Rocket Arena: Mythic Edition

With hindsight, it's strange that it took so long that shoot-'em-ups needed their own version of kart racing. And yet, it wasn't so long ago that the world of shooters was awash with gravelly soldiers and beefcake space marines. Yet, one or two mega-smashes (Overwatch and Fortnite) later and suddenly the most popular online shoot-'em-ups look more like Ratchet & Clank than Apocalypse Now. Rocket Arena, developed by Final Strike Games and published by Electronic Arts, is proving itself one of the most bombastic of the whole lot in a very literal way, offering fast-paced online 3v3 arena combat for the masses.

Ironically, the first iteration of Rocket Arena was a mod for Quake that was designed to level the playing field by stripping out health and weapons pickups and give everyone the same load-out. This most recent, decidedly brighter version, is very much entrenched in its class system and regenerating health, however.

Rockets are, of course, a big part of the game. Big rockets, small rockets, fast rockets, slow rockets, rockets rockets rockets. For all its explosions and loose interpretation of gravity, however, the thing that perhaps most marks Rocket Arena as different from its peers is the way damage is taken. Instead of your health being sapped by successive strikes, you instead start to overheat, with your health bar building and building until you're blown right out of the arena. It sounds like a minor tweak, but psychologically it's immensely satisfying chasing someone until you nail them with that critical blow that will push them over the top.

The roster of heroes on offer is colourful, imaginative and packed with weird and wonderful personalities and backstories. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and you can make them your own by using your XP to unlock rocket parts, totem parts and outfits. You can also unlock artifacts that offer their own stat boosts and abilities, giving you a massive range of possibilities when it comes to strategy and tactics. The world of Crater and its many combat arenas is just as weird and wonderful as the roster, too.

All those other players aren't going to blow themselves up - Let's Rocket!