Ubisoft’s sports game Roller Champions alpha kicked-off yesterday showing some new content compared to last year’s E3 demo. The alpha allows you to create some rather androgynous looking characters, customise them and then play a tutorial. An option to play with bots exist to allow players to get a feel for the game before jumping in with online players. Take a look at the Roller Champions gameplay video which shows all of these features in action.
We like the idea behind this sports game which reminds us of the scenes in Alita: Battle Angel. However, it’s not without faults. We think the tackling of those off-the-ball should be limited or have a cool-off which would encourage more tactical use. At present, players can grudge attack any other player regardless of the tactical merit. It’s somewhat unsportsmanlike and frustrating when on the receiving-end. That said, there is tactical merit in clearing a path for your team if they have the ball, so it’s a fine balancing act. Hopefully this is something that can change or tweaked to suit. Also, if one has the ball it would be great to have some indication another player is closing in on you from behind. The camera view is quite close here which means you can’t see who is breathing down your neck unless you start zig-zagging. It’s actually very satisfying to successfully evade an attempted take-down depending on the angle. However, knowing when to pass the ball or keep moving forwards would offer a little more options for the ball carrier.