Rocket League’s free ‘Hoops’ update may be slam dunk with NBA fans

By Danny Cowan Published April 20, 2016

A new basketball-themed game mode is coming to Rocket League on April 26, and players will soon be able to outfit their vehicles with official NBA team logos and colors as part of an upcoming DLC pack.

The free “Hoops” update adds a new playable arena that replaces Rocket League‘s soccer-styled goal zones with oversized basketball hoops, adding a new degree of challenge to developer Psyonix’s rocket-powered vehicular sports sim.

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Psyonix notes that Rocket League‘s new “Dunk House” arena is built around aerial shots and wall-riding — advanced techniques that don’t often come into play during casual matches. Players will need to adapt their strategies accordingly in order to guide their team to victory.

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Basketball fans can support their favorite teams via the upcoming “NBA Flag Pack” premium DLC, which adds 30 new vehicle flags featuring the names and logos of real-world NBA teams. Pricing for the NBA Flag Pack has not yet been announced.

The upcoming Hoops mode is Rocket League‘s second major gameplay variant released in the wake of the game’s 2015 launch. Psyonix released a winter-themed hockey mode for Rocket League late last year, complete with a uniquely themed ice rink arena and an oversized puck that replaces the game’s default soccer ball.

Additional “mutator settings” included in recent Rocket League updates allow players to further customize matches with adjustable gravity and ball behavior, among other gameplay-altering tweaks.

Rocket League has seen frequent updates and DLC releases over the last several months, including the “Supersonic Fury” expansion and a Back to the Future-themed DeLorean vehicle pack. The game recently made its Xbox One debut, following up on its initial release for the PlayStation 4 and PC platforms.

Originally available exclusively through digital channels, Rocket League is due to hit retail across multiple platforms later this year.

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Gaming

Street Fighter 6 director reveals World Tour mode’s true purpose

A player stands in Metro City's Times Square equivalent in Street Fighter 6 World Tour.

While Street Fighter 6’s traditional Fighting Ground experience made a solid first impression at Summer Game Fest, its significantly more ambitious World Tour mode is still shrouded in mystery. We briefly got a look at this ambitious mode during the game's State of Play trailer. We see what appears to be a player-created character explore Metro City and other locations from a third-person perspective, breaking boxes and getting into fights with the people he meets.
In the press release for Street Fighter 6, Capcom describes World Tour mode as a "single-player immersive story mode that pushes the boundaries of what a fighting game is and allows players to leave their own legacy with their player avatar." While Capcom isn't revealing more about the mode's moment-to-moment gameplay just yet, I spoke with Game Director Takayuki Nakayama at Summer Game Fest Play Days and learned how World Tour is emblematic of Capcom's goal to make Street Fighter 6 the premier entry point to the fighting game genre.
Street Fighter 6 - Announce Trailer
Finding World Tour's Purpose
In World Tour, players will explore Metro City and other iconic Street Fighter locales with a player-created avatar. Nakayama hopes this experience will strengthen Street Fighter 6's appeal to those who aren't already diehard fans of the series or genre.
"World Tour is a completely different mode that delivers a completely different experience than the traditional fighting," he said. "Even if someone's not a hardcore fan of fighting games, we wanted to incorporate things to make people become fans of Street Fighter outside of the traditional fights."
World Tour certainly looks unlike anything the Street Fighter series has done before. Still, Nakayama hopes that World Tour players will learn more about the world and characters of Street Fighter along the way and fall in love with fighting games as a whole."We want players to dive into this mode and be able to learn how to love fighting games through the things that you do during the journey of World Tour," Nakayama proclaimed. "There will also be opportunities to meet some of the fans' favorite characters, like Ryu and Chun-Li, through World Tour. We want to provide an experience where players can learn more about those characters' backstories and discover what kind of people they are within Street Fighter 6."

World Tour is one of Street Fighter 6's three main pillars, the others being the standard Fighting Ground mode and the multiplayer-focused Battle Hub. He commented how it's always hard to tell how much is enough to put in a game for fans, especially following Street Fighter V's rocky reception at launch due to a lack of content. However, he hopes World Tour provides enough to negate that criticism.
"We were definitely aware of some of the criticism that we faced with Street Fighter 5, and we want to continue to learn from those criticisms and make Street Fighter 6 a better product," he explained. "It's challenging to decide how much is enough for the users, but we continue to work very hard on it and strive to create something that will get appreciation from players."
Still, World Tour seems like it could occupy players for a long time while introducing them to the concept of fighting games and the world of Street Fighter. That's not too shabby of an addition when Street Fighter 6's core fighting game mechanics are already fantastic. And Capcom's goal to make Street Fighter 6 one of the most approachable fighting games ever can be seen outside of World Tour mode.
Everyone is here to fight
During our discussion, Nakayama constantly reiterated that he wants Street Fighter to be something that can entertain and entice those who've never played a fighting game before. Part of the developer's method for making Street Fighter 6 more approachable and accessible is the addition of the Modern Control Type, which allows players to execute flash combos with simple button presses.

Gaming

Street Fighter 6 does everything it needs to as Capcom’s next grand fighting game

Street Fighter 6 made a strong first impression during its State of Play gameplay unveiling. It made an equally strong impression when I went hands-on with its traditional 1v1 Fighting Ground experience at Summer Game Fest Play Days.
Thanks to the technical prowess of the RE Engine, Street Fighter 6 is a marvelous game to look at. Its gameplay is equally impressive as it’s deepened with the new Drive Gauge and Modern Control type. While being the next grand mainline entry in the most important fighting game series of all time is a tall order, Street Fighter 6 already seems prepared to take on that challenge.
A Visual Marvel
The build of the game I played let me go hands-on with four characters: Ryu, Chun-Li, Luke, and brand new character, Jamie. Ryu and Chun-Li’s redesigns look fantastic, while Luke and Jamie have distinctive styles as relative newcomers to the franchise. In general, Street Fighter 6 is an utterly gorgeous game.
Street Fighter 6 - State of Play June 2022 Announce Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games
Powered by the RE Engine behind games like Resident Evil Village, Street Fighter 6’s character models are incredibly detailed and colorful. The inner-city alleyways of Metro City and the cherry-blossom-filled Genbu Temple I fought at were vibrant and lively, and pre-game presentation always got me hyped as the Street Fighter characters pumped themselves up for the impending fight.
Fights and special moves aren’t too visually busy, so you’ll always clearly understand what moves you’re doing. Drive Impacts create gorgeous, paint-like streaks across the screen, giving these disruptive moves more satisfying visual feedback. Especially on next-gen consoles, Street Fighter 6 will be one of the prettiest fighting games ever.
Street Fighter 6 loads super fast-on PS5 too, with rematches loading nearly instantly. Those quick load times helped ensure I stuck around for even longer than my allotted demo time, but so did Street Fighter 6’s satisfying gameplay.
A delicious combo meal
Street Fighter titles have always been very lauded and popular fighting games. As genre trailblazers, the last few Street Fighters mainly focus on evolving the combo-based gameplay that sets a standard for the rest of the genre. Street Fighter 6 is no different.

You’ll punch and kick as your favorite characters, stringing together button press and stick movements to pull off wild special moves and combos. Many of the iconic combos and button presses return just as you remember them, so you shouldn’t have trouble pulling off a Hadoken a Ryu when you finally get your hands on Street Fighter 6.
In Street Fighter 6, players draw from two different gauge meters. The more traditional Super Gauge lets your character pull off their special moves. Meanwhile, the new Drive Gague lets players do up to five colorful offensive and defensive moves like the Drive Impact counter, the Drive Parry, and more. Players must manage this meter wisely, as they’ll take more damage if it fully depletes. It doesn’t revolutionize the fighting game experience but adds an exciting risk-vs-reward element to each fight.
Even though I’ve played less than an hour of Street Fighter 6, it already feels fantastic to play and like a solid evolution for this classic series. For fans that might not be as familiar with fighting games, Street Fighter 6 isn’t leaving them in the dust.
This game introduces the Modern Control type, which lets players execute special moves like the Hadoken or the Shin Shoryuken with simple button presses. Holding R2 and mashing triangle is much easier to understand than a complicated string of button press and stick movements, so fans who want to see each character’s flashiest moves should enjoy this new control scheme.

Gaming

Soul Hackers 2 splits the difference between Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V

Ringo, Arrow, and other party members stare at something in the distance in Soul Hackers 2.

Atlus has perfected the JRPG and is now reveling in it. Persona 5 is one of the best games of the 2010s, thanks to its endearing cast of characters and impeccably stylish presentation. Meanwhile, Shin Megami Tensei V was no slouch in 2021 as it provided a dark and hardcore demon-driven RPG experience. After demoing the game at Summer Game Fest Play Days, t’s clear that Atlus has found a clear sci-fi middle ground with Soul Hackers 2.
Souls Hackers 2 is a tried-and-true Atlus JRPG with dungeon crawling, casual friend hangouts and conversations, and polished weakness-driven JRPG combat. It hits many of the same notes as Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V, so it won’t change what you think about the genre. Still, if Persona 5 or Shin Megami Tensei V had won you over to this new era of Atlus JRPGs, then Souls Hackers 2 will give you dozens of more hours of JRPG enjoyment.

What’s here for Persona fans?
My demo of Soul Hackers 2 began in the Hangout, where protagonist Ringo and her party can hang out and heal between dungeon-crawling escapades. Then, I proceeded to go into the futuristic sci-fi city, buy some weapons, gear, and healing items from eccentric shopkeepers, and get a drink with my party members named Arrow.
After Ringo and Arrow got to know each other better by discussing what they liked to drink, they gained Soul Levels to make them stronger. Right off the bat, this was all very reminiscent of Persona with the expectation of the futuristic sci-fi setting. The UI in and out of battles takes a cue from Persona 5 by trying to look very stylish, though Soul Hackers 2 leans more into a digitized style than Persona 5’s luscious anime-style menus.
I didn’t spend enough time with this part of the game or the small character moments within it to get a feeling of whether or not its narrative will come together as well as Persona 5. Still, that game got me to fall in love with an eccentric cast of high-school cliche characters, so Soul Hackers 2 has the potential to do the same with a cast that leans into sci-fi stereotypes.

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