We’ve got a few more weeks before the frost begins to melt from the ground and the presence of grass is visible, but don’t tell that to Triple B Games. College lacrosse season may be about to commence, but the digital version started last Sunday. In their third lacrosse outing, College Lacrosse 2011, developer Triple B Games teamed up with Cross Studios to create what is their best piece of work yet.
Huge improvements have been made in nearly every department. The animations offer smoother transitions as players switch hands or perform dodges. Goalies now fall to one knee as they perform Herculean efforts to protect their cage at all costs. The developer took the time to motion cap 500 different animations, and their effort really shows. You won’t see any of the animations from the previous games, which while not terrible, are greatly improved and look more professional in this iteration. These technical innovations, although minor in the grand scheme of things, are what separate this title from the others in indie catalog. Screenshots don’t do this game justice, which is a shame considering that’s what I believe leads to most of the indie game sales. While most gamers probably won’t even recognize the work that is required to go under the hood and create a game as technically sharp as this, those of us who do appreciate it.
The sound effects have improved significantly as well, with the addition of artists Adam Curtis and Arman Abounourinejad, who combined, have experience with studios such as Ignition London, Headstrong Games, EA and Digital Extremes. Voice-overs have been recorded to line up with a number of the animations, and players taunt opponents, which provides more ambiance for the environment. As I performed split-dodges to the cage, I could hear the sound of titanium shafts cracking against one another blaring out from my surround-left speaker, while calls of “fire” and “I’m hot” from sliding defensemen as they ambitiously slid from their coverage and toward my direction came from the front-right speaker. It is minor nuances like this that further engulfed me within the world of a college lacrosse player.
Animated crowds fill the stands and can be heard throughout play, but I chose to drown out their shouts by the announcer who does an outstanding job of play-by-play commentary. For some reason the game has his voice turned off by default, so be sure to turn it on within the settings menu. While the default camera angle does a great job of keeping you in the action, I appreciated the ability to adjust the view and use a sideline angle to allow for nearly a full-field view in order to set up plays and defenses. While on the topic of defense, players have the ability to call for double teams, as well as control how loose fellow defenders should play off the ball. Poke checks are back, as are wrap checks and pushes, both of which appear more fluid than ever. Various offensive packages are available for those looking to tinker with the strategic elements of lacrosse as well. On offense, I could call for a cutter as I dodged from behind the cage, allowing me to easily set up plays on the fly. The most notable, albeit small, change is the ability to square-up to the cage while on offense, or to the player you are covering on defense. This allows for more accurate shots and better defensive coverage of opponents.
A multitude of modes generally only featured in retails titles are available to play, including practice, exhibitions, and a season mode. For the real lacrosse aficionados, a “Braveheart” mode is present, where two players start at the face-off circle and battle for supremacy with goalies defending the cages on both sides of the field. Mutliplayer matches can be played locally, through system-link, or over Live, although I wasn’t able to find any opponents two days after launch. Adding to replayability, as players progress through a season, cash is rewarded for various achievements such as completed passes, shots, and possession time, which can be used to purchase in-game upgrades such as cleats for faster sprinting, shafts for stronger checks, and heads for better ground balls.
The AI has been improved significantly as well. Wild passes that flew out of bounds plagued the previous titles, and in the hours I spent with College Lacrosse 2011, I only had this occur once. Furthermore, officials do an excellent job of calling penalties as they occur, including pushes from behind, and slashes when I hammered on the wrap-check button. After a penalty is called, a replay identifies where the error was made, and never did I cry foul. Ultimately I found defenses pick up the open man and slide intelligently, as do offensive cutters when I drove to the cage. Again, these are minor technical achievements on the programming side which go unnoticed in screen shots and even in videos, but add to the ethos that Triple B is one of the premier XNA development studios.
It is titles such as this which remind me of why I got into writing about independent games in the first place. Small studios spark innovation and allow the larger publishers to become aware of markets they weren’t aware once existed. There is no better place for College Lacrosse 2011 to grow its wings than on Xbox Live. This is the first 5 star review I’ve handed out thus far, and it’s well deserved. I can only hope that others take note and follow the fine example Cross Studios and Triple B Games has set.
(source http://www.armlessoctopus.com/2011/02/17/xbox-indie-review-college-lacrosse-2011/)
