test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Champions Online Player Reviews
Archived Post
Posts: 1,156,071 Arc User
We are coming up on a 3* year anniversary for Champions Online.
I've searched up and down the internet for some player reviews of this game. In this thread I hope forum posters will give an accurate review of their experiences in Champions Online.
((Please not that these are opinions.. and much like any other consumer review they will likely vary in extremes))
Jaybezz' review is based on a 5 point scale:
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Graphics (3/5) - The graphics of this game are done well. I personally play on a 1920 x 1200 display on the highest fullscreen settings. There are some extreme bugs in the game (most notable are the way particles are displayed as pixelated for me in Smoke, Darkness, Fire etc). But overall the end product for me is a rather realistic looking gameplay. I have also seen the game on lower settings with comic book outlines.. while Its not my cup of tea the game itself still functioned well. It doesn't quite compare to say DCUO in terms of realism and graphics but it is far better than some other MMOs. If they fixed the animation bugs listed in the bugs forum and updated animations to work better in unintended ways (Quicksand animation for instance when flying and Ice Slide) this would go from a 3 to a 4 easily for me.
Sound (2/5) - I personally found that I hate the music of CO. I run with no music on yet keep the other sounds available. The voice acting is mostly .. terrible BUT it does have small moments where it shines (Gravitar). Some of the leveling and post production could be done to provide even timbre and less quiet to explosive sound. The voice-chat, while one of my favorite features, is not used by players.. at all. And to anyone who is not a Gold Subscriber they are frankly nothing but immersion breaking nuissance.
User Interface (2/5) - I was going to give this a 1 of 5 for the interface's failings all over the board however this MMO i get integration with Microsoft's Xbox360 Controller. This alone brings this game up 1.5 points for me. However I caution that all newer content is NOT supporting the 360 controller and that 1.5 point bonus will fade very quickly for me if it doesn't. The UI itself makes it difficult for me to change integral things about my character and gameplay easily. Changing out gear for instance and even modding feels more like a constant chore. If i ever need to "Leave Map" (much more common since on alert) just getting through to my crime computer is a hassle and chore. I also dont much care for the "LOOK" of the interface. The map with all the buttons around it is good. But player avitars and even the icons that show up to represent buffs and combat details are incomplete and take up a LOT of screen-space (even on my high graphics). The powers bar "looks" ugly to me too.. I would love to change the colors of all of this interface from the light blue to another more "adult" color so I didn't feel like quite the kid. Finally the character sheet is IMPOSSIBLE to decipher. The final character sheet after powers, talents, specializations etc simply does not show accurate information. And the information it DOES show does not explain the ACTUAL effect on gameplay often. Example +80 Crowd Control .. how much is that?! Again 1 of 5 for me here except that can get a video game feel from my Xbox Controller.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (3/5) - When I first logged into Champions I was completely unfamiliar with the license. I was a founding member of a Marvel License Homage supergroup mostly because those of us who were there only bought this game because it was at one time meant to be Marvel Universe. As I leveled I found little of the lore I read interesting. That DID change once Vibora Bay was introduced. The VB Crisis felt like an EPIC tale. Adventure packs and Comic book series also helped me finally want to join the Champions lore and leave Marvel to its own lore. THere are LARGE failings in bringing the Champions world to life in its OWN right. I find Marvel, Twilight, DC, and Star Wars themes becoming even MORE prevalent in this game to keep up with the marketing demands of the times. If it weren't for characters like Thundrax playing this game I'd think that champions is just a multiverse of other properties. That being said, like Thundrax, a dedicated player can definitely make a name for themselves in champions lore.. It takes the player MUCH more investment than it should but it is possible. There are many flat out immersion breakers like "On Alert" and the "Hero Games" (I call them he Villain Games personally) that are just not woven into the mythos AT ALL.
PvE (4/5) - You are hit with the same old collect 10 of X deliver to Y missions that are often not thought out, coherent or even put in the right order story wise. They did have a Successful clean redo of Westside, a neighborhood in the "main zone" of Champions Online and also had success in VIbora Bay. There are some REAL failings however. There are many completely EMPTY zones where players do not want to go for a myriad of reasons - this represents alot of investment revenue wasted. The main reason I chose this game over City of Heroes, was the ability to explore new zones. The releases of new zone content is non-existant. The level cap of 40, while seemingly a GOOD level cap (I personally don't want to see in increased but do want the experience to be spread out more), leaves VERY little in the way of Endgame. The game now caters to casual gamers instead of seeking and attracting the players that stayed with their game for their 4 year run. The game does host a lot of replay-ability however. It is also the only freeform power choice MMORPG i've played and this feature alone is something I am unwilling to give up for any new game. Experimentation is really rewarded. However the game - to date - has failed some concepts that I really do love. FIrstly playing as a controller, Secondly playing as a stealth character, and thirdly playing as a petmaster. These 3 playstyles simply weren't prevalent at the launch of Champions Online and have yet to have the game mechanics properly set up a Cost/Reward structure for them. If you like playing anything but a Tank, champions may not be the game for you.
PvP (0.5/5) - The only MMORPGs I give a 0 of 5 are games in where there is NO pvp. But Champions gets about as close as you can. At launch there was a very concentrated effort to make the freeform power choice the selling point of this game (it still is imho). They did alot in the first 6 months to powers to bring them in line with not only each other but with the imaginations and expertise of the Min/Max crowd. Somewhere after the first halloween when celestial powerset was created this was all abandoned. People call me a nerf herder and in some ways I am. Frankly the disparity between builds is awe inspiring. This lead to a single class of Elite PvP that completely ruined the casual gamer's ability to even experiment with PvP .. even at the LOWEST tier of PvP (made for new players one would assume) there would be a build that dominated the others. Player numbers dwindled and pvp in champions online became non existent. If you enjoy a competitive player vs player MMORPG you will have better luck looking ANYWHERE but champions online.
- -
Overall that is an aggregate score of 2.3 Technical and 2.5 Gameplay for me. The PvP score is really weighing down my gameplay score but it's also weighing down my gameplay.
A final note - as bad as this game is i have a sub to GuildWars 2 that's going in the garbage because of its lack of freeform and forcing me to hold a freaking weapon in combat. DCUO is far wose on all but graphics. City of X is far worse on almost all points.
As bad as I champions rates in the gaming world it's still the best superhero lore MMORPG I've found. This both excites and depresses me.
I've searched up and down the internet for some player reviews of this game. In this thread I hope forum posters will give an accurate review of their experiences in Champions Online.
((Please not that these are opinions.. and much like any other consumer review they will likely vary in extremes))
Jaybezz' review is based on a 5 point scale:
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Graphics (3/5) - The graphics of this game are done well. I personally play on a 1920 x 1200 display on the highest fullscreen settings. There are some extreme bugs in the game (most notable are the way particles are displayed as pixelated for me in Smoke, Darkness, Fire etc). But overall the end product for me is a rather realistic looking gameplay. I have also seen the game on lower settings with comic book outlines.. while Its not my cup of tea the game itself still functioned well. It doesn't quite compare to say DCUO in terms of realism and graphics but it is far better than some other MMOs. If they fixed the animation bugs listed in the bugs forum and updated animations to work better in unintended ways (Quicksand animation for instance when flying and Ice Slide) this would go from a 3 to a 4 easily for me.
Sound (2/5) - I personally found that I hate the music of CO. I run with no music on yet keep the other sounds available. The voice acting is mostly .. terrible BUT it does have small moments where it shines (Gravitar). Some of the leveling and post production could be done to provide even timbre and less quiet to explosive sound. The voice-chat, while one of my favorite features, is not used by players.. at all. And to anyone who is not a Gold Subscriber they are frankly nothing but immersion breaking nuissance.
User Interface (2/5) - I was going to give this a 1 of 5 for the interface's failings all over the board however this MMO i get integration with Microsoft's Xbox360 Controller. This alone brings this game up 1.5 points for me. However I caution that all newer content is NOT supporting the 360 controller and that 1.5 point bonus will fade very quickly for me if it doesn't. The UI itself makes it difficult for me to change integral things about my character and gameplay easily. Changing out gear for instance and even modding feels more like a constant chore. If i ever need to "Leave Map" (much more common since on alert) just getting through to my crime computer is a hassle and chore. I also dont much care for the "LOOK" of the interface. The map with all the buttons around it is good. But player avitars and even the icons that show up to represent buffs and combat details are incomplete and take up a LOT of screen-space (even on my high graphics). The powers bar "looks" ugly to me too.. I would love to change the colors of all of this interface from the light blue to another more "adult" color so I didn't feel like quite the kid. Finally the character sheet is IMPOSSIBLE to decipher. The final character sheet after powers, talents, specializations etc simply does not show accurate information. And the information it DOES show does not explain the ACTUAL effect on gameplay often. Example +80 Crowd Control .. how much is that?! Again 1 of 5 for me here except that can get a video game feel from my Xbox Controller.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (3/5) - When I first logged into Champions I was completely unfamiliar with the license. I was a founding member of a Marvel License Homage supergroup mostly because those of us who were there only bought this game because it was at one time meant to be Marvel Universe. As I leveled I found little of the lore I read interesting. That DID change once Vibora Bay was introduced. The VB Crisis felt like an EPIC tale. Adventure packs and Comic book series also helped me finally want to join the Champions lore and leave Marvel to its own lore. THere are LARGE failings in bringing the Champions world to life in its OWN right. I find Marvel, Twilight, DC, and Star Wars themes becoming even MORE prevalent in this game to keep up with the marketing demands of the times. If it weren't for characters like Thundrax playing this game I'd think that champions is just a multiverse of other properties. That being said, like Thundrax, a dedicated player can definitely make a name for themselves in champions lore.. It takes the player MUCH more investment than it should but it is possible. There are many flat out immersion breakers like "On Alert" and the "Hero Games" (I call them he Villain Games personally) that are just not woven into the mythos AT ALL.
PvE (4/5) - You are hit with the same old collect 10 of X deliver to Y missions that are often not thought out, coherent or even put in the right order story wise. They did have a Successful clean redo of Westside, a neighborhood in the "main zone" of Champions Online and also had success in VIbora Bay. There are some REAL failings however. There are many completely EMPTY zones where players do not want to go for a myriad of reasons - this represents alot of investment revenue wasted. The main reason I chose this game over City of Heroes, was the ability to explore new zones. The releases of new zone content is non-existant. The level cap of 40, while seemingly a GOOD level cap (I personally don't want to see in increased but do want the experience to be spread out more), leaves VERY little in the way of Endgame. The game now caters to casual gamers instead of seeking and attracting the players that stayed with their game for their 4 year run. The game does host a lot of replay-ability however. It is also the only freeform power choice MMORPG i've played and this feature alone is something I am unwilling to give up for any new game. Experimentation is really rewarded. However the game - to date - has failed some concepts that I really do love. FIrstly playing as a controller, Secondly playing as a stealth character, and thirdly playing as a petmaster. These 3 playstyles simply weren't prevalent at the launch of Champions Online and have yet to have the game mechanics properly set up a Cost/Reward structure for them. If you like playing anything but a Tank, champions may not be the game for you.
PvP (0.5/5) - The only MMORPGs I give a 0 of 5 are games in where there is NO pvp. But Champions gets about as close as you can. At launch there was a very concentrated effort to make the freeform power choice the selling point of this game (it still is imho). They did alot in the first 6 months to powers to bring them in line with not only each other but with the imaginations and expertise of the Min/Max crowd. Somewhere after the first halloween when celestial powerset was created this was all abandoned. People call me a nerf herder and in some ways I am. Frankly the disparity between builds is awe inspiring. This lead to a single class of Elite PvP that completely ruined the casual gamer's ability to even experiment with PvP .. even at the LOWEST tier of PvP (made for new players one would assume) there would be a build that dominated the others. Player numbers dwindled and pvp in champions online became non existent. If you enjoy a competitive player vs player MMORPG you will have better luck looking ANYWHERE but champions online.
- -
Overall that is an aggregate score of 2.3 Technical and 2.5 Gameplay for me. The PvP score is really weighing down my gameplay score but it's also weighing down my gameplay.
A final note - as bad as this game is i have a sub to GuildWars 2 that's going in the garbage because of its lack of freeform and forcing me to hold a freaking weapon in combat. DCUO is far wose on all but graphics. City of X is far worse on almost all points.
As bad as I champions rates in the gaming world it's still the best superhero lore MMORPG I've found. This both excites and depresses me.
Post edited by Archived Post on
0
Comments
Copypaste?
Also, since this is my first MMO ever, it has spoiled me for combat. I get frustrated with other games because I can't take laser eyebeams with punches and psychic powers.
As to GW2, you expected to play in a fantasy RPG and not use a weapon?
ty I just missed it is all
Joined this game 2 months ago.
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Graphics (4/5) - Im playing on 1080p 8 Direct x 9 / WIn XP , the graphic is comic style and i am okay with it .. there are some bugs but it is still better than many other mmos ive played...atleast my game game rarely crashes.. ( rarely 1 time in 15 hours ).
compared toother game that crash like 4-27 times withing a gaming session of 12 hours. ( except for APB/All Points Bulletin game wich crashes 4 timeseach hour )
Sound (3/5) - The BGM is okay , ive heard worse... the only thing i kinda dislike is the asynscrone sound of my jetpack power...but as ive heard that works as intended to keep teh client stability ..so thats okay for me.
User Interface (5/5) - The UI is pretty easy , it is not to spammy , i can acces the most things really quickly and we have some awesome keybind function here.
Ive not even tried using a controller since i rolepay and it is annyoing for me to change every few seconds from ASDW + MOUSE to controller just for 1 or 2 alerts.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (4/5) - Im stil learning about the lore from this game via missiond and other players but from what iknow sofar it is pretty nice.. i like how peopel can / do bring their own lore into the game and that almost everything is possible.The only minus is that there are a few aliens with spaceships on this planet but we have only visited mars and moon so far...but thats oly a little minus.
PvE (4.5/5) - So many missions to do , alerts , mini-missions and adventure packs.. there is alot of variety so the game is really exciting when you start it ...there could be better rewards for the missions since adventure packs use alot of time and drop not so good rewards / only a few questionite and compared to the daylies or nemcon that is nothing , where i can get up to 16k questionite with only a few time spend.
PvP (1/5) - Due to so many people ive heard talking about and selfexperience at hero games ive to admit that this feature pretty much sucks.
Its not the System itself, i mean i like the queue , the maps and al that.. BUT ..PvP is not Really rewarding. al we can get is weak armor and stupid looking costumes... also its almost never possible to do restricted PvP since AT are almost never participating ... for a good reason....as ive tested and calculated some of the AT skills and the Possibilites of a FreeForm ive to say that is is possibleto beat a FreeFormwith an AT but the chance has to do on how the FreeFormwas skilled AND how much PAY or GRIND you invested in the game... since you can BUY catalysts with cash its is pretty much like Pay2Win .. also many freeforms said that the defense of ATs is very bad compared to a freeform in my calculation you have a 13,5% chance to win against a freeform , 32,7% when youre lucky and the freeformhas gimped their build.
All in al the PvP COULD be fun ... if cryptic would increase the ATs value / stats AND puts something that is more rewarding
Roleplay (4/5) - I think Cryptic did a great job with that, there is alot of customization in this game and we are allowed to use some HTML codes for our INFO text ... we have some social areas with functions liek teh theatre and the tailor in the power house.. the only thing i realy dislike is that we CANT sit on a chair via a click (( like we can at Star Trek online )) and that there is no real RELAX / SLeep animation ... id like to see a /lay down emote.
Also they could make it that Toons can be move closer to each other... when i play with my spouse i would like to be able to stay so close to her that it looks like we are holding hands (( also possible at star trek online wich uses the same game engine ))
The big amount of emotes is pretty nice actually and soem are really funny.
The only thing i miss is a notepad ingame, somethign like a hero Diary would be just awesome.
( maybe with teh ability to send / share it with your friends )
-Final word:-
Ive to say that i onyl came to CO because my game ( Star Trek Online ) had a maintenance and i was vored, i found Champions way to childish when ive heard about it.. but then ive watched some youtube videos and though " okay lets download it just for the lulz , as a game fo rmaintance times..." and thets it.. ive never logged into star trek online since ive played champions for the first time... i mean Star Trek Online isnt bad.. but its kind of cold and boring after a while...ive spent alot money at Star Trek but Champiosn is Fun and the fact that we can customize our toons here and that we can fly and run quickly makes me feel good here at champions.
My final rating for this game is a 8.5 / 10
- -
Review is based on a 5 point scale:
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Graphics (3/5) -The graphics are done well without being exceptional. I find little to complain about or recommend about CO's graphics. Many power effects are lackluster compared to similar abilities in other games, but for the most part they do a workable job of representing the genre.
Sound (2/5) - CO is the only game I have ever played where I turn the sound off. The music frequently distracts from the ambiance of the game, and the voice overs are some of the worst I have ever encountered. That said, many of the power sound effects are done very well, and so this aspect of the game gets a 2 rather than a 1.
User Interface (1/5) - Poor targeting and undocumented customization options combine to lower this score. Others may be more forgiving because of the ability to use a game controller, but, in my opinion, adding more ways for the UI to demonstrate its failings does not redeem the problems with CO's UI/Controls. Add in poor responsiveness from the power tray for the worst UI I have ever encountered in a game.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (2/5) - CO's lore is presented ina haphazard fashion that interferes with any sort of comprehensive story-telling. Combine that with an extremely unfaithful presentation of the IP for an unsatisfactory story. THe most disheartening aspect here is that there is so very much information and lore already written for the setting. Wasting resources of the quality that already exist for this setting is a shame.
PvE (2/5) - A game that treats much, or even most, of its PvE content as a running joke can be hard to take as anything other than a joke. This can carry over to one's character. Add in sparsity of meaningful challenges to overcome, a reward system of the the most generic sort, and you have a PvE game that seems to drive more people away than it attracts. The questing is of the most static 2004 variety, seeming almost completely out of touch with the genre. For the most part it seems like a typical fantasy MMO with a superhero skin laid over the top.
PvP (0.5/5) - I am just going to quote Jaybezz here. Ultimately I could go on and on about the failings of CO's PvP implementation, but he/she covered much of what I might have said pretty well. "The only MMORPGs I give a 0 of 5 are games in where there is NO pvp. But Champions gets about as close as you can. At launch there was a very concentrated effort to make the freeform power choice the selling point of this game (it still is imho). They did alot in the first 6 months to powers to bring them in line with not only each other but with the imaginations and expertise of the Min/Max crowd. Somewhere after the first halloween when celestial powerset was created this was all abandoned. People call me a nerf herder and in some ways I am. Frankly the disparity between builds is awe inspiring. This lead to a single class of Elite PvP that completely ruined the casual gamer's ability to even experiment with PvP .. even at the LOWEST tier of PvP (made for new players one would assume) there would be a build that dominated the others. Player numbers dwindled and pvp in champions online became non existent. If you enjoy a competitive player vs player MMORPG you will have better luck looking ANYWHERE but champions online."
Not starting a fight, but you have a rather low expectations - Cryptic take on the CU lore is probably the worst possible IP implementation ever, from stylisation to the writing. It's probably even worse than Cryptic trainwreck on the Star Trek continuity. What this game is doing is not promoting Champions Universe, but giving this IP a bad name.
+1
Thank you Ashen for saving me the trouble
I still wonder why people play the game, if there is nothing that they really like
...They keep hoping it will get better, even after 20 years of no play offs
I wonder the same things sometimes, but then I get sidetracked by people posting one minute that they aren't playing the game anymore and then a few posts later they post that they are always playing. Sifting through stuff like that makes it hard to take a lot of the opinions on the game seriously because you never know who is telling the truth about how current they are on the game.
On topic: I don't feel I'm qualified to give the game a fair review right now. I've only played CO for 8 hours in the last month and less than an hour in the last week. Considering how feature and content packed the updates tend to be from week to week I don't want to make a review and do the game a disservice. So much has changed (just since last week even) that I just don't feel I'm current enough to comment with any authority on the present state of the game...
Wouldn't that suggest that for those people CO is their favorite or at least of their favorite mmos?
On topic:
Gandales' review is based on a 5 point scale:
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Graphics (5/5) - very high positive Jibber-jabber
Sound (4/5) - high positive Jibber-jabber
User Interface (5/5) - very high positive Jibber-jabber
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (5/5) - Don't care that much but like Jibber-jabber
PvE (4/5) - NIce but need more Jibber-jabber
PvP (X/5) - I totally don't care Jibber-jabber
- -
Overall (5/5) since I don't follow averaging rules Jibber-jabber. It is the best superhero mmo.
Reasons why this thread review is pointless and extremely bias Jibber-jabber
I am also still a Raiders fan
I have been a fan of Champions for over 25 years now. I may have serious concerns about CO, but its as much Champions computer game as I am likely to ever see. So, yeah, your analogy is pretty much on target for me.
Yeah that one tends to make me curious as well.
TECHNICAL REVIEW
Graphics (4/5) - The graphics of this game are done well. They are in keeping with the comic book style of the game. Some of the power graphics are top notch.
Sound (2/5) - I personally found that the music is very annoying and does not always match with the action so I turn it off. Sound effects and ambient noise are great. Voice acting varies from the passable to the down right laughable.
User Interface (5/5) - I switched my controls to fps as those are the games controls I prefer and have had no problems since. I find the ability to customize the UI amazing and the fact I can set it up for each toon very handy.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (3/5) - Why I came here as I played CHAMPIONS pnp. Some of the lore is handled well other bits seem lack lustre. With the huge amount of lore available that has been fine tuned over the years I would love to see more of the original lore.
PvE (5/5) - This is what keeps me coming back for more no matter how many times I replay the same content. The customization of my characters and how the new power choices make playing through content different each time. I like the adventure packs although I don't play them much.I find the new Alerts fun and great for the times I just want to pop on for a short time and not get involved in following story arcs. The only game content in PvE I didn't enjoy were the comic series I played them once and have disliked large chunks of them all but these are not necessary for normal levelling or game play. I can't comment on end game content as after I reach forty I tend to have another three alts already taking up my play time.
PvP (N/A/5) -I hate PvP so I don't do it so I can't comment on it.
- -
Overall that is an aggregate score of 4 Technical and 4 Gameplay for me.
A final note - Champions Online has held my interest for the longest of any of the MMO's I have ever played most fail to last more than a few months that includes WOW, LOTRO, DCUO and Cryptic's other game STO. The customization of powers costumes and the combat system spoils me for other games. The levels of customization in this game are mind boggling and will keep me entertained for a long time yet.
Love your review, haha! XD
I just want to say that concerning music, I have it turned off like everybody else, there's just this one place where I turn it up again: Snake Gulch - I really love that music there, it gives the right feeling of that western area and made me even download it so I can hear it even more often.
And I love Dr. Destroyer's voice acting. I think generally in Resistance every sound is really well done. "James Harmon is a true hero.", "I guess the Resistance doesn't know a lost cause when it sees one.", "I despise magic! So... imprecise!"
This and the "Anniversary concert". Sapphire's voice acting / singing, might not been perfect but with all the atmosphere back then I makes me so happy when listening to it again, remembering the day where I danced on stage with a lot of random, awesome players.
That's my conclusion: This game is really OK (with all it flaws... sometimes major flaws
The longest for me is still Everquest 2 with over 4,5 years. CO is second now with maybe
1,5 year active played
Well, maaaaaybeeeee CoX. Maybe.
and for all who QQ about the game...
The game is as good as you make it ....
I mean if u start a game with expecting something how YOU WANT TEH GAME TO BE ... you may be
But if you turn your thinking off, just playing the game , enjyoing teh powers , seeing the enviroment and enjoying the adventure packs , you may be suprised how much fun you can have...
in short: OPEN YOUR MIND !
If you have to turn your thinking off to enjoy a game...nevermind, not even going there.
Moving along, most of the people I see posting disappointment with the game I know for a fact have been here for months if not YEARS. They've run the content, seen all of the powers, burned the adventure packs into the ground and have seen this game from A to Z several times over.
It's not a matter of people opening their mind, it's a matter of having seen everything already and heard the promises that haven't been delivered on.
Seems some people think people "QQing" are new to the game and just need to "open up" and experience a little more of it. Nope.
My Amazon author page
How to build a freeform character...the Kenpo way
Demon Keypo's Building Guide
Freeform Builds Directory (Last updated: 04/23/2016)
Serving since September, 2009 / 65 Characters, 63 Level 40's
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Graphics (3/5)
Top score has to go to the latest and greatest games coming out and Champions is getting dated.
Where shaders are used to emphasize the beauty of the game it looks stunning (New Powerhouse),
but then there are places like Monster Island and Canada that literally make me nauseous.
I still get a warm fuzzy feeling at the Day/Night cycle in MC.
Sometimes it looks like it was pulled live from a Manhattan street and takes me back.
I can almost smell the stale urine and burned pretzels. Home.
Maybe I could add one more point for the character models, really as far as MMO's go that should be its own category.
Character models(4/5)
Add in some missing body details and flowing hair/cloth and this game beats them all.
All those Asian MMO's with their pretty little dolls, look soulless "Look I'm pretty. Pretty dead inside". Kind of like fashion models.
Somehow Champions manages to show a little bit of soul even in the worste costume designs, kind of like Mardi Gras.
Sound (3/5)
Sorry Spirals, every other MMO and single player game has footsteps.
Sometimes though the music is just right, wish I could access the files and vote on those individually.
The voice acting is, well its better than silence with a speach bubble which looks straight out stupid and lazy.
I would have scored this 2/5 but Champions does not contain the annoying constant grunting and groaning battle whine that other (mostly Asian) MMOs seem to not be able to live without. I just saw Scarlett Witch screeching desperately in battle angst on the new Marvel MMO, and that was kind of hot, but if she does it every attack I'm going to burn down the internet!
User Interface (4/5)
They added clutter and the UI has become less responsive.
The Mods/Fusion thing is constantly polling the mouse when sometimes it totally ignores clicks/drags on items or powers. For the most part it works great.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (2/5)
Barely memorable fiction in this game.
There's zero mystery, zero expectation, no resonance with the "Champions" at all.
If this was a solo game it would have been shelve within four hours.
They went too much for camp and not enough for serious story hooks.
There's no NPC whose life matters to anyone.
They should have developed a personal contacts system before nemesis, with
people and property you want to save, and maybe don't and then feel something, anything.
PvE (5/5)
Better than other MMOs. Much better.
I wouldn't be able to comment on it without doing it live while I play.
In the forums I'm like "Its the same old crap, battle after battle",
while in game I'm all "teehee so fun! oh crap, oh good, oh no, oh yeeeah, woohoo!".
Except Pyramind Power or Cosmics.
Then its just "hold this button, hold that button, tap the other button, is it over yet?"
PvP (N/A/5)
I get no pleasure from PvP at all.
Over all
I wish I never played this game until today.
Then I'd be awed and inspired again. Naive and hopeful for the future.
I wish I had played other MMOs and was able to enjoy them before finding Champions and
being spoiled.Like a virgin, touched for the very first time, like a... la la la
With the other super hero franchises dominating the media, Champions 2 doesn't
have much of a shot in hell of ever being produced. But I look forward to what
comes down the pipe in five or ten years based on whats been done here.
Graphics (5/5) - I know this is the "technical" side of things, but I rate the graphics on an aesthetic level because style is more important to me than quality.
I give it a 5 because for the most part, I love how things look in the game. From the characters to the settings, I just love the style. The north side of Millennium City is one of my favorite places in the game. The warm sunniness of it is just great (ironic, in real life I hate warmth and the sun (no I'm not goth or emo!)).
I love that it's not generic graphics. I love the comic outlines (wish you could take them a step further and make them thicker), I love that it has a cartoonish feel. A game based on comic books should not look super realistic, and Champs got that right.
Sound (4/5) - Most of this rating comes from the music. Champs is the only MMO I've ever played with the music on, on purpose. It's actiony, fast-paced sometimes, and helps set the theme perfectly.
As far as sound effects, there's much room for improvement. Sometimes sounds just don't go off. Sometimes when I'm expecting a heroic boom or smack, it sounds like a wet fart (okay not literally). I need things to go BOOOOOM!!!!
Thirdly, the voice acting is, at times, pretty good if you like the cheesiness that it brings, which I do. Champions is not, to me, about everyday people doing everyday things. It's about cheesy muscle-bound weirdos punching things in the face, hard, until they fall over. In cutscenes, I hate when there's a huge gap between spoken lines. None of it feels natural.
I feel like maybe this deserves a 3/5, but sometimes the sound effects are spot on, and the music is a big hit with me.
Oh and one of my biggest pet peeves, sound should be "heard" from the character, not the camera.
User Interface (2/5) - Technically, I think the interface sucks. It's slow (I have to hold down the mouse button on an item before it gets "picked up" so I can drop it into my bank). More than 30 people on the screen? Hide their names or prepare for a slideshow. Why is the UI such a resource hog?
Many times, the UI feels like it's a work in progress. Some things just don't work like you'd expect them to. If Apple was at the helm, the UI guys would be fired. I want a smooth workflow. Let's talk about putting stuff in the bank. I right click a stack. "How many ya wanna throw in?" "All of em!" Hit return, nothing. Hit space, nothing. Hit F (or Z for you charlatans), nothing. My mouse has to travel to that little window and click that little button to proceed with putting stuff in the bank. No, it's not hard to do, but I could do things a lot quicker if I could just hit Enter, Space (this used to work once!), or F, to signify "DO WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU TO DO."
Aesthetically? I can appreciate the colors used. Bright and vibrant! Just like a Super Hero's costume! One thing it doesn't need is all the effects. Not everything needs to be beveled. Some simple, clean lines would do wonders, especially if it would reduce the UI lag.
GAMEPLAY REVIEW
Lore (X/5) - Can't really comment. I want to pay attention to what's going on, but I'm having too much fun punching things and watching them land 100 feet away to care.
PvE (5/5) - Since there's no general "gameplay" area here (meaning, how much fun is it to actually play the game) I'm gonna do that here.
Repeating the same ol' content for almost three years still hasn't gotten old to me. Well, maybe at some times, but not too often. Now with On Alert, it's almost as they were catering straight to me. I love just beating stuff up. I now ACTUALLY TEAM UP WITH PEOPLE (you know, as opposed to PUGing), something I used to never do (this stems from me being severely anti-social).
The reason it doesn't get old for me is twofold. First off, I'm playing a brand-spankin' new character that I made up. All mine. I made that. It's not "My first Orc was a Rogue, now my new Orc is a Warrior. They look the same." No, it's Captain Punchy shot Ironclad out of a cannon. Super Fartlad shot Ironclad out of a cannon too! My characters are the variety that keep the game fresh for me.
Secondly, the combat. It's fun. More fun than any other MMO I've played. More fun than many other games as well, hands down. It seriously makes me happy when I haven't played a Might character in a while, and I fully charge a Haymaker on some poor henchman. THE BEST.
Freeform character building is just great. I can come up with almost any stupid concept (but bring back hybrids, please!) I want. So much freedom, it's great.
PvP (X/5) - Until I build a character specifically for Freeform PvP, which I'm interested in, I'm not going to try it again. Some builds are just cheap. I went in there one time, with a concept build (just Might, really), LONG long ago, and was fighting this dude. It was great, we kept going back and forth, and finally as I was ready to deal the killing blow... PCHOO PCHOO teleports away. Haven't done PvP since then. Well, except for when the PvP crowd started a weekly "event" thing where they said that they'd go easy on all non-PvPers, and everyone would just have fun. Sounds great! I get in to a few games and basically, my job was just to be the world's most handsome punching bag. Thanks, but that wasn't fun. Nobody gave me a chance. This isn't supposed to sound pouty, I was fine leaving PvP again.
I'm also interested in Archetype PvP, but, just haven't gotten around to trying it.
There you go Mr. Bezz, my glowing review. It may sound like it's being very lenient, but, it does happen to be my favorite video game. The hits far outweigh the misses for me.
I can't take this thread too seriously, as it seems JB, possibly purposefully, left CO's strongest point off the list; character creation...
I rate the character creator at a 4.99/5, taking off .01 point for costume pieces that need fixing...
Honestly, that character creation in this game out weighs any and all negative points I can come up with, and then some...
The only, ONLY, thing that could possibly drive me from CO is another superhero MMO that surpasses CO in character creation. And that ain't happening anytime soon...
M-O-O-N, that spells @Rhyatt
Originally Posted by mijjestic: Ultimately, though, MMO players throwing stones at each other in this fashion is basically one nerd pointing and laughing at another nerd whose glasses are thicker.
Laws yes!
While I agree TOTALLY on the character creator. Another point missed is free form.
For me, that hands down is the best part of the game. Putting the CC on top of that, is just pure bliss.
I don't like being boxed in a class, never have, probably never will. I don't like being told that I can only use certain weapons or attacks. Or being forced to be squishy or tough. Simply because it fills some other persons vision of what that class should be.
Even if you add skill trees, its not free form, because you often only get a few trees to select from, and others are simply unavailable.
In a world of wow clones. Free form, real character choice, is a complete rarity. And something that makes this game stand out from the rest of the clones.
Ahh, I may have done my own version of the player review incorrectly then. I thought graphics meant visuals. I was including the character creator in the graphics section.
I considered Freeform to be part of PVE and PVP, figuring that it isnt really a separate element, but rather an aspect of gameplay.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
I think Character creation/customization is by FAR this game's strongest point.. but I personally didn't rate independently because building a toon still has to be played either in PvE or PvP.
There's a long list of intangibles.. I think people looking for an MMO to play would love to hear them.
I agree, but considering ALL game play revolves around our characters, and how we have built them. It becomes the very foundation for any game play.
Simply put, if you don't like the character you're playing. Its power choices, abilities, offense level, defense level, ect. Then it really does not matter the quality of the content. The experience will still seem poor.
Completely agree. This was my reason for including FF as part of my review of PVE.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
Which underscores just how subjective this all is, as I was actually lumping Freeform together with Character Creation...
M-O-O-N, that spells @Rhyatt
Originally Posted by mijjestic: Ultimately, though, MMO players throwing stones at each other in this fashion is basically one nerd pointing and laughing at another nerd whose glasses are thicker.
Laws yes!
Then what exactly have we all been doing with our time here?