Considering that QuakeCon is named after, well, Quake it doesn't see an announcement about a new game in the franchise all that often. Expectations were high this year though, following the reveal of Quake Champions at Bethesda's E3 and QuakeCon didn't dissapoint. id Software's Creative Director, Tim Willits, took the stage during the keynote at the convention and showed off some new footage of Quake Champions. In addition to the gameplay trailer, seen below, a plethora of details were revealed. So watch the trailer, and then lets break it down.
While many fans were disappointed that Quake Champions seemed to be a hero shooter in the E3 trailer, little of that is on display in the trailer. Instead the game looked fast and frenetic, very similar to the classic Quake 3: Arena. Instead, Willits confirmed that while each character has a single unique ability, they are more "additive", stating that games will be determined by player skill and not team comps.
Characters
Several characters were confirmed, and the names and abilities are as follows:
- Ranger - Has a throwable teleporter. You can warp to it while its in midair.
- Nyx- Ghost walk allows her to temporarily turn invisible. This seems like a great escape tool, or a good way to get the drop on foes.
- Anarki- Has a...hoverboard. It seems to make him faster. Ok?
- Visor- Piercing Sight is basically temporary wall hacks, letting him see enemies through walls.
- Scalebearer- Bull Rush lets him close distance quickly and lay the smackdown on his enemies.
Weapons
This is the fun part. While not all of the weapons were revealed, if you pay attention to the trailer you can see some old Quake staples:
- Buzz Saw Gauntlet
- Machine Gun
- Shotgun
- Lightning Gun
- Rocket Launcher
- Rail Gun
- NAIL GUN!!!
The game looked extremely fast, as you can see above. There was tons of bunny hopping, rocket jumping and midair rail gun frags. All of this is reassuring to longtime fans of the franchise. Even more assuring were the comments by Willits that there are no loadouts in the game. Instead, you move around the map and collect weapons. As he put it "That's how you get weapons in a Quake game." Given the mixed reactions to the multiplayer of Bethesda and id's other recent shooter DOOM, its no wonder that fans were pleased by the return to old school arena shooter form.
As if all of that weren't enough information to send fanboys into overload, me included, the Quake Champions closed beta has been confirmed as beginning in 2017. Details on how to get in have yet to be revealed, but you can be sure we'll be posting about it when we find out. After we all sign up, of course.
