Quake Champions
by Aethyna
Jun 8, 2017 |
1
Votes |
1
Played |
0
Reviews
8
rate
Genres:
First Person Shooter , MMOGraphics:
3DLabels:
Capture Points , Dark Fantasy , Shooting , Sci-Fi , Player vs Player (PvP) , Deathmatch , Team Deathmatch , ArenaPlatforms:
Publishers:
Bethesda Softworks Featuring incredible graphics, deviously-designed maps, a selection of fun champions to play as, and, of course, the intensely fast-paced gameplay, Quake Champion might just be able to push the Quake franchise back into the limelight and start off a brand-new eSports series for competitive players. Play Now Similar Games Played
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Note: This is a closed beta review of Quake Champions. The content in this review may vary as the game is improved over time, and if there’s any huge improvements that is evident during the game’s launch, we’ll definitely be updating this review. Summary
Quake is the epitome of a classic MMOFPS game and following in this timeless game’s wake is Bethesda’s latest attempt at revitalizing the franchise, Quake Champions. Featuring incredible graphics, deviously-designed maps, a selection of fun champions to play as along with a wide range of customization options, and, of course, the intensely fast-paced gameplay, Quake Champion might just be able to push the Quake franchise back into the limelight and start off a brand-new eSports series for competitive players.
Gameplay
With the shadow of Quake’s success looming over it, Quake Champions starts by introducing something different right off the bat – champions (and hence the name)! Taking a page of out of games like Team Fortress 2 and Dirty Bomb where the characters themselves are an integral part of the gameplay, the 9 unique champions that Quake Champions provide changes up the game experience you’d have mainly because they are played very differently. After all, each champion in this game has their own set of stats (high health, but low damage and speed, for example) as well as 1 active and 1 passive abilities.
The appearances of the champions can be customized as well if you’ve got a champion skin or outfit. You can usually get them from loot boxes through a gachapon system. Loot boxes, on the other hand, are rewarded to random players after a match regardless of the score but you can also buy them at the in-game shop. These skins or outfits are all cosmetic in nature and will not give players with additional stats or bonuses.
Unfortunately – and I’m sure I’m not the only one to think so – unless you’re willing to spend real money on premium cash (it’s called Platinum by the way), you won’t be able to unlock a champion permanently... though, everybody will get the Ranger permanently for free by default. Instead, you can only rent a champion for a limited amount of time using in-game currency. In some way, this is an admittedly fair method for monetizing the champions, but I’m sure many players would like if there’s a rotation of maybe 1 or 2 free champions per month once or if they have a lot more champions to choose from.
There were also some issues in regard to balancing between champions that I’ve picked up on via the game chat. Since there’s no limit on team composition in this game, it is possible that the team you’ll be facing might just be filled to the brim with overpowered champions. Can you imagine the carnage? However, since the game’s still in beta, players will need to give the dev team some feedback and some time to get everything balanced out. Until then, all you can do is to play your very best!
Aside from its nice range of champions, Quake Champions provides an awesome selection of game modes too! There are 4 game modes at the moment, namely Deathmatch (DM), Team Deathmatch (TDM), Duel and Sacrifice, with 2 more modes that are coming soon. DMs and TDMs are basically the usual game modes you’d encounter in MMO shooter games, but Duel and Sacrifice are pretty unique so we’ll explore a bit more on these modes.
Duel mode is essentially a 1-on-1 match but instead of ending the game with only 1 round, you’ll need to fight your opponent in 3 rounds. The most interesting part about this is that you can’t use the same champion for each round. So, before you could even sign up to join this mode, you’ll first need to rent or buy at least 3 different champions.
The latest game mode to be released, Sacrifice, is pretty much like a standard TDM game, except that your team will have 2 main objectives – 1. Capture and control obelisks and 2. Sacrifice souls by killing other players, earn points and please the Elder Gods. It’s also interesting to note that although the queue times for DM and TDM are fairly reasonable (usually less than 5 minutes) but somehow, Sacrifice isn’t as popular among beta testers. I actually gave up on the queue after waiting for more than 10 minutes.
Now, don’t get me wrong - although the game only has 2 maps, namely Ruins of Sarnath and Burial Chamber, the maps in Quake Champions are both brilliantly designed. The many paths, tunnels and teleporting pads, both above and below ground, made the map feel like a maze sometimes and can be a bit daunting for a new player at least for the first few matches. It just feels a bit unfortunate that the game only has 2 maps for beta players to try out.
So, you’ve scored a match... now what? Well, let’s take a look at the game’s frag-atastic combat! Quake Champions features a much more improved version of the classic Quake, but the game retains many of the elements that had made Quake so popular back then, such as the fast-paced gameplay, the high movement speed (but not mind-boggling so), as well as the arcade-like style of movement (a lot of jumping involved but no double jumps allowed) and combat.
In fact, if you’ve read the tool tips of some of the champions’ skills, you’ll notice that the game has cleverly molded the skills to capitalize on the speed of the game. For example, allowing your champion to move faster if you’re heading in the same direction for a certain period of time. There isn’t a lot of sneaking around either mainly because the game will show markers for nearby enemies and allies.
That said, you can still skillfully ambush an unsuspecting player, particularly when he is engaged in a furious shootout with another player. Sometimes, you may even accidentally bump into an opponent while running around the map. In this case, the player with the lightning-fast reflexes (and of course, the lowest ping) will get the first shot off and will usually be the only survivor of the encounter.
Not to mention, like the Quake before it, there are power-ups and weapons that you can pick up in the game. During respawn, each player will get to choose one of 3 preset loadouts for their champion. However, the map is filled with spawn sites containing other weapons, ranging from the sniper-like Railgun to the infamous Lightning gun and Rocket Launchers, that you can pick up by running through them. There’s even a purportedly super-overpowered melee weapon called the Gauntlet in this game.
Aside from weapons, there are power-ups like Mega Health (health restore or boost); Power-Up (damage and speed boost) and Armor (Armor restore or boost) that you can pick up at designated spawning points around the map as well. The respawn rates for both power-ups and weapons are pretty quick, though for weapons, you can also grab them from enemies you’ve fragged. Ammo is limited in Quake Champions, so be sure to collect ammo packs too. There are different types of ammo pack for the different weapons you’ll probably have so be sure to grab the right ones.
At the end of a match, 3 of the best players will be chosen for the MVP award, but other players can also get medals simply by doing something extraordinary like getting a revenge kill, fragging someone after you’ve died, etc in the game.
Overall, it’s safe to say that the combat in this game feels exhilarating not only because of the speed and the emphasis it places on reflexes and shooting tactics, but also the near-death encounters you may experience by cleverly using the power-ups around you to avoid a premature and gruesome end. Nevertheless, there are some flaws that I’ve noticed in my review. Hit boxes seem to be off, especially for headshots, but this might just be the latency trying to screw things up.
Scoping in Quake Champions is also another pet-peeve of mine. Unlike the usual MMOFPS format where the gun and its sights will become centered on the screen during scoping, the scoping aspect in this game just feels like you’re simply “zooming in” on the enemy. I’m not sure if you’d feel the same way, but this is something that’s just gnawing at my subconscious, like there’s something wrong, whenever I tried aiming at an opponent.
Oh, talking about pet-peeves, it’ll be great for players to rent or buy champions directly from the lobby rather than forcing them to head into the game shop. It’s just a lot faster. Besides, the game currently has a pretty bad matchmaking outcome. I won’t say the system’s bad because I suspect this is probably the case due to the lower player population at the moment. Once the game is released, this no longer may be an issue.
Quake Champions has plenty more features to offer, including daily challenges where you can get more loot boxes or currency, a crafting system for outfits using shards, player profile customization, as well as an in-game shop since the game’s going to be a freemium game. Currently, the shop is selling only champions and loot boxes, but it will likely add bundles/packs and consumables later.
Community
Quake Champions has a rather huge following even before its release due to it being a Quake game and its community is only expected to grow after its launch. Bethesda has also included many of Quake’s previous eSports players among its legion of beta testers, validated the rumors that Quake Champions may be primed as the new eSports game to play as well.
Graphics/ Sound
Quake Champions uses the unique blend of science-fiction theme that’s prevalent in all Quake games. I personally love how interactive and beautifully-designed their maps are – the very locations of fragging and carnage. This is evident in the Ruins of Sarnath where there’s a gigantic eyeball that actually tracks your movement if you’re close enough. It’s both creepy and awesome!
In terms of sound, the music in this game is rather ominous that befits the theme of the game. The sound effects are amazingly done too.
Conclusion
In short, Quake Champions is a solid and modern addition to the Quake franchise that will appeal to both old and new competitive players alike. It doesn’t only pay homage to the timeless MMO shooter; it also improves on the usual Quake formula, bringing the entire series to greater heights. The changes have also been met with approving nods from both the die-hard fans and the eSport Quake experts so the game’s definitely moving in the right direction. However, being a beta game, there are still plenty of minor tweaks to be done prior to release. Until then, you can check out the many game streams and videos they have put out and save all your fragging to when the game launches later this year.
Quake Champions Blog
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