The Greatest Video Game of All Time

This blog is all about my life. I have a diverse set of interests, so it was difficult for me to focus the blog on one aspect. I love the outdoors, I've spent thousands of hours exploring and living in nature. I love music, it's the passion that I found my most success in. I love sports, baseball was a consistent figure in my life growing up, and it blessed me with incredible hand eye coordination. One passion that I do not bring up as often is my love for video games. The amount of time I have spent sitting down playing games would likely dwarf the hours spent in any of the three aforementioned passions.

Since 2009, I have consistently played video games. It started with games like Assassins' Creed: Brotherhood (ACB), Halo: Reach, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (BO2). Two of these games, ACB and BO2, have always stayed in my list of favorite games. That will never change. But in December of 2018, I found my favorite game of all time. This game is no ordinary first-person shooter or open world exploring game. It has a construct like no other video game. If someone was looking to find a game that is most like physical sports, this game would be the easy pick.

That game, is Rocket League.

What is Rocket League?

To put it simply, it is soccer played with player controlled cars. Games can be played in 3v3, 2v2, or 1v1, in both casual and competitive playlists. The entire body of the car can be controlled by the player, the most critical aspect of its comparison to sports. Players can drive forward, backward, jump, double jump, flip in each way, boost, air roll, turn, and power slide as they wish. That may sound like a lot of controls, because it is...

Having so many abilities and options can be very threatening to new players, and it takes quite a while to get anywhere near good. I will be honest, I am very good at video games. Still though, I have played for nearly two years now, and I would get sat down like a chair in a lobby with anyone in Grand Champ.

That brings me to the competitive ranking system.

Each rank set ranging from Bronze to Grand Champion have 3 ranks. Within each of these ranks are four divisions needed to climb past in order to rank up. Climbing the ladder is done through winning games, which adds to a point system each player has, known as a "Matchmaking Rating" (MMR). As you win games, points are added, a number determined by the MMRs of the opposing team. This system is flawed, as it only deals with wins and losses, counting out any in game statistics or skill levels. This reinforces the idea that RL is a team game, much like any physical team sport. In a recent update, Psyonix and Epic Games added a new rank known as "Supersonic Legend." This rank is mostly filled with professional players, both free agents and players signed with E-Sports organizations.

Rocket League E-Sports

In my opinion, professional Rocket League is the most entertaining E-Sport available. The hype levels are incredible, and each match entertains. This is mostly due to the sports-like structure of the game with 5 minute match times and overtimes where the first goal wins the game. Any goal hit with zero seconds on the clock is comparable to a NBA buzzer beater or a walk off homerun. There is no moment more exhilarating in all of E-Sports than a zero second goal. Maybe a clean ace in an FPS or a Penta-kill in a MOBA could top the zero second goal, but Rocket League games consistently bring hype moments like these. For example, here is a video of jstn, a player from NRG hitting an insane zero second goal to tie the game and send it overtime in the Rocket League Championship Series in season 5.

This clip is widely known as the most hype moment of all of Rocket League E-Sports, with much thanks to the famous line of the announcer, "THIS IS ROCKET LEAGUE!"

Rocket League is Free to Play!

With a massive update that released on September 23rd, Rocket League became officially free to play. This means that if you have any system (PC, PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch), you can just download the game and start playing. When you start off, begin with training and free play to start mastering the controls. Switching up your camera view and controls would also be a greatly warranted decision.

See you on the pitch!