MMORPG.com's Michael Bitton takes an in-depth look at Cryptic Studios' newest MMORPG, Champions Online in this week's review.

Champions Online is Cryptic Studios' sophomore effort on the MMOG scene, and is the first AAA superhero MMOG to appear since the company birthed City of Heroes over five years ago. Times were different then, Cryptic Studios was a small company, and World of Warcraft hadn't even made its splash on the genre yet. With that said, have all the years and experience behind the company paid off in the form of a true next-generation superhero MMOG? Or do we have something truly villainous on our hands?

To start, Champions Online offers a robust character creator filled to the brim with options. Like City of Heroes before it, the creator could be considered a game in and of itself. I can't tell you how many times I've stopped what I was doing on one character and gone back to the creator to test out a new idea, or to try and see if the creator would let me create a pre-existing character I was thinking of. Just about every time, the game allowed for it, which is a testament to how excellent the character creator truly is. Of course, this flexibility is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you just never know what crazy creative creation you'll see next. On the other, I can't count how many Iron Man, Superman, or even Battletoad clones I've seen.

Read the Champions Online Review

"Champions Online is very much a game with a lot of potential, but is currently plagued with a myriad of issues, many of which are often exhibited by newly released MMOGs, though the overall lack of content is simply inexcusable."

You can tell the reviewer talked to 1-2 level 40's and reviewed the game in his mid 20's to 30's.

Lots of content in this game.

I am not a fan of MMORPG.com reviews, they remind me of IGN.com MMORPG reviews = trash

Really want to play this game. Just have to wait for a new computer, though lol. Not that I've played CO, but I think some individuals are being over-dramatic about how "poor" CO is. Just give it a break guys AND some time. It will get better i'm sure.

Originally posted by Player_420

"Champions Online is very much a game with a lot of potential, but is currently plagued with a myriad of issues, many of which are often exhibited by newly released MMOGs, though the overall lack of content is simply inexcusable."

 

You can tell the reviewer talked to 1-2 level 40's and reviewed the game in his mid 20's to 30's.

Lots of content in this game.

I am not a fan of MMORPG.com reviews, they remind me of IGN.com MMORPG reviews = trash

To be fair, every single other review from every other major site acknowledges the severe lack of content, as do the developers themselves. They've admitted there are big content gaps throughout the game (especially after level 30), and have said they're working to fix this by adding more. This just shows that here, the reviewers concern wasn't unfounded.

Originally posted by Ghostmind

Originally posted by Player_420

"Champions Online is very much a game with a lot of potential, but is currently plagued with a myriad of issues, many of which are often exhibited by newly released MMOGs, though the overall lack of content is simply inexcusable."

 

You can tell the reviewer talked to 1-2 level 40's and reviewed the game in his mid 20's to 30's.

Lots of content in this game.

I am not a fan of MMORPG.com reviews, they remind me of IGN.com MMORPG reviews = trash

 

To be fair, every single other review from every other major site acknowledges the severe lack of content, as do the developers themselves. They've admitted there are big content gaps throughout the game (especially after level 30), and have said they're working to fix this by adding more. This just shows that here, the reviewers concern wasn't unfounded.

amen

at 31 i had to grind my last bub to 32 just to get missions, period.

and now at 32/33 alli can get is team missions and missions +3 to my level.

When your normal content is +3 that is a content gap.

Originally posted by Player_420

"Champions Online is very much a game with a lot of potential, but is currently plagued with a myriad of issues, many of which are often exhibited by newly released MMOGs, though the overall lack of content is simply inexcusable."

 

You can tell the reviewer talked to 1-2 level 40's and reviewed the game in his mid 20's to 30's.

Lots of content in this game.

I am not a fan of MMORPG.com reviews, they remind me of IGN.com MMORPG reviews = trash

No idea what you're calling "content", but that description is exactly what i'd have said. I have hopes it will get better (decided to keep the lifetime sub, even after hitting the cap in the headstart). There were a few content gaps when I levelled up, and the launch day patch nerfed exp gain which made it even worse.

This wouldn't be the end of the world if they hadn't nerfed mob exp in beta down to insignifigant values - so those ~2 levels worth of grinding you'll need to do take as long as all the other levels.

Honestly as a review I thought it was really rather accurate.

"If however, you are a comic book geek who loved City of Heroes and you’re looking for the next step in superhero MMOGs, Champions Online certainly does enough better than City of Heroes to warrant the purchase. Keep in mind though, there isn’t much replay value to the game given the dearth of content to level with and the same is true for a level capped character. All that’s left is essentially rerolling and retreading the same content over and over, or participating in the woefully unbalanced PvP system. Thankfully, the leveling pace is pretty brisk, and that serves to minimize some of these issues a bit. In the end, Champions Online is worth a purchase, if just for the first month included with the box, after that, your mileage may vary."

As a disclaimer, I'm a fan of City of Heroes and I was in the CO beta, so there is bias in my following comments. 

Honestly, I don't think CO does "enough better than City of Heroes" so much as it does it a bit differently, or perhaps fresher, as in new content/new story arcs to play.  I think that will be the number 1 draw for CoX fans: new storylines. 

So far as in terms of investment in a game, 40 dollars to play a game for 1 month seems wasteful, especially considering how "briskly" one can burn through the content.  Sure, it's equivalent to going to a movie every week but mmos are typically about some extended subscription.

Otherwise, a reasonable review. 

Peeps, not that I hate the guy but take a look at the exec producer at Cryptic for CO.  None other than Bill Roper.  How many times will he get chances to fail in this business?  If the disaster of Flagship wasnt a warning for anyone interested in buying CO then they are too enamored with Cryptic's games.  Im sure the content issues are curable but this should have been done in beta.  Bill's team has once again rushed a game out the door too soon.  Can only hope it doesnt drag Cryptic under.

I only have lvl 28 Char and when looking at the 3 maps I have access to (never been to Monster Island nor did any Nemisis yet) I have tons of darkened areas I have not touched yet.   The reason people create gimped characters (I have made the worste gimped characters ever) is it takes a lot of research and thought building the ultimate champion.  When choosing  powers and buffs you must be aware if they compliment each other.  Some buffs when reaching outside a set will not take advantage of your main powers.   After realizing this and starting a new character picking powers and corresponding buffs even going outside my main set I noticed a huge difference.  Also the off, def, util slots can greatly tweak a character.   My gimped ones were tweaked to the point from dying frequently to never dying during missions my level and some a level higher.   It IS more difficult then most mmo's.   The Action can get your fingers moving as fast as a quake fest at times.   Balancing might be an issue of using the correct powers with what buffs compliment them?  I do not know since I have not taken the time to try and figure out more than 2 efficient characters and still made mistakes with those since powerhouse does not provide testing for crowd control, stealth and actual PVE combat scenerios.  If they added instance rooms for real time combat it would be awsome.   For PVP testing, plenty of people there to help you out by dueling.  What is nice is you can try out your new powers and buffs in PH then remove them and try another before leaving PH.  Since there is no manual or guide helping you through the build process I find starting from scratch experimenting with all the variations of weapons, weapon levels, buffs and stats/characteristics it can take hours to pencil out and design/plan a build.  Its like a puzzle.  I love the games required thought needed.   As the game matures im sure it will just get better and easier to find the information needed to put together characters through forums and websites.   There are plenty of helpful people willing to help and share their builds and experience advise in forums now.   Lots have builds that claim to be indestructable but I am not there yet :).  For those who havent played you can get a taste of planning process by downloading the Character builder someone named Zarzu was so so cool to make for us.  http://champions.zarzu.ch/    Also to try the Character creator there is a link to one on the Champions online site for the character desing contest.    If you dont like addrenaline pumping action and thinking, research and planning CO is not be for you.  It can be frustrating yes but it is a hell of a challenge.    Have fun.

Whilst the review was fairly balanced, I would disagree about replay-value. I am an altaholic and have enjoyed levelling all  my toons, though the linear nature of progression is a little retrograde when compared to the original City Of Heroes and it's multiple choices of areas in which to level. Effectively this comes down to the problem of too few zones in Champions Online at release. That said, the zone there are, are excellent, as are the implementations of travel powers and the inclusion of underwater areas.

The powersets themselves are a confusing headache but in an enjoyable way. My only major gripe is with the devs nerfing powers which were terrific fun to play, this is just plain lazy and lessens one's enjoyment of the game. Instead of making a good power useless, the sensible thing to do to keep players happy, would be to bring up the weaker powers to match it, whilst raising the difficulty of the pve villains. As things stand I now have alts with useless powers and in some cases powersets, which will need respeccing completely.  This knee-jerk reaction by devs has been a real spoiler.

Otherwise the game is ideal for the casual and semi-casual mmo'er, nicely episodic you feel like you can achieve something every time you switch on. Whether it has the power to keep players interested comes down entirely to how much new content they will bring to the game, and when. It better be a lot and soon, else even an altaholic like me will have run out of things to do before Christmas.

Originally posted by Player_420

You can tell the reviewer talked to 1-2 level 40's and reviewed the game in his mid 20's to 30's.

Lots of content in this game.

 

you're kidding right?

I guess your definition of "lots" and everyone else's (including proffessinals) are mirror oppisites.

You can't play through this game one time w/out doing EVERY single quest avail. And even then it's lacking. Shit, even the devs have acknowleged the game has gaps. You need to check your blind fandom at the door, kiddo.

Originally posted by Roadshow

Whilst the review was fairly balanced, I would disagree about replay-value. I am an altaholic and have enjoyed levelling all  my toons, though the linear nature of progression is a little retrograde when compared to the original City Of Heroes and it's multiple choices of areas in which to level. Effectively this comes down to the problem of too few zones in Champions Online at release. That said, the zone there are, are excellent, as are the implementations of travel powers and the inclusion of underwater areas.

So, how many alts have you run through Canada and the Desert (or both depending on the xp situation)?

Finally, a review that doesn't just restate the company's press.  You did a good job discussing the good and bad abou the game.  Anyone that disagrees is a fanboy that can't/won't be convinced of anything otherwise so don't sweat what they say.  The one thing you forgot to mention was that for a MMO, teaming is virtually non-existant in this game.  Besides about 5-8 missions, there is no reason to team at all.  Also the UI for support characters is the worst I have ever seen.  This is really more of a console game that happens to let you play with others (though its definately not needed).

it's easy to gimp one's character

The game's balance is simply a mess.

You definitely get the sense that PvP was implemented as part of a checklist

A lack of content and repetition is a thread shared commonly between PvE and PvP in Champs.

The music is hit-or-miss, mostly because it is so sparse.

Champions Online doesn’t have much of an endgame

the tab targeting in Champions Online is absolutely horrendous

The UI is equally shoddy

The Powers UI is generally just as bad

7.5???

Really?   I know that fun combat, and incredible customization account for alot, but 7.5 worth?  If this is a 5 point grading scale, then do 1-5.  Given just the above statements in the review I can't see how this game rates more than a 6ish.  Granted it might get much better in a few months, but you can't grade on what you can't play...

Originally posted by Jpizzle

Originally posted by Player_420

You can tell the reviewer talked to 1-2 level 40's and reviewed the game in his mid 20's to 30's.

Lots of content in this game.

 

 

you're kidding right?

I guess your definition of "lots" and everyone else's (including proffessinals) are mirror oppisites.

You can't play through this game one time w/out doing EVERY single quest avail. And even then it's lacking. Shit, even the devs have acknowleged the game has gaps. You need to check your blind fandom at the door, kiddo.

Wurd!

I would say this is a pretty fair and honest review of CO.

My main toon is now lvl19 and althought I have not yet experienced the content gap, I am well aware of it. I literally budget my misisons and make sure I do a little hunting just before I level each time to balance out my toon because I know whats ahead.

Basically you need to grind out 2 levels in this game at some point. I havent hit it yet but I know its there.

I do have one thing I disagree with the writer on, and that is crafting. The crafting is boring to me and mostly a waste of time so far. Others say it will get better and that is great to look forward to however, all I have been doing as far as crafting goes so far is to find ammo crates and arms items I then do my research to get my Arms research points and break down objects for parts. I have only been able to create 3 items so far at this point that were better than the drops Ive found. My reaserch skill has been capped at 200 since level 17. I cant "buy" the next 100 point unlock until level 21 so I am hording all my ammo drops and having to wait until my toon hits 21 to do more research... and for what? From what I have been told I'll be researching until I am about level 30 before I get anything really good I can create. That's 10 levels from the cap and to me is yet another area lacking content and imagination. Crafting should be fun throughout the game. In CO its just another grind.

I strongly agree with the writer's opinions  on the game's "in beta" feel I keep saying that and am continuously shot down by "Foxbat Fanboys" telling me that I must not have played alot of MMOs. I am a total geek and this is not a word of a lie I have literally tried them all lol. I have played so many I couldn't even begin to count. Yes, I realize MMOs have trouble at launch. I feel they shouldnt, at least not to the extent that the consumers have let these development studios get away with to date. CO was especially bad and the commnity freaked out and alot of people wanted their money back, and rightly so you cant sell hafl a tennis bal to a tennis player without pissing him off so why sell an incomplete game to a gamer? The developers need to beta test through these troubles and launch a finished product. Especially when charging a premium for the game at launch over other games, especially when charging a premium for a monthly sub over most other games, and most especially when charging for micro transactions on top of everything else......... super-dooper especially when the lead developer himself had said in development that he hated games that chagred for micro transactions and that he would never do that to CO. Thanks Bill!

Oddly, I still really like the game over all, and even though I cancelled my 6 month subscription to send the only mesag to Cryptic that they seem to respond to (a money message) I am really considering getting a 1 mo sub for next month as I want to see what this development team has in store. They have made mostly positive changes so far (not including the addtion of the grind..thanks for that...when we said replayability we didnt mean the grind, we meant new and exciting misisons.) Even with all of it's faults it's still probably  one of the best MMOs Ive ever played. Cryptic better get their act together or Im going to play the new DDO...that game is quite good!

CO needs work but still kicks some serious ass over most MMOs out there, lets see what Bill and his team can do to improve things.

Originally posted by gavving

it's easy to gimp one's character

The game's balance is simply a mess.

You definitely get the sense that PvP was implemented as part of a checklist

A lack of content and repetition is a thread shared commonly between PvE and PvP in Champs.

The music is hit-or-miss, mostly because it is so sparse.

Champions Online doesn’t have much of an endgame

the tab targeting in Champions Online is absolutely horrendous

The UI is equally shoddy

The Powers UI is generally just as bad

 

7.5???

 

Really?   I know that fun combat, and incredible customization account for alot, but 7.5 worth?  If this is a 5 point grading scale, then do 1-5.  Given just the above statements in the review I can't see how this game rates more than a 6ish.  Granted it might get much better in a few months, but you can't grade on what you can't play...

 

 

 

Quoted for truth, I read all that and then I was like, 7.5, really? Uhm, no. Not even. I purchased it, this is not a 7.5 game, it's a retail beta at present. Well, not even a beta really, beta should mean feature complete which the game clearly is not but then beta is the new alpha now days and retail is the new beta.

 Excellent review, although I think  the game should not have received more than a 6.5 score, I think the reviewer added points due to the  game's "potential", which is bad mojo. The game deserves the score it earns at the time of play, not on what it might be in the future.

I like the game, although I cancelIed my sub. I play it about 5-7 hours a week right now (played up to 4 hrs a day before the insane nerf orgies started on release day), I would play more  if I was confident that the devs won't nerf the crap out of everything every day. I cringe every evening that I log into the game, wondering how badly they gimped my characters this time. Too many powersets are just unplayable right now, and limping through sparse content while grinding with a gimped pure powerset, is not fun.

The game has metric assloads of potential, it could become the 2nd best mmo on the market, but it will never live up to that potential if the devs continue to be heavy handed with the nerf nukes instead of working on the underpowered powers. They released too early with too little content and have decided to punish the customers by nerfing XP and powers while buffing the "critters" so you cannot level up too fast and see the all the boards holding up the fake storefronts.

I will play for the rest of the free month with the game in this condition, heck I might actually pay for another month, but I cannot justify paying for a superhero game that doesn't make me feel super and isn't that fun.

I dunno, I find this game WAY overrated. 6/10 or such would seem fair to me at best, and even that is only by the generosity of trying out something new. I dont understand how anyone can give 8 ratings like some people here. *shrug*

Originally posted by Soupgoblin

 Excellent review, although I think  the game should not have received more than a 6.5 score, I think the reviewer added points due to the  game's "potential", which is bad mojo. The game deserves the score it earns at the time of play, not on what it might be in the future.

 

I like the game, although I cancelIed my sub. I play it about 5-7 hours a week right now (played up to 4 hrs a day before the insane nerf orgies started on release day), I would play more  if I was confident that the devs won't nerf the crap out of everything every day. I cringe every evening that I log into the game, wondering how badly they gimped my characters this time. Too many powersets are just unplayable right now, and limping through sparse content while grinding with a gimped pure powerset, is not fun.

 

The game has metric assloads of potential, it could become the 2nd best mmo on the market, but it will never live up to that potential if the devs continue to be heavy handed with the nerf nukes instead of working on the underpowered powers. They released too early with too little content and have decided to punish the customers by nerfing XP and powers while buffing the "critters" so you cannot level up too fast and see the all the boards holding up the fake storefronts.

I will play for the rest of the free month with the game in this condition, heck I might actually pay for another month, but I cannot justify paying for a superhero game that doesn't make me feel super and isn't that fun.

I agree with you but am really just wanting to tell you how totally freakin awesome that picture of Yoda is that you have for your avatar pic.

Cool beans buddy!

Originally posted by Roadshow

Whilst the review was fairly balanced, I would disagree about replay-value. I am an altaholic and have enjoyed levelling all  my toons, though the linear nature of progression is a little retrograde when compared to the original City Of Heroes and it's multiple choices of areas in which to level. Effectively this comes down to the problem of too few zones in Champions Online at release. That said, the zone there are, are excellent, as are the implementations of travel powers and the inclusion of underwater areas.

The powersets themselves are a confusing headache but in an enjoyable way. My only major gripe is with the devs nerfing powers which were terrific fun to play, this is just plain lazy and lessens one's enjoyment of the game. Instead of making a good power useless, the sensible thing to do to keep players happy, would be to bring up the weaker powers to match it, whilst raising the difficulty of the pve villains. As things stand I now have alts with useless powers and in some cases powersets, which will need respeccing completely.  This knee-jerk reaction by devs has been a real spoiler.

Otherwise the game is ideal for the casual and semi-casual mmo'er, nicely episodic you feel like you can achieve something every time you switch on. Whether it has the power to keep players interested comes down entirely to how much new content they will bring to the game, and when. It better be a lot and soon, else even an altaholic like me will have run out of things to do before Christmas.

I am sorry but you couldnt be more wrong.
 

The only thing Ill agree with is the fact that you say the few zones there ar are well done. Ill agree with that otherwise.....just wrong.

An MMO neds alot of content at all level ranges in order to have good market share. An MMO needs replayability in order to have good amrket share as well. Take WoW, you get a different starting area for each race, much the same on CoX which you mentioned, you get a different set of starting missions for each origin. This makes players want to try other toons and keep playign once theyve maxd out their main characters.

Any self respecting twitchy altaholic should agree with that.

Spot on review!

Yes the character creator is great, yes the power selection system give you a lot of freedom to make your personal toon.

But the game is simply too shallow, its good for settling down, leaving the brain on the shelf, drink yourself stupid and smash enemies kind of gaming.... or rather it was pre september 1.

But it has nothing to keep you involved on a lvl above the mindless smashing and with the extreme poor content, the gaps  where you have to grind and the removal of the super in superhero the game simply does not deliver anymore.

It cannot compete with other MMOs on standard MMO terms. It had a unique niche in the complete free and fun way it could be played but that is gone now so the one thing that made this game worth buying were removed by the dev team AFTER the game went live and after the special offers for long subs or lifetimes ended.

Now that they took away the game's one big quality it simply cannot compare in quality to all its competitors and i cannot recomend that anyone buys it until they have about trippled the current content and returned the game to a beer and fun type of game it should have been.

fair review, imo even 0.5 point to much hehe ;)

Excellent review that brings up most of the pros and cons. However was there any mention of the fact that there is little incentive for grouping? I think that coupled with the massive instancing make the game feel more single player than a multiplayer game.

CoX was much better in that department.

Originally posted by gavving

it's easy to gimp one's character

The game's balance is simply a mess.

You definitely get the sense that PvP was implemented as part of a checklist

A lack of content and repetition is a thread shared commonly between PvE and PvP in Champs.

The music is hit-or-miss, mostly because it is so sparse.

Champions Online doesn’t have much of an endgame

the tab targeting in Champions Online is absolutely horrendous

The UI is equally shoddy

The Powers UI is generally just as bad

 

7.5???

 

Really?   I know that fun combat, and incredible customization account for alot, but 7.5 worth?  If this is a 5 point grading scale, then do 1-5.  Given just the above statements in the review I can't see how this game rates more than a 6ish.  Granted it might get much better in a few months, but you can't grade on what you can't play...

 

 

 

That is because in your list you only mentioned the cons but none of the pros. Any game where you pick out only the cons would seem worse than it actually is.