of conquering a wide audience. Whether you are looking for a fast-paced title or a competitive one, Rocket Arena is a title that will keep you entertained and entertained for a long time. Thanks to the present modes and all the upcoming content, the title of Final Strike Games will be able to keep the interest of all of you alive.
► Rocket Arena is a Shooter type game developed and published by Nexon for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 14/07/2020
