![]() ![]() Some abilities are riskier but offer more reward. ![]() It’s less directly offensive than some of the direct-damage abilities boasted by some of her peers, but I found that I was almost guaranteed a few cheeky off-screen kills by plopping down totems at choke points whenever my cooldown expired, while also keeping my teammates (and myself) in fights for a few more seconds. On a press of F, she’ll pop down a wibbly red totem that heals me and my teammates, while also damaging any enemies that step inside its unholy confines. Galena’s active ability is one of my favourites, too. Blazkowicz - on loan from Bethesda stablemate Wolfenstein - will instead heal himself up to the next highest multiple of 25 when out of combat for a few seconds, while white-eyed space witch Galena reduces her active ability cooldown by picking up health items. Waddling tank robot Clutch, for example, will gain speed if it’s travelling in a straight line, and players can double-tap movement keys to execute a quick dodge in that direction. Passive abilities are always-on buffs to movement, healing, or other core combat mechanics. This, coupled with his passive boost to air control, lets him turn the tables rapidly on chasing opponents, kickflipping his way back into fights he was previously losing. For Anarki, this is a syringe full of mysterious drugs that, when injected into his cybernetically enhanced arm, overcharges both his health bar and his acceleration. Active abilities are turned on with the F key, operate on a cooldown timer, and can change the course of firefights. These abilities fall into two categories: active and passive. Each of QC’s playable champions comes with unique abilities that make each of them handle a little differently, making id Software’s game feel a little like the result of a telefrag accident between Quake 3 and contemporary shooters like Overwatch. There are some concessions to more modern game design theories here, though. They’re joined by two extra-special pickups: protection, which offers significant damage reduction to the bearer, and the legendary quad damage, which does exactly what it’s always done. Health and ammo packs operate on the same principle as they did in 1999, too, appearing dotted around the level for collection by speedy players. QC borrows the weapons from that seminal game, handing over rocket launcher and railgun to its players, as well as Quake classics like the shotgun, nailgun, and lightning gun. That would be the game itself, a resolutely old-school arena shooter that - in full flow - feels as fast and fluid as Quake 3 did in 1999. But he’s not even the most ‘90s thing about Quake Champions. He’s the video game version of The Simpsons’ Poochie: an attitude-by-numbers toon cooked up by an undead focus group whose members all died when Papa Roach released their first album. One of Quake Champions’ 12 playable characters, Anarki (1) rides a hovering skateboard, (2) has a pink-dyed mohawk, (3) sports a pair of space JNCOs tucked into his metal legs, and (4) talks like the galaxy’s spaciest stoner dude. If, for some reason, you needed reminding of Quake Champions’ 90s heritage, then you need look no further than Anarki. Update Night is a fortnightly column in which Rich McCormick revisits games to find out whether they've been changed for better or worse. ![]()
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