Rocket Arena
It’s not exactly rocket science
Rocket Arena is a hectic online multiplayer experience that draws inspiration from the likes of Overwatch and Apex Legends. The basic idea is that you have lots of rockets, and you need to fire them at opponents to blast them out of the arena. Oh, and sometimes there are rockets attached to your feet as well.
Boot up the game and you’ll be instructed to pick from ten wacky characters. Each fighter is lovingly designed and has unique strengths and weaknesses. This gives you the motivation to experiment with different characters until you find the one that best fits your groove. Instead of having a health bar that opponents can whittle away at, your fighter has a hit meter. Rack up too much damage and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of a megablast, an attack that will fling you from the arena. Your character will then have to rocket their way back to a spawn point before you can re-enter the fold and resume your attack.
TRIPLE THREAT
The game is composed entirely of online sessions, all played by three-person teams. You do get to choose from a variety of modes, though. For example, Treasure Hunt sees you do battle with a rival team over a treasure chest and coins, while the cooperative RocketBot Attack pits you and two teammates against an army of robot enemies. Different characters suit particular modes, and every time you complete a fight with a particular character you fill their experience meter and eventually level up. Levelling up will reward you with Artefacts, items that you can equip to boost certain stats and offer new skills. In
THERE IS VIRTUALLY NO LAG IN WHAT IS A SEAMLESS AND PRETTY POLISHED ONLINE EXPERIENCE.
desperate times, Artefacts can change the course of a match.
Rocket Arena’s social modes are all about teamwork, and it’s easy to play co-operatively alongside either friends or unknowns to work towards a common goal. This is particularly true for Rocketball, where your team must transport a ball to the opposing team’s goal in a futuristic and delightfully frantic spin on football. Thankfully, it’s never hard to find human players online to play with, as there seems to be a thriving Rocket Arena community enjoying what is an accessible (if not particularly deep) shooter. Plus there is virtually no lag in what is a seamless and pretty polished online experience. Even better, future expansions are already planned, adding things like new characters and additional game modes to make sure that players continue to (ahem) have a blast!
VERDICT
A cartoony online shooter with an exciting concept. Who doesn’t love rockets? The visuals are bright, and the action is satisfyingly hectic, if not particularly deep. Rebecca Stow