I have a rather love/hate relationship with Champions Online. On one hand, I love to sit at the character creation screen and make new heroes over and over (like Scorsese, pictured above), but on the other hand I hate how the game is bogged down by performance and balance issues. Still, Champions is a solid offering from Cryptic, the same game studio who made the original superhero MMO, City of Heroes. The fact that it is a subscription based game should also go in it’s favor, as most of the gripes I have with it will certainly be ironed out in a few months.
MMORPG games are a type of game that is best enjoyed with a group of friends – much like gang-banging a hooker or robbing a bank, and Champions is no exception to that rule.
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Superhero MMO’s will be going head to head soon, with Champions Online and DC Universe Online set to take the stage. The first to hit the playing field will be Champions Online, which has just gone gold and it set for a September release.
If you’re itching to get your hands on the game before then, head over FilePlanet where you can join the open beta and start power leveling your hero. Or if you’re a mean shit, you can go make a nemesis with the game’s insanely powerful character customization tools.
Personally, I’m holding off for DC Universe Online. I’d rather have some superheros and villians in there that I recognize. That, and I want to try out an MMO on a console when it ships for PS3. What about you? Will you be playing either game?
Loot Ninja got some hands on time with the upcoming MMORPG, Champions Online, at the recent NY Comic Con. This game allows you to create your own hero from scratch and do whatever you can think of. The game play is similar to many MMO’s where you map all of your powers to certain keys and attack accordingly. Some the powers that you are privy to are fire, water, mind, weapons, you name it. The beauty in Champions Online is the total control you have in creating your own hero. You choose from the clothes you wear to the powers you will eventually harness to make you a force to be reckoned with.
The demo level we got to play allowed us to roam around a park and fight several low level baddies. The demo was pre-alpha so the background textures were not finished but the game play was far enough along to beat some ass. You charge up your “mana” level and you can then allocate it to the powers you choose. Also, attacks can be linked together depending on how much charge you have left and the strength of the attack. The demo was short, so there is not much of actual game to discuss, but there are plenty of pertinent details remaining.
The game, like all MMOs, want you to play in a group. There are no villains here, just heroes, so you are a good guy whether you want to be or not. Furthermore, the game does not have crazy high CPU requirements: 3 gb of RAM, 9200 video card, 3 ghz processor, etc. Again, nothing insane but not WoW levels of hardware. The game right now is slated to just be on the PC, but they claim that they are shopping for a console version. This may be tough with MS’s Marvel Online and Sony’s DC Universe. The game will also have a subscription, probably around $15, although that is not set in stone. With at least 3 hero based MMORPG’s coming out in the upcoming year, Champions Online will have to do something drastic to differentiate itself from the other console iterations to make some noise.
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