Roller Champions, Ubisoft's tried and tested competitive 3v3 game
Roller Champions
We remember Roller Champions well: it was one of the last titles we tried at E3 2019 at the Ubisoft booth. It was a fun 3-on-3 competitive game that mixes the handball with basketball, some American football and, of course, rollerblading. The game was almost finished, so much so that a demo was released open to all to polish the last details. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic and the French publisher decided to postpone its game for several months.Now we have finally come to the moment when Roller Champions is ready to hit the Xbox One digital stores, PC, PlayStation 4 (on next-gen through backwards compatibility) and later even on Amazon Luna. But how is the game? How has it aged over the years?
Pending the opening of the servers to the public, we tell you about Roller Champions in our tried and tested.
Gameplay
An arena of Roller Champions Let's start from the basics: what is Roller Champions? This is a competitive 3v3 team title (although there are special modes for 2-player teams) in which the first to score 5 points or whoever has the most goals at the end of 7 minutes of regulation time wins.The arenas are ovals to be covered on rollerblades and the points can be scored by throwing the only ball inside a basket placed on the sides of the track. Except that it is not possible to score at any time: before making the basket a team must complete a full circle with the ball in hand. But not only that: making two laps the basket is worth 3 points, making 3 the basket is worth 5 points and the direct victory of the game.
The opponents, of course, are not just there to blow themselves up like pins, but they will have to try to catch the ball before it is thrown into the basket. To do this, you have some moves available, such as the ability to tackle, to try to block the shooter or to stand between the passes, so as to intercept the ball. Once possession is changed, the count is reset and it will be necessary to complete at least one lap to be able to reactivate the basket.
Advanced strategies
Roller Champions These are the basics. Obviously, then, there is room for some advanced techniques that will define the strategy of each team. You can decide to chase the ball carrier using your teammates to give yourself a propulsion or to go through the oval in the opposite direction to intercept the opponents head-on.In attack you can try to pass the ball, use your teammates to increase your speed or use them as bodyguards engaged in tackling all opponents.
The variables seem to be sufficient to guarantee a good variety between matches and team play always seems to be the key to victory. The fights may not be perfectly calculated, but overall the games always seem fun and do not create frustration.
Modes
Roller Champions Throughout the life of Roller Champions the Ubisoft developers they plan to offer timed modes with which to make the game offer more varied, but for the moment there are only a handful of variants available. There are quick games, which is the best way to learn how to play, and ranked games, the place to test your skills. Then there is the Skatepark, a social place to meet up with others, and custom games. That's it.New game modes, maps, costumes and events should arrive in the coming months. Everything will obviously depend on how Roller Champions will be received and how many people it will be able to capture in the long run.
Aesthetic research
Some aesthetic customizations of Roller Champions Obviously the game is not still been studied by millions of players, which is the only way to understand if there are weaknesses, bad balances or problems of some kind in the development of the gameplay.The absence of upgrades or objects capable of modifying the performance of the athletes, however, should ensure the balance and fairness of each match. It is true that there are season passes to buy and many items to buy even through real currency, but these are things that are only used to express your personality and make your athlete captivating, not to change their performance. The spectrum of pay-to-win therefore seems averted.
The style of Roller Champions The style of Roller Champions is very young, colorful, a little crazy in aesthetics and in the use of lights and effects, but the overall result is quite coherent and pleasant. We especially appreciated the fact that the graphics engine seems to be quite light, able to run even on recent PCs, but not equipped with a dedicated graphics card, which could enormously expand the potential audience that could access the game.
The solidity of the game code, however, still does not seem optimal, given that we have witnessed several crashes or slowdowns apparently not related to any particular event. These are all things, however, that can be fixed with a few updates. Good, the sound, full of lots of rather catchy music.
Waiting for the server to open, which will take place on May 25 at midnight, and the consequent arrival of the players, we can only say we are hopeful towards Roller Champions. The gameplay is original, the games are fast and spectacular and the economic model is based only on aesthetic objects and therefore there is no risk of pay-to-win. The dangers are linked to a poor distribution of the title and a little variety in the long term of modes and gameplay. All things that take time to analyze and for this reason we take a few days before we offer you the review.
