One thing I always look for in Massively Multiplayer Online games (when one catches my attention) is anything that will make it different from all those other World of Warcraft clones or free-to-play games that tend to be of lower quality. In this case, Champions Online caught my attention. This game used to have monthly fees, but in January of 2011 - it became free and payment for a gold membership was made optional, which offered many advantages to those who had the money or will to pay for bonuses. So, is this game any different from other MMOs out there? Feel free to read on if you wish to find out.
What attracted me to Champions Online at first (other than its free-to-play option, of course) is its unusual setting. Ever heard of an MMO set in a world of superheroes, based on characters like Batman, Spider-man or Superman? Yes, "City of Heroes", but that was made by the same developer. So if you ask me, I'd call this setting quite rare - especially if you compare it to the very popular fantasy setting used in most MMOs. It is important for a game that chooses a specific setting, especially an unusual setting like this one, to be able to create an immersive atmosphere that makes the experience feel unique and special. Surprisingly Champions Online succeeds at doing so or at least to some extent. This isn't the sort of amazing atmosphere that you would find in games like STALKER or Batman: Arkham Asylum. However it is good, plus the story behind it is quite interesting (for an MMO) even if predictable and devoid of strong character personality development.
After creating an account, downloading the game and patching it for hours - you will finally be able to start your adventure in Champions Online. This will begin in the character creation process. Frankly, this has got to be one of the best parts of the whole game. You start by choosing an archetype. An archetype is basically the same thing as a class is in MMORPGS. The set of powers, abilities, attribute boosts and skill progression you receive will depend on this first important choice. You can choose from classic superhero archetypes that will allow you to shoot fire out of your hands, or ice. Or you might want to choose something a little different. Like the Blade archetype which uses a melee weapon to fight enemies. Or the Grimoire, a mage-like class. There are 11 archetypes in total. While 8 of them are free for all members, the other 3 are available only to players with gold memberships; however they can be bought from the C-Store by anyone.
Each of the archetypes has a role. The roles are: Protector, Brawler, Guardian, Avenger and Sentinel. Basically Protector is the best choice for a tank character. Brawler is for melee DPS. Guardian is the most balanced role. Avenger is ranged DPS and Sentinel can fulfil the role of a healer, most effective when playing with a group of players. Obviously if you are not familiar with MMOs then you will most probably not be familiar with the terms I just used - thankfully the game does a great job at describing each role and archetype to newcomers. This, plus the user-friendly interface, makes the game, well… user-friendly!
Choosing your archetype (while making sure its role suits your play style) would seem like the most important choice you'd make in character creation, and from many perspectives it is, but then there comes customization. Ho… ly… crap! I wish all games offered such a wide array of customization options for the player, especially MMOs - where you want to make sure that you look as unique as you can when compared to the hundreds of other players and can express yourself through extensive & creative character design. Thing is… you can actually do this in Champions Online. There are thousands of custom items to choose from, to each of these can be assigned a different texture, pattern or other details. As well as of course being able to change the colour of everything and completely customize your character's gender and physical build. You can spend hours on creating a new character or changing your costume at the tailor.
Cryptic Studios played it safe and didn't really try anything new in terms of gameplay for this game. On the other hand, the classic "point and click" MMO combat style feels kind of fresh and at times better paced than most other games from this genre. Your superhero's /superheroine's first ability is his/her energy building power. This is their base attack that doesn't have to be repeatedly initiated, it stays active once pressed and your character will continuously deal damage to the opponent(s) until the enemy is dead or you deactivate the ability. As your character will progress further through the game and level up, new abilities will become available. Most of these are different methods of attack which consume your energy, deal more instant damage than the energy builder power and require a short recharge time in order to be used again. What's important for an MMO is for its combat system to be addictive, and at that Champs Online succeeds.
One thing I really like about this game is how it manages to make you feel like a superhero. Not only does it give you millions of possible custom costume combinations but also allows you to choose your hero's stance and travel power. The stance can be similar to that of a normal person, a heroic proud stance or one of the stances that allow you to look like The Hulk or give you the ability to walk on all fours. Travel powers are even cooler. As you'd expect from an MMO you will have to traverse through large areas to complete various quests. Travel powers make life easier for the player and can greatly improve the speed of movement. These range from Superspeed, Superjump, Acrobatics to Teleportation or Flight. There are also a few others but unfortunately they don't come free. All of the travel powers have both advantages and disadvantages, but one thing's for sure: they make your superhero look awesome when activated.
When I first played World of Warcraft I remember that I used to stare in awe at the size and variety of the artistically good-looking environments. It is obvious that Champions Online does not offer areas to explore that are as big as those of WoW's because it is a newer game and still has a lot of potential, but the variety and artistic design is definitely there, even if not as impressive. You will be able to explore 6 large & different locations. Each of these areas has multiple factions fighting over the land, a unique storyline and quests as well as other challenges to complete. Your journey begins in Millenium City, a city of the future that was built on the remains of Detroit after it was destroyed by a supervillain called Dr Destroyer. As the player completes more quests and gains experience levels - new areas will become available. Areas such as the Desert (where the American government used to test nuclear weapons in the 1950s and the effects are still visible) or the Canadian Wilderness (a land covered in snow, where demons have been set free, the undead roam the earth and a patriotic terrorist organization plans attacks).
What makes these environments really almost come to life, other than the varied landscapes, unique quests and the good & evil factions struggling over their lands of course; is the music. Yep, that's right. As surprising as it may seem, this MMO has extraordinary music (at least according to my ears it does). Each soundtrack is assigned to a different location, and each location has a total of probably around 10 themes. These may just play randomly from time to time, activate when a specific area within the map is accessed or during combat. Most of the soundtrack is quite original… but all of it sounds good! As stated before, even though the atmosphere created for these environments is not as strong when next to many singleplayer games, when in comparison with other MMO games however, it shines.
The Good:
+ Will suck you in for hours and barely ever let go thanks to addictive gameplay
+ Each environment feels unique and different, plus the soundtrack is great
+ Makes you feel like a superhero with a range of archetypes and travel powers
+ The interface is very user-friendly when compared to most other MMOs
+ Combat feels quite fast and exciting, though it uses traditional MMO techniques
+ Playing with a group of friends is much easier and can be very fun
+ There are many factions and varied quests associated with them
+ Level cap is 40, but the game still offers plenty to do after reaching the cap
+ Somehow manages to stand out from hundreds of competitors in the genre
+ Character creation and customization process is one of the best I've seen in any game
+ Is now free-to-play but still offers advantages to those who choose to pay
The Bad:
- Lack of plenty innovation, mostly in terms of gameplay and levelling-up
- Skill progression seems quite simple, allowing for little choice for silver members
- Random glitches and bugs (mostly minor) and the occasional crash
- Connection problems; thankfully these didn't happen to me very often at all
- Level progression gets very slow on later levels (this might also be a good thing for some)
- Even though gameplay is addictive, it feels overly simple at times
- Some missions are ridiculously hard and will cause you to die many times if playing alone
- Levelling depends heavily on quest completion (I like this, but many others don't)
- Fighting a duel with a player who the has Teleportation travel power is annoying
- The stylized graphics may not suit everyone's taste, though I think they are good
- Like in many MMOs, NPCs would benefit from more personality and could serve as much more than just quest-givers
Personally I enjoyed Champions Online. It has proven to be a great game and that I will spend many more hours playing it. And that's really all that I expected from a good MMO. You may not like the comic book style art direction, the slow level progression or the fairly simple combat. You WILL not like the lack of innovation for gameplay, random glitches or server connection problems and the difficulty spikes. But you will definitely love the character customization options, the varied environments with different soundtracks and just how addictive the whole game can be. To some extent, I was a bit interested in the story of the missions that I completed - something I have rarely ever felt before in a Massively Multiplayer Online game. The verdict is: the game is free; I loved it so you should try it out. Even if the game still had monthly fees, I'd have to say it would be worth it for some players. However, Champions Online's biggest flaw is that its unoriginal gameplay never really lives up to its stellar character customization tools.
OVERALL RATING – 7.5/10 (Good)
NEW GS RATING – 7/10