while the second attempts to place
the car directly between the camera
and ball (ball cam). Neither of these
work for all scenarios, as if the
ball is directly above the player the
ball cam moves to above the car,
removing the reference point of
where you need to be. The locked
car view means that the ball might
not be on the screen at all. In order
to master the game, you’ll need to
learn which camera to use when.
Other than driving around, you
can also jump into the air. Holding
the jump button for longer means
that you just higher, and if you
need to jump higher still you can
double jump by pressing the jump
button a second time at the apex of
your jump. This needs to be done
without holding a direction key (or
moving your joystick/thumbstick
in a direction), as the second jump
combined with a direction will result
in a dodge.
Dodging left or right will perform
a barrel roll, which is essential for
blocking certain shots or hitting
the ball sideways into the goals.
Dodging backwards results in a
bicycle kick, and dodging forwards
will power you forwards for striking
or picking up speed. A gamepad
with analogue sticks is certainly the
preferred method, as a keyboard
will only allow you to dodge in a
total of eight directions. The physics
is advanced enough that a dodge
34 The OverClocker Issue 42 | 2017
90 degrees to the left will send the
ball in a different direction than 80
degrees to the left.
You can also boost off (and, of
course, drive on) the walls of the
arena, and this is one place where
you will find the physics has a bit
of a glitch. If you’re in the air, no
matter your vertical speed, dodging
will always “reset gravity” instantly.
If you’re jumping up quite fast it’ll
be as though you’ve hit an invisible
barrier stopping you from going
higher, whereas if you’re falling at
speed gravity will seemingly forget
to work. This isn’t a major issue, as
it’s been that way since day one and
you’ll get used to it quickly.
Your car also has a boost function,
which is powered by picking up
orange orbs around the play area.
These will recharge the boost by
12% for the small orbs and all the
way to 100% for the large orbs. Once
picked up, the orbs will reappear on
the play field after a certain amount
of time. Holding down the boost
button results in your car shooting
forwards at an even greater speed,
allowing you to truly power the ball
into the goals or race across the
map for a save.
Other than needing them yourself,
a common tactic is to collect as
many as possible even if you don’t
need them in order the “boost
starve” your opponents. Boost
is also used for flying - yes, with