Rocket League Sideswipe APK

Pros

• Even playing field regardless of player spending
• Addictive competitive play you can learn in minutes
• Smooth multiplayer connectivity and in-race performance

Cons

• More simplified than the console version
• Little in the way of player progression

Rocket League Sideswipe takes the trademark arena-style car combat of the mainline Rocket League franchise and adapts it to suit the unique perspective and controls of Android screens. The traditional Rocket League is best described as soccer with cars, and it's earned praise and attention for its straightforward and streamlined approach to getting into the game. Rocket League Sideswipe manages to succeed by embracing this accessibility even as it makes some alterations to better fit the unique tone of Rocket League, and the changes they do take to the formula work well for the most part.

The change any Rocket League player will notice as soon as they look at the screen is one of perspective. Sideswipe reduces the size of teams from three to two players, but it also has these battles play out in a fully two-dimensional perspective. It's an approach that allows players to adeptly navigate the field with nothing more than swipe controls, but it's obviously not quite as tactile as playing the original game on a console or PC. The simple combination of a boost and a jump that can be transformed into a double jump does a great job of capturing the mix of cartoon acrobatics and consistent if wild physics that Sideswipe's older and more mature sibling is known for. Together, this simple move set can be chained into satisfying trick combos and deft maneuvers that resemble a more simplified version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and the legion of trick-based extreme sports games that followed.

The fact that Rocket League's aesthetics already resemble simple toy cars helped them adapt exceedingly well to mobile devices. The result is an interface that's simple but not primitive. Textures are detailed and movement sharp, and it can clip along at a steady 60 frames per seconds at the highest settings on a decent phone. It's more proof that mobile games can really shine when they opt for signature graphical styles rather than chasing the highest fidelity imaginable. It keeps the flow of play feeling clean in Sideswipe and expedites the process of getting in and out of multiplayer games. And while the game does come with a store where you can spend real world money, Sideswipe continues Rocket League's established trend of making paid customization options solely cosmetic. Every car controls the same, and that gives you the freedom to decorate yours without worry about it affecting your performance.

This is a pick-up-and-play multiplayer experience at its core, but there's a surprisingly robust variety of game modes available in this free package. In online play, you can opt to play one-on-one rather than in teams, or you can engage in a version with altered rules designed to more closely resemble basketball than soccer. There's even a fully featured offline mode where you can race against the opponent in a variety of different formats to hone your skills as a player.

Pros

• Even playing field regardless of player spending
• Addictive competitive play you can learn in minutes
• Smooth multiplayer connectivity and in-race performance

Cons

• More simplified than the console version
• Little in the way of player progression