Review: Rocket League on Xbox One is so much fun

Rocket League came out last year on PC and PS4 and took the world by storm. The popular game now releases on Xbox One and it's as fun as ever.  I was busy playing lots of other games last year and never had a chance to check out Rocket League before. I heard it was fun, but I missed the opportunity to play it. Now that I have played the Xbox One version, I have to say I missed out on all the fun.  If you have not heard of Rocket League, it's basically soccer/football but you use cars and other vehicles to get goals instead. It may sound like a simple concept and it is. However, the simplicity of the game is why it's so enjoyable and accessible to lots of gamers no matter what their skill level is.  Unlike real soccer, Rocket League doesn't punish players in any way. There are no fouls, offsides or penalty shoot outs to worry about. The game doesn't even force players to be goal keepers either. All you really have to do is drive to the ball and ram it into the goal.  Rocket League ups the ante by adding some futuristic spins on the vehicles you drive. All of them are able to jump really high since the ball bounces quite a lot. The vehicles can also 'boost' and 'drift' so that you can get to the ball at a quicker rate. If you use the boost a lot, you can even drive on top of the stadium wall.  The other thing that makes this game great is that it limits the player count. The maximum number of players that you can have in a team is 4. This means only 8 players can be on the field at one time. You can decrease that number to have 3v3, 2v2 and 1v1 as well.  The limited player count is wonderful because it means there's more of a chance for everyone to contribute and be a team player. The game would have been too chaotic if more players were put on the field as there would be no room to drive. Effectively, players can coordinate themselves by deciding who should strike for a goal and who should defend it. Rocket League is also generous with its single player and multiplayer options. If you are playing yourself, the Season Mode allows you to win a championship. It's like real sports as you have to have a winning ratio in the normal Season before you can participate in the playoffs.  The multiplayer offerings are just as fun too. Thankfully, this game includes offline split-screen multiplayer. It's sad to say that split-screen multiplayer is 'rare' these days, so it's nice that developer Psyonix left it in there. The online multiplayer is just as great as the player population is really high so you don't have to wait that long to connect. The servers were spot on too as I did not encounter any disconnections or even lag while playing the Xbox One version.  The only minor flaw I have with this game is the audio. Other sports titles have some type of music or commentary playing in the background. In Rocket League, or that you hear is the roar of the cars and not much else. If this game ever gets a sequel, some background music would liven up the atmosphere.  If you have yet to play Rocket League, you should do yourself a favor and play it now. It's one of the best multiplayer games out there and it's a game that is accessible to almost everyone.  Verdict: 9/10