If you think soccer is pretty boring, would some flying monster trucks help spice things up? This upcoming Unreal Engine 3-powered downloadable PS3 title from Psynoix makes 4 on 4 arena soccer a little more tolerable with dune buggies, nitro boosts, and some ridiculous explosions.

These battle cars may appear tiny at first glance, but that’s only because the soccer ball they have to guide through the goal is outrageously huge. The basic game mode is a 5 minute versus, with a maximum or four players on each side, but there’s also some single player training modes that you can complete to unlock more cars.

But don’t go in expecting a lot of car combat– everything in this game seems to bounce around like crazy, and to destroy your opponents you’ll have to ram into them at full speed, which is easier said than done. You’ll respawn constantly, deathmatch-style, and the only way to really win is to go after the giant soccer ball and push it into the goal.

Each goal, by the way, results in a catastrophic explosion and slow-mo replay. Why? Because it looks cool, that’s why.

The “acrobatic” part of this ludicrously-titled game comes from your car’s ability to dodge left and right in midair, performing barrel rolls as if they were jet planes. You can also angle your vehicle upwards and boost, resulting in some very cool Iron Man-style takeoffs.

A few of the bonus rounds will encourage you to master this ability, like one where you have to launch yourself into spheres that are suspended high above the ground. Another tactic you can use is to speed up the curved walls of the arena onto the ceiling, but using the jump boost is much more satisfying.

We played some split-screen deathmatch, although with only 1/4 of the screen it was very difficult to keep track of the ball. Fortunately, there’s a handy lock-on camera that keeps the ball in front of you, and you can turn this on or off with the triangle button.

8 player play looks pretty great too, and if nobody scores in five minutes the game goes to a sudden death round, where one goal is all you need to win. Needless to say, these showdowns can be very dramatic and intense.

When SARB launches this fall, it might be one of the best downloadable titles on the PSN. It doesn’t have the same multi-vehicle appeal of a game like Warhawk, but the simple focus on rocket-powered sports is highly stimulating. Plus, it’s got lots of training minigames that help you build up your skills in the arena, and a very robust replay editor that lets you focus on the best moments in a match and upload them directly to Youtube from your PS3. The name may be silly, but the game itself looks like serious fun.

Tags: arena soccer, PSN, racing

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1 Comment »

1. cell989 on September 11, 2008 11:01 am

   well first of all soccer is NOT boring, it happens to be the MOST popular sport on the planet. I suggest you don’t blame soccer for your couch-potato syndrome.

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