Results tagged “Champions”

Wow wasn't the first MMO I played (I dabbled very briefly with Ultima and EQ before playing Star Wars Galaxies for about six months and then EQII for a while) but it is the only one that's held my interest for a long period of time. I've occasionally dabbled with others when disenchanted (FF XI, Matrix, Eve, Conan, WAR, City of Heroes) but most haven't caught my attention.Some I really hated (Matrix, Conan) and others, while cool, didn't get me returning for more (FF, Eve, WAR). LOTRO is an exception and is the only "backup" MMO I return to semi-regularly (and is the only other MMO I've hit max-level in), but even that has never quite gripped me in the same way as Warcraft. After the disaster of Conan (and the nice, but ultimately unfulfilling WAR) there's been a bit of a dearth of new MMOs recently, but like buses suddenly several come along at once: Champions Online and Aion.

Champions is a superhero game, based on Steve Long's RPG of the same name. Character generation is pretty comprehensive and you can build yourself everything from a Hulk to Jean Gray, from Wolverine to a mini-gundam. Most of this is cosmetic - and some pretty wacky results are possible - though there are a range of custom "power templates" and the ability to create new ones by mixing and matching. I ended up creating one melee character, and one ranged spellcaster.

Things got off to a bad start with a host of server lag issues at launch though things seem to stabilize and I was able to give things a whirl. There's a single tutorial level before heading out into the wider world which I imagine might grate after a while, and upon completing the tutorial there are two principal areas you can visit - Canada (vs hordes of undead) and the South West (vs Mutants). Both have an initial campaign section that needs to be worked through before more of the zone opens up (rather like phasing in Wrath) which works fairly well. The level design seemed to work well with a broad range of powers and the quests, though following several broad themes, seemed to work well. However, the world design is such that there are high level mobs almost adjacent to low level ones - as I found out the hard way when my feral fox was chomped by a Wolf 20 levels higher than the ones she was hunting. All in all, it's not a bad game - and seems more forgiving that City of Heroes (whose XP debt I found really offputting). I do wonder about its longevity though - by the teen levels my enthusiasm was starting to wane, though someone who is more into superhero comics might get more out of it.

Aion is a fantasy MMO by NCsoft, the people who brought you Lineage II and Guild Wars. I Played in the Beta for this (rather than live play like Champions) but it was generally a smoother experience. In many regards it plays like Guild Wars, MMO edition - lots of very pretty characters but an oddly constrained world (it's a little odd to get to level 10 and be able to fly, only to find whole zones were flying is barred or to bounce off invisible walls in the air ... or to drown when going into water beyond chest deep). There's a strong EQII vibe too, with four broad classes available to each of the two factions (Mage, Rogue, Warrior, Cleric), each specializing into two classes after level 10 for a total of 8 plable roles. There didn't appear to be much in the way of non-cosmetic character diffentiation, beyond gear (limited choices) and "enchantments." Likewise, there doesn't seem to be any functional difference between the two factions (save in their physical appearance) though each has a distinct starter zone and possibly their other play regions. I only reached the teen levels so I don't know if it's possible to get into the other faction's regions or only into the contested "abyss". If you can't, it'll further shrink the world. Oddly, the use of the zones (in the starter regions at least) is patchy. Some are scarcely touched - you run through them (and they're very pretty) but there's little to encourage you to explore - and others are grossly overused. I think this is a side-effect of the westernization of the game -  the Korean original has been around since late 2008 and had, I gather, considerably fewer quests (presumably the ones that are the linked "campaign" ones). The lesser quests may be the additions for version 1.5 (the Westernized edition) to cut down on the grinding that is so prevalent in Korean games, hence the somewhat erratic use of the space. Nonetheless, character progression works well (though gear choice is very limited initially, but very pretty) and there were only a few points where things were challenging (and then often due to the need to get drops or for a kill to register ... one "kill 3 XX" quest turned into a "kill 20" because the third one wasn't recognized ... great fun).

Oh, and it's very pretty :p

In both Aion and Champions I didn't really progress to the meat of the game, but with Aion - unlike Champions - I did find myself being drawn into the setting and wanting to go further. I don't think either is a "WOW beater" (though there was plenty of WOW-dissing in Aion, much as there was in Conan and War, and bad-mouthing of "noobs" and the harrasment of others, which goes to show that Warcraft doesn't have a monopoly on bad behaviour) but I suspect Aion will get a substantial player base among those wanting something new and shiny (and pretty) to play (and exploring new settings is why I play other games), though whether it will rival Warcraft (with or without Cataclysm throwing a spanner in the works) is another matter - it just feels too constrained to me (though those enjoying PvP may have fun in the Abyss).