Haven’t heard of Champions Online? I don’t blame you. I hadn’t really heard anything about it either — just the odd mention here and there — until I saw this post over at Bio Break a couple of weeks ago. Now I’m stoked. I have no idea how the game’s going to play, or even if it has PvP or not (!), but based on looks and some of the gameplay clips I’ve seen alone, I’m pumped to see it in action.
To give you the 10,000-foot view, Atari’s upcoming MMORPG kind of picks up where NCsoft’s City of Heroes left off, thematically speaking. That’s it, superheroes and villains all around. Capes and spandex. City streets to clean up, wrongs to right, and damsels (err, or gentlemen) in distress to rescue. Not sure where they stand on the costumed sidekick front, mind you.
Alright, so it’s being built by the same developers, and distributed by a different publisher, so I guess we can call it a spiritual successor, tights and all. In practice, though, I have no idea how close Champions Online will be to CoX in terms of actual gameplay or design, but Cryptic Studios is a proven team with a solid track record. The same couldn’t necessarily be said for the guys creating DC Universe Online, but I’ll digress…
If you’re curious, Cryptic is also the same team that’s working (in parallel) on Star Trek Online. That’s a serious handful of work to be taking on at once, especially in a down-market.
So, why am I so stoked about Champions Online? Here’s my little checklist of things that turn my crank, based on what I’ve seen so far in screenshots, videos, and various articles around the intarweb:
- Massive amounts of intricate character customization, allowing you to create any kind of crazy-ass looking (and performing) superhero.
- Cel-shaded graphics in an MMO that actually look quite awesome.
- Some pretty electric, colourful, and generally amazing looking scenery.
- It’s based on a solid IP that’s been around for nearly 30 years, and it’ll have a real storyline.
- You can eventually create your own nemesis. How cool is that?!
Now you know, I really know very little about this game. The official FAQ is pretty sparse in giving out any real information. From what I could discern in the FAQ, the game is slated for release in Spring 2009 (which to my mind means end of June at the absolute earliest), it’s being developed in tandem for both PC and Xbox 360 (which can be considered a risk in an MMO), they haven’t yet decided on a fee structure, and there will be a semi-public beta test at some point. They’re also accepting “beta preview” signups (whatever that means) at the moment, although the game has apparently been in closed beta since last November.
Aside from looking cool and being based on an interesting concept, I don’t know what the end-game will be like. I have no idea if there will be any kind of PvP or not, although some unsubstantiated rumours are floating around that PvP will be in the gane at launch. To quote the Q&A I linked to above:
What happens at the max level? Work is progressing on the endgame now. Items will continue to mean upgrades to your character, and they’re working on having an arena-like fight club. The game is built to be in the hands of the players, and the endgame will grow with player suggestion and input.
That doesn’t really tell you much, either. But the more I hear about it, though, the more excited I get. And what’s not to like about that?
