EXTRAS
Action and skates in the same game: I’ve tried Roller Drome and I can already tell you that it’s going to be the bomb
Roller Drome is warming up for its launch next month. The game that mixes third-person action and skating is postulated as one of the surprises of the year, and after trying it I have to admit that this curious combination hooks, lets itself be played and is set in a dystopian future that has left me intrigued.
One of the surprises of the last State of Play is very close to its departure. Roller Drome, the single player title that combines third person shooter action and acrobatic skating is finishing “combing” as they say, and I have been lucky enough to try this original and frenetic Roll7 game to whet your appetite for its release in a couple of weeks. After messing around with it, the latest game from the makers of OlliOlli offers much more than it may seem in its original proposal, with an arcade and very showy approach that will delight lovers of the genres on which it has been built.
The first thing that strikes you about Roller Drome is the combination of genres so disparate such as skating and third-person shooting. When it was presented at Sony’s ”non-E3” event, not a few felt curiosity to know more about this title appeared by surprise, server included. Also, in my case, I couldn’t avoid a certain parallelism with another recently released game, which I did the review, and centered around the sport of skating: Ubisoft’s Roller Champions. Although at that time it was inevitable to make that comparison, after having played it I can assure you that the similarities -at all levels- between both games they end in the fact that our avatars move on skates.
The approach of the game is to overcome a series of combat arenas with various weapons eliminating large groups of enemies that are after us: melee fighters, snipers, rocket launchers and even mechs try to eliminate us from the bloody competition that the game represents. The grace is that to achieve this we must replenish the ammunition of our different weapons by performing feints, acrobatics and “grindings” on the railings and ramps that are scattered around the stage. The variety of tracks we fight on is very wide and it feels organicwith which it has not seemed to me that any confrontation is a repetition of the previous one.
Comic book aesthetics in a futuristic blood sport
But Roller Drome is not just a succession of scenarios or combat arenas in which to measure our ability against what the game throws at us. Its aesthetic enters through the eyes and helps the fluidity of their games. The flat colors and textures of the game have made me feel inside a european comic. This graphic simplicity is appreciated since facilitates reading the elements that are in the game, and believe me when I tell you that it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of enemies that come after you during an encounter. In fact, it is something that can even come in handy to users who do not have a state-of-the-art PC to be able to play this title, since in the dozen hours that I have played so far I have only experienced one exit to the desktop, and that is really modest as to requirements to be able to play.
Its colors and flat textures have made me feel inside a European comicAs to his storyof which I will speak in depth in its respective analysis, I can tell you that it is not simply about following the path of kara hassan -the protagonist- in her attempt to become the champion of the edition of the year in which she debuts. It seems that behind all this violent sport there is more than the typical ego fights among the favorites of the competition, because between round and round -if we dedicate ourselves to exploring the environment in which our next meeting is about to begin – I have come to discover details that reveal the true nature and intentions of the companies behind the organization of the championship. Perhaps in the end it is not the most intricate of plots for a game of this type, but it is worth mentioning the fact that the creators of the game wanted endow to their title of a universe that they could perfectly iterate on in terms of story elements and character development.
Going back to the game itself, the work that Roll7 has done in such a ”furtive” way is commendable -remember that until just two months ago nobody knew of the existence of this title-, and with results that are make tremendously attractive in the playable. They also point out that the game will be only for one player, but at the moment it would not be necessary to have multiplayer to attract the public to which it is directed. Yes it will have online leaderboards to be able to measure how well we know how to chain casualties, acrobatics and finish an arena quickly compared to the rest of the players.
The only thing that remains to be seen of this curious game when it comes out is what it will be like your reception by the fans and if it will sink in deep enough enough for its developers to want, or make a sequel, or work on additional content for the game. Personally, it would not bother me that this second scenario was chosen. The game has a lot of potential and is really fun, while also having a series of challenges and an extra mode that offers us to revalidate the title of Roller Drome champion in much more demanding of the levels played throughout the championship edition, but I would lie to you if i told you that enough for me the clues and enemies it brings.
Also note that at the time of its release the game will be available at a reduced price of approximately 20 euros on Steam during its first fortnight of life. After that time, the final price it will be 30so the entrance fee is very affordable for a new game, colorful, and that has a certain competitive capacity in the arcade field. We will have to see how it ”slides” in a couple of weeks.
