![]() ![]() It's also free-to-play, which obviously raises alarms for some and not for others. The official line: "Currently we're working on PC only 'cause that's what we're developing on, but just stay tuned for closer to launch and we'll have more news for you." Speaking to Naomi Barnes, Live Operations Manager at Ubisoft Montreal, we couldn't get a confirmation of platforms but were told to hang tight. ![]() It's coming "early 2020", with a four-day free demo from 10th June (right after the conference) to 14th June on PC via Uplay. Add the complete absence of skaters with different abilities, and arenas that are pretty much the same, and you get an experience that gets stale very quickly.Ubisoft announced Roller Champions today during its E3 conference, a kind of Rocket League-y 3v3 game in development at Ubisoft Montreal, as well as its Winnipeg and Pune support studios. Players have very little control during these scrambles, so it's pretty much impossible to come up with an effective strategy. ![]() If you're trying to get the ball back, you can tackle opponents and if you are successful, you will see chaos ensue all around you, as players from both teams rush to get the ball. For starters, the amount of both offensive and defensive options are extremely limited: if you're holding the ball, you can try performing a quick dodge to avoid an incoming tackle or pass the ball to a teammate. This very simple premise is fun for the first four or five matches, as it doesn't take a while for the experience to start showing all of its limitations. A single lap awards a single point, but completing three laps and scoring will award the team with all of the 5 points needed to win the game, adding an interesting risk-reward factor to the entire experience. Two teams made up of up to three players must score 5 points to win the match, and the number of points obtained by scoring is determined by how many laps they can complete without losing the ball. It's a shame because the rules of this futuristic sport are quite interesting. ![]() There isn't anything that's inherently wrong with Roller Champions, to be completely honest, it's just that the mechanics are way too straightforward to make the game one that you will play for a long time. If you're in for the gameplay, however, you may be disappointed. The character creator offers a decent amount of options, and items that must be unlocked with in-game currency obtained by taking part in matches will provide players all they need to make their skater unique. Right from the get-go, it is clear how visual customization will be one of the biggest focuses of the game, as the closed beta already offers tons of different customization options for your skater. The Roller Champions closed beta does provide a look at how the experience may evolve once it finally releases to the public. Unfortunately, the game hasn't changed a whole lot since the original showing: the core gameplay mechanics are pretty much identical. The easy to pick up and play nature of the game was definitely the highlight, and I was not too concerned with the evident lack of depth and the chaos that often erupted during my matches, as the game had just been announced and it was clear that it wouldn't be released for quite some time. I had the chance to try out Roller Champions at the E3 2019, and the short hands-on time I had did leave me entertained. In its current state, however, Roller Champions doesn't have a whole lot of chances of becoming the next big multiplayer sensation: the experience is simply not deep enough to hold interest for long. The game by the European publisher, just like the hit made by Psyonix, features a futuristic take on sports, colorful arenas, and an experience that could, at least on paper, rival with some other eSports titles. Ever since its announcement, it was clear how Roller Champions was Ubisoft's answer to the immensely popular Rocket League. ![]()
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