Lacrosse is a growing sport across America and the rest of the world, but it has had little representation in the video game department. A handful of games have appeared on various consoles throughout the years, but haven’t found much success. All that looks to change with Casey Powell Lacrosse 16.
iDigitalTimes had the opportunity to talk to the cover athlete, and the game’s namesake, Casey Powell. Powell is a professional lacrosse player, having played since 1999 in the National Lacrosse League and 2003 in Major League Lacrosse. Powell is currently playing for the Florida Launch, whose season begins next month.
Powell says one of the most common questions he gets from fans are about when lacrosse will have its own version of a franchise like the EA Sports NHL games. “Being a lacrosse player and being heavily into this sport, everywhere I go people go ‘when’s there gonna be a video game? When’s there gonna be a video game?,’” Powell said. “It’s something people interesting in the sport have been asking for.”
When given the chance to be the cover athlete, Powell jumped at it. “I got the opportunity to put my namesake on it, endorse it and legitimize it,” he said. “I’m really excited to be a part of it. To help push it out and help expose the sport to people that play the video game.”
For those familiar with lacrosse video games, only one developer really matters: Crosse Studio. Crosse is responsible for the College Lacrosse series of games and NLL Lacrosse 2010 and 2011.
Crosse developer Carlo Sunseri has been perfecting his work since the first lacrosse game he made. Casey Powell Lacrosse 16 stands as the best version yet. “He’s been continually progressing with it, and it’s by far the best product to date,” said Powell. Big Ant Studios has also aided in the development of Casey Powell Lacrosse 16, but did not work on any previous lacrosse games with Crosse.
If you are unfamiliar with lacrosse, there are two main versions of the sport. There’s indoor, or box lacrosse, and outdoor, or field lacrosse. The version found in Casey Powell Lacrosse 16 is the outdoor variety, the version played in the NCAA and MLL. While Powell has given his likeness to the game, no professional organization has followed suit. That means there are generic teams and players.
One thing Powell wants to get out of this new game is the ability to teach with it. Powell runs camps and is the Director of Lacrosse Programs for North Broward Preparatory School. “I’m not a huge gamer, but I’ve dusted off the paddles,” said Powell. “I have a new Xbox on the way, and I’ll be playing it quite often. I’ll take it where I go. I like to have fun with it, but also can use it as an educational tool.”
Casey Powell Lacrosse 16 is now available for PS4, Xbox One, and Steam. An iDigitalTimes review will be coming in the next few days.
So what do you think? Are you excited to see a new lacrosse game getting released? Have you played the sport yourself? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
