Champions Online Review

The MMO genre is a tough cookie to crack. Blizzard long ago standardised what is expected from the genre with World of Warcraft, and with many expansions and updates, any other developers hope of stealing even a pinch of their millions-strong subscription base is slight. The trick is, for any prospective MMO developer, to use a universe and storyline already crafted, already noticed. Cryptic Studios, the developers behind superhero MMOs City of Heroes and City of Villains, have taken their expertise and applied it to the Champions Universe, based upon the 1980s RPG of the same name - but is this a winning combination or an epic disaster?

Since MMOs are such huge involving games, it's hard to really decide where to begin so, in traditional fashion, I'll start at the beginning. Champions Online begins, as with most MMOs, at the character creation screen. Here you can craft your hero through the series of in-depth and detailed sliders and options. You'll begin by choosing which ‘class' to be - and by that I simply mean what focus you'd like your character to have. You'll have twenty options, from powers of fire, ice and electricity to martial arts, munitions and might. Choosing any of these simply gives you a basis for your characters skills and attributes; choosing Might will give a bonus to your Strength and Constitution, as well as providing you with the two starting abilities for the Might track.

This, however, is not a requirement. If you'd prefer, you can choose a custom framework, picking which of your attributes are enhanced, as well as picking the abilities you'd like your hero to use. Whilst it's probably a fun idea to jump straight into a custom character, doing so will confuse you a lot more than you need to be and I'd recommend opting for a pre-built loadout for your first character. However, herein lies the beauty of the character creation section for the game. You can go from simple pre-designed characters, or you can go further, picking and choosing from the many options available to build your own unique hero.

Then comes aesthetic character design. Whilst most MMOs allow you to simple choose from a limited number of hairstyles and faces - in very rare circumstances the body can be changed - Champions level of choice is extremely refreshing. You can scale every aspect of the hero's body, from body weight, height and muscles to pinpoint accuracy detailing the chin, the thigh or a bicep. And this level of customisation carries on into your characters costume. You're able to edit a long list of attire; so much so you could make a normal stereotypical human hero, to a beast-like-demon or a cyborg from space - all available in your chosen colour scheme. The opportunity is here for creating a character truly unique is here, and you'll easily spend a good hour creating a character.

After doing so, however, it's into the game itself. You'll be dropped in the starting area where Millennium City is under attack from alien, bug-like creatures. It is your duty, as a budding hero, to save the day for Millennium City, which means following a number of quests until the saving of the day. Anyone who's played any MMO - or even more modern day RPGs - will know the types of quests on offer. There's nothing revolutionary in here; the usual ‘go to point A, kill X number of Enemy B and return to point B'. The entire calibre of quests is here - killing a certain number, collecting a certain number, killing enemies until you've collected a certain number. Of all the flaws in MMOs, it is the questing systems I'd much prefer to be rejuvenated. That said, Champions is not at fault for this and the quests are simple enough. The in game map circles the area where each quest can be completed, so it's intuitive enough.

One note about the questing system I will add - one that intrigued me - was the open quests that were continual and on a loop. The world of Champions, as with any MMO, is a battle-stricken land. There's always a fight going on, and this has been shown in the open quests. All you need to do is turn up to an area (an icon on the map points it out) and a quest objective will appear. It is up to you, and any other heroes in the area, to tackle the quest. These are generally large scale battles, and difficult to complete alone, but the fact that you can just drop in, at any point, to help out with the quest is an interesting concept and one I'd like to see explored a bit more. As the battle ends and, therefore, the quest is completed, a list of names for the participating heroes appear - a little recognition for your good deed.

Combat in Champions is played out much like any other MMO. A toolbar runs along the bottom of the screen that has abilities available to use in battle, which can either be clicked or a corresponding keyboard press to activate. Champions' difference is the way the abilities are used. Since there is no pre-formed ‘class', everyone plays the same. Each hero has a number of energy points, which is used up per ability. There are various methods of regaining energy, but the most common is one of the first two abilities you have access to. This is a low-damaging attack which slowly refills your energy bar. You are then able to activate your other, more powerful abilities. Also, interestingly, there are some abilities that require charging which deal damage dependant on when the charge is released. While I mention this, it's worth pointing out that the enemy also have has access to chargeable abilities - and Cryptic have added a ‘block' ability to help against this. Holding shift allows your character to block incoming attacks; whilst this doesn't fully negate the damage, it does lower the damage done and if you see an explosion meter growing above an enemy's head (meaning he's charging an attack) holding shift will take the brunt of the attack and resist against any negative effects it might have. It's an interesting idea to put in, and makes combat a little more thoughtful that usually MMOsMMOs usually are.

As for the world itself - it's all rendered in a cartoony style, which is obviously fitting considering the nature of the game, and it doesn't look half bad. Disappointingly, though, is the way the world is connected. While you're on a server, you're sectioned into instances which you can have choice over. Initially, with the bug-attack on Millennium City, you could be forgiven for assuming it's just a method to introduce and explain the story to you, but you soon find out this is the case throughout the game. Don't get me wrong, it works well with Champions and instanced gameplay (which creates a separate section for a group of players on one server) is much better for telling a story - but this shouldn't mean the whole game be instanced. Lord of the Rings Online had a lot of instanced gameplay for a similar reason, but it also had a continual, persistent world where regulars could be found and after that it just seems Cryptic could've had a better solution to their needs.

That said, each of the areas you are in are built to last. They're large enough with enough to explore, as well as areas where the enemy are too powerful for you current level. You'll spend a lot of the game to-ing and fro-ing between areas, taking on quests and enemies at your level and returning at a later date. At a certain level, you're given access to a travel power and, in true Champions form, there are plenty of choices to choose from. I spent a good amount of time on the menu screen seriously wondering which to go for, despite it not really mattering. That's the Champions ethos, though - what would make me look the coolest? These travel skills, from super jump and super speed, to flame flight or jetboots, means the areas aren't such hassle to traverse.

Arguably, MMOs are as much about PlayerversusPlayer as they are about PlayerversusEnvironment. World of Warcraft has its battlegrounds, Champions has its Hero Games. Initially you're only able to compete in a team brawling match against other heroes, but others unlock as you level up. These are fun, since the powers are so customisable and an enemy's appearance is no suggestion of the powers they are using - it's hard to predict what you're up against. For this reason, working together as a team, and being as skilful as you can be is what wins the day, not the class balancing that goes on in games like Warcraft. However, what played reasonably well in normal game mode suddenly became a laggy-mess when applied to the Hero Games. It's a struggle to reasonably compete with a PC that is anything other than average and this is a shame.

Apart from all this, the rest of any other MMO is here. You build your character by levelling up, unlocking new abilities and talents and equipping different armour. The varying professions allow you to craft cool items and entire setting is fresh enough - certainly a change from spells and swords of most MMOs. Champions Online is a great game that is all about the uniqueness of your character. For anyone not used to the original pen and paper board game, it may take you a while to understand and comprehend the different attributes that affect your hero, but once you do you'll find a great and, most importantly, different MMO from the norm - and it's always nice to have an alternative.