Based on Champions, a pen-and-paper role playing game published in the 1980s, Champions Online builds upon an established set of rules proven by a devoted fan base for nearly three decades. It also happens to be the first of many MMOs (“Massively Multiplayer Online” games) to cross over into console gaming, enticing a vast network of Xbox 360 players into the community.
At first glance, Champions Online is a fairly basic Super Hero MMO, not much different from its predecessor, City of Heroes, or even from the initial buzz of Sony’s upcoming DC Universe Online. It doesn’t take long, however, to notice three critical features that set it apart.
Cross Platform Access
2009 is the Year of the Console, and many MMO titles will soon be gracing the Xbox and Playstation3. As of now, Champions Online appears to be first out of the gate. Though the actual release remains TBD, the game is ready, pending the final agreement between Cryptic and Microsoft. User interface has long prevented MMOs from making the jump from keyboard to controller, but Champions Online’s controls have been simplified such that the game can be played as a first person shooter as easily as any traditional MMO without sacrificing the social and technical dynamics that make these games appealing.
Action Style Combat
In most MMOs, combat is passive, meaning that you make the majority of your decisions before entering combat, after which your level of involvement is reduced to nudging your character toward a favorable outcome. In Champions Online, you are hands-on for much of the battle and individual skill plays a greater role, especially at higher levels. Defensive skills require good timing and reflexes as much as careful planning, and the best players will need to remain alert and active while online, minimizing the potential for “Leeroy Jenkins” moments.
Open Character Customization
Most MMOs force you into rigidly vertical character classes, giving each player distinction while allowing developers to maintain control over game balance. In Champions Online you can assign skill trees, talents, and inherent abilities from multiple power types. In the character creation screen, you’re given suggestions from power pools that pre-configure your character for obvious archetypes; however you also have the ability to customize your characters to an unprecedented degree. Want to augment your ninja with lightning blasts? No problem.
In fact, if there is a down-side to this system it is the huge number of choices, not just in character powers, but also appearance. It is a bit overwhelming at first, and be prepared to spend most of your first session playing around with the character creator.
Other Distinctives
While those three points top the charts, Champions Online doesn’t end there. The game’s graphics raise the standard for PC video games as a whole. The cell-shading comic book style, complete with heavy outlines and 4-color hyperrealism, fulfills childhood dreams of bringing pages to life, and the animation is amazingly varied and realistic.
It’s also fast. Using managed “instancing,” the game supervises the number of characters occupying a given area, virtually eliminating lag, bane of the MMO culture.
And what good is a hero without his or her own personal villain? In Champions Online, you are able to create your Nemesis that will challenge you in the world, on missions, and wreak general havoc in the world.
PVE vs PVP
As was the case with City of Heroes, Champions Online will not see playable villains for some time. MMOs have had limited success with the “arena” style of PVP, allowing players to face off with each other in a closed setting WWF-style, but many people are excited for Champions Online’s version. First, Champions brings back the open duel, restricting consenting players to a ring (more of a bubble) for the duration. Arena based PVP will offer power-up incentives to bring players into the fight for hero-vs-hero battles, and talk is that Cryptic will be implementing a “battleground” or objective-based PVP system for hero-vs-villain in updates to come. This has been enormously successful for pvp titles like Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online, and Cryptic seems to be learning from their example.
The Verdict
Most MMO titles are a little shaky at launch, prompting irked players to vent their frustrations in any and every open forum. There has been surprisingly little to complain about in Champions Online, and more than a little to get excited over. There are a few occasional graphic glitches, the controls can take some getting used to, especially if you are mostly familiar with fantasy MMOs, and the social environment is still developing.
Some people may be complaining about balance after a while, which is fairly typical in the genre. The open customization system might make certain character builds seem skewed too strong or too weak, and there will always be power-players building excel spreadsheets to determine exactly what combination of powers and talents will do the most damage. But because there’s a significant skill element in the game, unlike the automated combat of most other MMOs, inequities in character configurations can be overcome with a little persistence.
The first week has gone very well and with exciting promises on the horizon, beginning with the Halloween inspired Blood Moon update in October, Champions Online is shaping up to be one of the year’s best multiplayer titles so far.
Champions Online
$49.95 MSRP
Developer: Cryptic Studios
Publisher: Atari
Minimum Requirements: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 Bit or 64 Bit) / 2.5GHz Single-Core or 1.8GHz Dual Core / 1GB RAM / 5GB free hard disk space / 6X DVD ROM / ATI Radeon X700 series, Intel GMA 4 series, or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 / DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card / Broadband network connection.
