Rollerdrome – Starting with Killer Skateboarding – Gameplay No Commentary – IDC Plays
0Rollerdrome is by the creators of the OlliOlli saga and is one of those games that you sit down to early in the afternoon and then can’t peel yourself away from until you’ve completed it late at night. What’s more, you’ll be straight back at it the following day, trying to complete all the challenges you didn’t manage first time round.
Gameplay is pretty flawless. However, some sections are too focused on telling a story that, quite frankly, isn’t particularly captivating and which is told via computer messages and newspaper clippings in small first-person sections. The real focus here is getting to the door that starts a new level as quickly as possible.
Once you get past the initial narrative phase – which isn’t in every level – it's time to get down to business. Jump, aim, shoot, take someone’s head off, explode an explosive barrel, create a combo, get ammo – and repeat. You can’t appreciate how simple it really is just by watching the videos.
Using the Tony Hawk control scheme for grabs, grinds and spins, getting started with Rollerdrome is relatively easy. After all, you should already be familiar with the button configuration and therefore you’ll know how to do the tricks.
What you perhaps won’t be able to work out is how to shoot accurately while doing a flip… but it's just as simple, really. Press the aim trigger and action will slow down for a short while, then the scope will lock on to the enemy closest to you. Now all that's left is the easy part: shooting.
Tricks give you ammo, kills give you life, and combos give you points. And with a formula as simple as that, Rollerdrome delivers one of the most fun experiences imaginable.
Classic gameplay of unlocking levels dependent on challenges completed, a loop of repeating missions to reach the required score, collecting all the letters or doing various tricks in various places; all of this combined will have you hooked.
While Rollerdrome is far from perfect, it does try to be where gameplay is concerned. The constant action, its familiar surroundings and how fun and straightforward it is to create increasingly crazy combos, all make up for all any criticisms you might have been quick to throw at it.