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Champions Online Previews: Early Game Hands-On Preview
A first look preview at Champions Online from our hero inside the Cryptic Studios Beta.
By Tricia Bennon on May 27, 2009
“Think console…not mmo….”
All would-be super-heroes should remember this advice as they approach Champions Online. Yes, Champions Online is an MMO, but the game is much easier to play and enjoy when approached with a console mentality. Due to its reliance on character positioning, fast reactions and selective targeting as an essential part of combat, the game plays much more like an action console game than the average “click and get a sandwich MMO.”
Granted, there are times where combat is more straight forward (i.e.: “ get x and give to y”), but for the most part gameplay, especially when solo, requires a little more thought. Heroes need to consider how they’ll get to their enemy (route) and which ones to attack first. Ignore this advance, and the game becomes a lot harder to play. At first, I felt like it would need a friend just to finish the tutorial, but once I took the console gamer’s approach, it was as if I had pressed the easy button.
Recently, I had a chance to explore the Champions Online Beta and gather my impressions. Do keep in mind, though, that all of these elements are subject to change.
;)
Character Customization
Cryptic Studios is best known for their work on City of Heroes, so comparisons between the Champions and CoH character creation systems are inevitable. Most players could spend hours rolling new characters in City of Heroes. The options were incredible. Honestly, I never had so much fun in that game as I did just making characters. It was fun and intuitively structured. Champions Online has a lot to live up to.
The first choice of any would-be super-hero is what kind of hero they will be. In Champions, they call this the character’s “origin.” Options range from a powerhouse (think “The Incredible Hulk”), to an untouchable (more like “Spider-man”), or anything in between. Whatever origin chosen ultimately sets the new hero’s base stats and dictates what kind of hero they are likely to become. So, if the goal is to have cat-like dexterity or the hit points of the Terminator, choose wisely. While this choice dictates a path, players gain more points over time. That big powerhouse could get a little more nimble, if they don’t mind sacrificing some hit points.
The next step for new heroes is to select a Power framework. These are similar to archetypes in City of Heroes. With 18 power frames to choose from, heroes can choose to specialize in archery, fire damage, martial arts, dual blades, telekinesis, or munitions, among others. Basically, it determines the way a super-hero kicks ass. Again, though, Cryptic has made this system very flexible. Just because someone starts in archery, doesn’t mean they can never learn how to shoot a gun. Every skill and power is available to every player. It enables people to experiment and create truly unique characters. It also doesn’t force anyone to start over to try a new toy.
With the character fully tweaked under the hood, it’s time to get to the fun part: looks and costume! Simply put, Champions will do more than meet the expectations of City of Heroes fans. It will blow them away.
;)
The level of customization borders on ridiculous. For example, there are four different colorization options for each piece. Take the chest gear for example. The game allows details like a knife belt across the chest, but what’s more, enables full color customization of belt, knife blade, sheathe and hilt. It really made the process unique. One of the most impressive features was the ability to customize a piece of gear to show specifically on the character’s right arm, leg or hand and then do something completely different for the left side. Another thing to get excited about is the improved selection of robotic appearances. The attention to detail in this system is amazing.
Customization doesn’t just end at the costume, though. Players can change where powers originate (head, hands, chest, sword, etc.) and create separate builds and roles, which they can easily swap out based on circumstance.
That’s not to say that the system is quite ready yet. A few elements are less than thrilling. The tabs (for head, chest and foot sections) found on the left hand side of the creation area are a little clunky and unintuitive. The interface in CoH was a lot sleeker. While I was impressed with the color options available and the detail available, there could have been better explanation of how each of the four colors alters the design.
There is definitely room for polish and improvement, but with a few months before launch, Cryptic has time. The creation experience presented a fun and dizzying array of options, it just needs more tweaking and a little more elegance to really bring it home.
Inside the Tutorial
Like every MMO released these days, Champions Online features a quick tutorial that introduces the elements of the game.
The tutorial walks new players through a few easy missions, introduces basic movement, interaction with NPCs and quests. More importantly it draws hero’s attention to some of the features in Champions that are new and interesting, especially for those familiar with other MMOs.
;)
Combat
I chose to create a character with the dexterity of an Untouchable origin and the power framework of a martial artist with dual wield. I received my first mission from a local NPC and headed off to a back alley to attack some qularr pods.
In combat, abilities stack and rely on each other. For example, my basic attack builds up endurance, which I can then expend by using some of my more advanced and deadly skills. If my endurance gets low, I can just continue to auto-attack with my basic attack skill until I have enough endurance built up to once again try something fancy. Some skills also deal more damage as they are “powered up.” More power equals more damage or time duration.
Another skill essential to surviving Champions Online is the ability to block an incoming attack. When fighting a mob, a special graphic icon will sometimes appear above the enemy’s head. This indicates that they are about to unleash a power attack. Players can (and should!) block these attacks, either by hitting the shift key or clicking the block icon on the hot bar. Trust me, this is a skill you want to use every time you see a mob getting ready to open a can of “whoop-whoop” on you. It can be the difference between immediate death and a minuscule amount of damage.
Sounds interesting! Even better than CoX. I'll probably give it a try when a free trial comes out.
God Damn, I cant wait for this game to come out.
And I.... can't wait for the NDA to be lifted.
I'd like to hear what the non-press testers actually think.
Thanks for the early info sounds pretty cool especially the Character Creation , .... looking forward to STO too ! If you could get a sneak peak of that it would be awesome !
You know what this reminds me of? Age of Conan. How so? Well, the awesome first impression, great ideas, new and engaging combat and so on....
Sadly though, all this article tells me is that the game doesnt have a crappy initial impression. But in todays genre, that doesnt count for much.
When I read "fast and comfortable travel", and "action combat", "public questions with no need to group up, just jump in and play" and so forth, I think "I sure hope they thought of something to get players to interact, have a good chat interface, and a huge amount of content or a great repeatable gameplay, otherwise this is yet another pretty hollow shell".
Because as other games in the last year have shown, these things all contribute to the phenomena of silent, unengaging, interaction-free solo MMOs which get boring for a lot of people really fast, and usually lack content, having blown most of their development time on the pretty candy, not on the meat.
I look forward to Champions Online, but reviews like this just remind me how little these pretty cool features count against the juggernaut that is content hunger.
I wonder to what extent is the environment is interactive? Can my hulking (pun intended) super strength character lift up a car and hurl it at a bad guy (or anything else in the world)? That's the kind of interactivity that would seal a pre-order for me.
I've been following this game pretty much since it was announced. I'm a comic book fan dating back to the early 70's so this genre really appeals to me. I like what I hear about the game so far and plan to try it out.
I played CoH for 3 years, but recently quit when my PvP hero was turned to junk by an extremely unpopular complete rewrite of the PvP rules. It would take months to level up a PvP toon and get it all geared up with crafted enhancement sets to be really badass. Months of character development chucked in the can, and the loss of many of the powers that made my character enjoyable, leaves me looking forward to an alternate superhero game. This might be it.
I can't wait for the NDA to be lifted too. So I could tell you how the game is. If you haven't guessed, I'm a preview tester for Champions Online.
Cryptic has some very talented artists.
I'm looking forward to playing this.
Great preview :) thank you kindly!
Awesome preview dana, I've been thinking about playing a superhero MMo for some time now; You clinched it for me.
Thanks,
Ink
Cant you use 2nd build or respec? Respec gives you a good amount of money for unused enhancements. Sorry to hear your experience. I love cox. This game will probably be very similar.
I'm waiting for all of the crying to begin over the description of the action-based combat.
For me, it seems like something I could get into for a few months.
Or rip a lamp post out of the ground and swing it like a club into a bunch of bad guys (like in Freedom Force! ; ' )
That would be an affirmative :)
This is going to be an awesome gmae fer sure
Indeed good writeup!
I don't mind the action based fighting, like a console as long as I don't have to use a bloody console controller I'll have no issues at all. :D
Keyboard and mah Mousie for life.
The graphics are pretty interesting. It makes me wonder if the company has gone for this comic style to make room from more content / features Eg: Low Graphics = High Content and vis versa but at the same time the graphics are acceptable as eye candy and as stylization. Runescape has essencially done this aswell and in its prime it was a very good game.
The review sounded very biased towards Champions Online.
Oddly enough, you can also pick and choose your targets in CoX. Th e article seemed to imply you can't and that it doesn't make any difference which target you target first in CoX. Neither is the case.
Comparing Champions Online to a Graphic Novel and CoX to a Comic book was very revealing as to how much hyping someone is doing.
Not that I think that the art in Champions Online is very impressive, but, apparently, the person making the reference doesn't understand that most graphics novels these days were comics before they were ever graphic novels - most notably the most popular/exposed/hyped/rated graphic novel of all times - the Watchmen.
I guess it was written by someone that doesn't know what they are talking about. It seems that most of the hype for Champions Online has been in this manner.
Of course, as far as I'm concerned, any game that is called Champions should be using the Champoins the RPG rules. Champions Online doesn't. The rules of Champions were so well balanced that there is really no excuse not to use the rules other than being lazy. This game definatly doesn't live up to the legacy of Champions the RPG even from the start.
I can't say how the WOW mission structure would be considered innovated at all.
I was highly suprised to hear that they were going to release this for the computer market first - espeically how the hype is saying that is is a console game. They would have been much wiser to release it on the console market first and get a loyal following there before taking on the City of Heroes/Villains.
It is a shame that the company that helped bring us City of Heroes has to resort to bad-mouthing it in order to try to get subscribers.
I was really psyched to hear that Champions the RPG was finally coming to computer/console gaming. Man, is this a big let down. Signature characters do not a great game make. MMORPGs become great destipe the signature characters.
I was hoping to hear a little about creating my personal Nemisis in the game. Has it been implemrnted yet?
This game looks like it's gonna be fun. I can't wait to install this sucker and start rolling up some toons. The action oriented combat sounds more fun than the typical MMO fare to me. I'm also looking forward to seeing the comic style graphics myself, rather than looking at screenshots. Some screens I've seen made the graphics look bad, and some made them look great.
All in all, this should be a fun game, and I'm pretty psyched for it.
Just a slight hint, but the character creation is so impressive I almost cried. It's pretty much a game in itself. Hope that helps.
Nice article. It was very interesting to hear the level of environment interaction went to all the way to the level of simple rocks.
I forget if Cryptic was going to show anything at E3?
This game is shaping up nicely, and cryptic is awesome.
People have to realize that cryptic actually delayed the game because of the feedback they were gettng about its current state, the game is constantly evolving and it is being made for the players, and they are really taking advantage of the testers.
I havent preorderd a game since EQ2 and WoW, but i preordered this, its going to be worth playing.
So sad to hear the word "auto attack" :(
Sadly this "preview" reminds me of talking to the Cryptic team at GenCon...
It's a pretty game....so was CoX
It's fun to play...so was CoX...for a few months...maybe
What is there to make anyone want to play past the 3month mark or whatever time frame it takes to reasonably level?....Insert sounds of crickets chirping.
Cryptic is a solid team, I am sure the game will be stable, visually appealling and fun to play when it launches....but if it doesn't get a whole lot more content work and endgame direction than CoH had...it is rapidly going to be another "why am I playing this again?" game.
I couldn't agree more, Eric. I hope they focused on an endgame for this one. It would be nice to see it expanded upon with updates too.
To the poster above you, I don't think this game has auto attacks (I noticed that in the article too). Everything I've read sounded like the attacking in this game is a very hands-on proposition. I think the author mistakenly used the phrase while referring to lower tier energy building attacks.
Yeah I hate to say it but you pretty much just hit the nail on the head. My buddy beta tested this MMO for like 2 weeks and just dropped it. His first impression was "this game is so awesome" and in 2 weeks it was "This game fucking blows" for reasons i obviously cant go into. All i can tell people is...dont expect City of Heroes on speed because if you liked CoX as an MMO and not just because it was a superhero MMO then chances are you will fucking burn this game on an alter and sacrafice it to the MMO gods, in hopes they bless you with something thats worth a shit next year.
Seeing as your so intent on using CoX as your yardstick I should point out your glaring mistake, Cryptic did not just "Help" bring CoX to the market, they "Developed" the whole thing and then sold it to NCSoft so they could then go and develop another hero MMO.
Yeah I hate to say it but you pretty much just hit the nail on the head. My buddy beta tested this MMO for like 2 weeks and just dropped it. His first impression was "this game is so awesome" and in 2 weeks it was "This game fucking blows" for reasons i obviously cant go into. All i can tell people is...dont expect City of Heroes on speed because if you liked CoX as an MMO and not just because it was a superhero MMO then chances are you will fucking burn this game on an alter and sacrafice it to the MMO gods, in hopes they bless you with something thats worth a shit next year.
Well thats a relief to read, I was really hoping that CO would be different from CoX and your "Friend" seems to confirm that.
As for the 2 weeks feeling I had the same feeling when playing WoW, yet it's got millions of subs, don't figure as I still think the game blows.
Very nice, they are even using a version of mythics public quests.
I'll keep an eye on this one and once they release a trial i'm all over this.
pvp? PvP? PVP??
Why do so many MMORPG previews/reviews fail to even mention if there is any PvP? It is one of the biggest aspect of MMORPGs to please, get on the program!
I agree with this statement. I'm really at a loss as to why the reviewer thinks you can't pick and choose your targets in other games. How does that make this game more like a console game? More things to point out that struck me as odd:
Selective targetting and movement - That is not new and not console like to me either. Have you ever played any older MMOs like EQ or DAOC? I played DoT casters in both games and using the terrain to kite mobs was essential. This is nothing new. You don't want to pull an entire pack of mobs, just the one on the outskirts. Perhaps to some of the newer generation guys this might seem more console like, but not to me. Chain aggro, trains, and positioning is something very old and known to mmo players.
Movement and position attacks - The review states that if a caster pulls a mob away from a meleer that the meleer must move to the mob's new location. I'm not sure how this is new or more like a console game? In the various MMOs that I played that has been the same case. Melee classes have to move....unless you are playing a game with a "stick" command. Not many games these days offer that command. Also, as far as powering up an attack and having it is miss because the mob moved.....the same thing happens if you're a melee in a current game and use an area based attack(pbae, shout, or whatever you want to call it.)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash the review. I'm just having a hard time understanding how the things mentioned make this game different, especially if you are used to do them in older mmos. On the positive side, the information about the costumes was nice. I always like to hear more about customization.
I am a preview tester and I found nothing biased about this review. He pretty much summed up my experience playing so far. Thats all I will say so as not to break the NDA.
Yeah I hate to say it but you pretty much just hit the nail on the head. My buddy beta tested this MMO for like 2 weeks and just dropped it. His first impression was "this game is so awesome" and in 2 weeks it was "This game fucking blows" for reasons i obviously cant go into. All i can tell people is...dont expect City of Heroes on speed because if you liked CoX as an MMO and not just because it was a superhero MMO then chances are you will fucking burn this game on an alter and sacrafice it to the MMO gods, in hopes they bless you with something thats worth a shit next year.
Wow I really don't get that. I would say its just the opposite for me. Every time I log in and test I enjoy the game more. New things are being added constantly. I played CoH/CoV and so far I think this will be more the game for me. This is all subjective and my opinion though. Some people will not like the more action based combat, while some will absolutely love it.
Because it's easy to please pvpers, add decent combat and give players a reason to fight like intanced pvp or some world pvp objective and they bash eachothers faces in for months.
It's much harder to please the pve guys that rush through all content right to the buggy untested endgame and bitch about it lacking content and stuff like that.
People that care about shit like quests and pve progression far outwieght those that enjoy pvp (which sucks for someone like me).
because of this most quick first looks focus on pve stuff.
I have played CoX for 5 years solid and I have played other games with targeting that the article mentions. There is a gulf of difference between the two and I really can't wait to try it.
I've been in since alpha. I'll be sure to let you know.
I completely agree about the "graphic novel/comic book" comparison. That is, quite frankly, astonishingly ignorant of an entire medium.
It's like saying driving a new BMW reminds you more of driving an automobile rather than a car. Or the new Terminator movie reminds you more of a film than a movie.
Perhaps the writer should do a wee bit of research, and maybe look up the word "synonym."
After reading this review, I have two questions.
1) How will the game deal with lag? Since this is a "twitch" game that requires split-second timing, what happens if your internet connection suddenly gets a glitch and you start rubber banding or your get screen stagger?
2) If anyone can help or hinder you on a mission, does that mean that grievers can just fly around ruining other people's missions just for laughs?
Sorry. I want to play an superhero MMO not a quasihero online fighting game.
Wow I really don't get that. I would say its just the opposite for me. Every time I log in and test I enjoy the game more. New things are being added constantly. I played CoH/CoV and so far I think this will be more the game for me. This is all subjective and my opinion though. Some people will not like the more action based combat, while some will absolutely love it.
As with anything in life, different people will react according to their taste. You can't please all of the people all of the time.
I would counsel anyone to try any game before you buy it, and also not to get your hopes up. No game is ever going to do things exactly as you might hope, and your imagination is always going to outpace the abilities of any game engine.
Whether you love or hate CO will depend entirely on whether it appeals to the things you like. CO does things differently from CoH, but that doesn't mean it's empirically better or worse; it's just different. If you like those things or not is entirely up to the player.
As a beta tester on this one I am both looking forward to release and happy to see that it was pushed back to give them more time to polish and get the performance up. And the new super jump is just too damn cool :D
CoX is my go-to game between MMO releases and though the same developer and theme the two games are very different from combat to quest systems to loot... not CoX 2.0.
I am not currently testing the game, however, I've been actively following it and I found quite a bit of information since my first initial look in the game. In no way is this CoX 2.0. To answer some of the questions in this thread:
ivan50265
"I was hoping to hear a little about creating my personal Nemisis in the game. Has it been implemrnted yet?"
Supposedly it has been implemented, HOWEVER, you are not able to create your nemesis until Lvl 30. This might also answer the question on what End Game will be like. Max lvl is 40, so that should tell you that alot of high level content will be based on that.
masterbbb26
"So sad to hear the word "auto attack" :("
Again, as I haven't played it I can't say for certain, but from what I've seen of gameplay, the autoattack will not be a common staple as it is in other games. The combat is supposedly much faster paced, you won't have a lot of downtime trying to build momentum using the autoattack.
Yamota
"pvp? PvP? PVP??
Why do so many MMORPG previews/reviews fail to even mention if there is any PvP? It is one of the biggest aspect of MMORPGs to please, get on the program!"
That is a very valid question Yamota, but as this was the writers first preview I don't think they just jumped into PvP, especially as most people probably view PvP as a closer to end-game thing. I will tell you this about the PvP, there will be arenas, and special places and instances where you will be able to PvP (speaking on speculation from developer blogs and dev posts, etc.)
It might also make you happy to know that you will be able to level up while PvP'ing. You gain experience and other items via PvP as this game, unlike CoH will have actual "loot" that your character can use, such as weapons.
Cernan
"Movement and position attacks - The review states that if a caster pulls a mob away from a meleer that the meleer must move to the mob's new location. I'm not sure how this is new or more like a console game? In the various MMOs that I played that has been the same case. Melee classes have to move....unless you are playing a game with a "stick" command. Not many games these days offer that command. Also, as far as powering up an attack and having it is miss because the mob moved.....the same thing happens if you're a melee in a current game and use an area based attack(pbae, shout, or whatever you want to call it.)"
I think what they meant is, you actually have to move to position your character as maybe it doesn't auto position you. For example, you have a guy thats 20 ft away, and you try and use a "smash" ability.. they may be saying, when you use "smash" it doesn't walk you up to them and position you close enough to make the attack. Again this is just speculation on what she may have meant.
Alverant
"After reading this review, I have two questions.
1) How will the game deal with lag? Since this is a "twitch" game that requires split-second timing, what happens if your internet connection suddenly gets a glitch and you start rubber banding or your get screen stagger?
2) If anyone can help or hinder you on a mission, does that mean that grievers can just fly around ruining other people's missions just for laughs?
Sorry. I want to play an superhero MMO not a quasihero online fighting game."
Well, of course, I can't say for certain, especially since CO will supposedly be housing all characters on a single server. I will tell you though, that any twitch based game online will pretty much mean instant death to those with a shaky connection. On the one hand they could make you invincible when you lose connection and then people will exploit that, or they could leave you vulnerable which is more then likely what they'll do. Rubber banding aside I would imagine it would just let you know when your connection from the server has been lost.
As for anyone that can help or hinder a mission, take heart to know that grievers will not be able to ruing all missions for you just for laughs. Sure you may have the odd griever who jumps into the Public Quest and aggros everyone on you.. but there will also be a lot of instanced missions for you to take on that not everyone will be able to access.
All very well said and quite accurate............... Im guessing *cough* *cough*
Because it's easy to please pvpers, add decent combat and give players a reason to fight like intanced pvp or some world pvp objective and they bash eachothers faces in for months.
It's much harder to please the pve guys that rush through all content right to the buggy untested endgame and bitch about it lacking content and stuff like that.
People that care about shit like quests and pve progression far outwieght those that enjoy pvp (which sucks for someone like me).
because of this most quick first looks focus on pve stuff.
Well they don't have to write elaborate descriptions about PvP but like maybe mention that it exists or not? And if so, is it in the forms of arenas, duels, zones? Whatever, the word PvP didn't even exist in the whole article and that alone I would say be enough to write of this "preview" as biased against PvP because they didn't even bother to mention it.
Ok, thanks for the info. It was just a few lines but enough for preview but the previewer did not even mention it, and that shows incompetence for someone previewing an MMORPG.
And what ticks me of is that this seem to happen with alot of previews that MMORPG.COM does, they seem to be terribly biased against PvP if they even fail to acknowledge if it exists or not, like they don't care.
What I really want to know is can you jump out of the way of a thrown or fired projectile if you are fast enough, as I am sick to death of simple LoS checks and homing projectiles. Without this a bit of twitch in positioning or blocking will still leave ranged fighters limited, as their mobility and ability to take cover are effectively ignored.
Not sure I could play a MMO still limited by the CoX being shot through a wall scenario.
Ok, thanks for the info. It was just a few lines but enough for preview but the previewer did not even mention it, and that shows incompetence for someone previewing an MMORPG.
And what ticks me of is that this seem to happen with alot of previews that MMORPG.COM does, they seem to be terribly biased against PvP if they even fail to acknowledge if it exists or not, like they don't care.
Sadly, I was unable to actually experience the pvp elements of the game..hopefully in the future I'll be able to. This was a very limited first impression, and we're hoping to get more information to you all later with regards to further end game play and pvp!
Oh and Lazarus....
"I think what they meant is, you actually have to move to position your character as maybe it doesn't auto position you. For example, you have a guy thats 20 ft away, and you try and use a "smash" ability.. they may be saying, when you use "smash" it doesn't walk you up to them and position you close enough to make the attack. Again this is just speculation on what she may have meant."
Thank you for that clarification...your response was dead on.
I can deal with lag issues if it's twitched based targetting. I enjoy that more than playing a boring point-n-click (or Tab) to auto-lock on a target.
I would imagine it would have the same problems Hellgate had, as server desyncs would cause mobs to appear far away on your screen, while in fact they were right next to your character, scoring one-hit critical kills. However this didn't bother me much, and I played in Hardcore mode (meaning one life, you die, you loose your toon and have to reroll it to level 1 again).
It has to be understood by the gamers out there that twitch-based action, though it is fun, will have it's problems with syncronizing all the elements such as players, players in parites, and mob AI and movement.
This also occurs in Neocron, though not to the extent as in Hellgate. Also, and so I've heard from a friend, that this does not happen at all in Fallen Earth, or that he hasn't noticed it yet.
Ultimately, lag and server sync issues will occur, but the real question is if Champion's network code is up to the task of handling it in a way that isn't too destructive and/or detremental to gameplay. I hope for their sakes it handles it "seemlessly" and not use techniques such as aukward, and periodic pausing to allow for sync'ing of information and data packets.
I completely agree about the "graphic novel/comic book" comparison. That is, quite frankly, astonishingly ignorant of an entire medium.
It's like saying driving a new BMW reminds you more of driving an automobile rather than a car. Or the new Terminator movie reminds you more of a film than a movie.
Perhaps the writer should do a wee bit of research, and maybe look up the word "synonym."
The reviewers comment make total sense. In the Standard comic book fare, not a specialized singe series, but your usual run of the mill comic book there is a general and recognized art style. When they do Graphic novels they usually use a different style as a tool to emphasize something, gritty art work to show a dark and dangerous world, hard angular lines or many other tricks to further accentuate the artwork. The reviewer is saying CoX was like your regular comic book, standard and easily recognizable, Champs on the other hand changes the art work slightly giving it a familiar but distinctive look, much like a standard series comic and a graphic novel
The reviewers comment make total sense. In the Standard comic book fare, not a specialized singe series, but your usual run of the mill comic book there is a general and recognized art style. When they do Graphic novels they usually use a different style as a tool to emphasize something, gritty art work to show a dark and dangerous world, hard angular lines or many other tricks to further accentuate the artwork. The reviewer is saying CoX was like your regular comic book, standard and easily recognizable, Champs on the other hand changes the art work slightly giving it a familiar but distinctive look, much like a standard series comic and a graphic novel
And the reviewers intent was completely obvious, unless you're trolling and just looking for something to pick at.
I'm all for being critical, but the negativity so often seen here is disturbing.
"The reviewer said something wrong, so this game is going to suck!! Everybody run!!!!"
Sadly, I was unable to actually experience the pvp elements of the game..hopefully in the future I'll be able to. This was a very limited first impression, and we're hoping to get more information to you all later with regards to further end game play and pvp!
Oh and Lazarus....
"I think what they meant is, you actually have to move to position your character as maybe it doesn't auto position you. For example, you have a guy thats 20 ft away, and you try and use a "smash" ability.. they may be saying, when you use "smash" it doesn't walk you up to them and position you close enough to make the attack. Again this is just speculation on what she may have meant."
Thank you for that clarification...your response was dead on.
Wasn't me who wrote that Seridove. Lets just say though I won't disagree with the above thought he stated.
I can deal with lag issues if it's twitched based targetting. I enjoy that more than playing a boring point-n-click (or Tab) to auto-lock on a target.
I would imagine it would have the same problems Hellgate had, as server desyncs would cause mobs to appear far away on your screen, while in fact they were right next to your character, scoring one-hit critical kills. However this didn't bother me much, and I played in Hardcore mode (meaning one life, you die, you loose your toon and have to reroll it to level 1 again).
It has to be understood by the gamers out there that twitch-based action, though it is fun, will have it's problems with syncronizing all the elements such as players, players in parites, and mob AI and movement.
This also occurs in Neocron, though not to the extent as in Hellgate. Also, and so I've heard from a friend, that this does not happen at all in Fallen Earth, or that he hasn't noticed it yet.
Ultimately, lag and server sync issues will occur, but the real question is if Champion's network code is up to the task of handling it in a way that isn't too destructive and/or detremental to gameplay. I hope for their sakes it handles it "seemlessly" and not use techniques such as aukward, and periodic pausing to allow for sync'ing of information and data packets.
I don't share your preferences. My internet connection works 99% of the time. It's that 1% that's a pain in the ass. And most of the time that 1% happens at the worst moment. CoX does a good job adapting to lag, but a twitch game does not. I do NOT find twitch games to be very fun. If you're off by a second, you're toast and not everyone has the hardware to do that. This sounds like you can be taken down by a spot of bad luck. No thanks, that's too hardcore for me.
Champions online is NOT twich based.
The ability to block just allows you to cut down damage on big moves, you can also dodge certain boss attacks, but dont go into the game expecting it to be counter strike with a cape. There is a lot more interactivity in combat then the average MMO but dont let the idea of faster paced combat scare you away from this title.
What pisses me off about that review was the totally unfounded bias toward the 'all mighty console gamer'. In my own first hand experience, console gamers suck at mmo's in comparison to keyboard/mouse players when thrown into a fully implemented interface that takes advantage of the keyboard/mouse. Granted, games such as FFIX which is designed from the ground up to be a console platform feel much more comfortable and is easier to use.
The statements lauding the ability to be on easy mode if you happen to have a console gaming background is rather off. The reviewer could have just as easily stated "If you have half a brain and dont dive into content w/out taking a half a second to think first' then you will be just fine. It just ticks me off that he associates common sense with having a console gamer background.
*hides boner*
A physics engine? Even more detail to costumes than CoX?
What I want to know is whether or not the zones are wide open. Can anyone elaborate?
My househould is impatiently waiting for this to drop. I can see us playing this for 3 years + like we did Heroes. Can't wait!
I can't wait for the NDA to be lifted too. So I could tell you how the game is. If you haven't guessed, I'm a preview tester for Champions Online.
Yes there are some good and some bad. At least they are listening enough to know the game needs more polishing. They pushed the release date back. =)
Wow, I wish we were testing the same game the author was previewing.
I can't wait for them to finally lift the NDA, this thread would easily be up to 50+ pages by now. Sadly my guess is that the NDA will be in place for a looooooong time still. I would bet it's in place till August 20th at the earliest, assuming they don't decide to push the date back again.
Well they don't have to write elaborate descriptions about PvP but like maybe mention that it exists or not? And if so, is it in the forms of arenas, duels, zones? Whatever, the word PvP didn't even exist in the whole article and that alone I would say be enough to write of this "preview" as biased against PvP because they didn't even bother to mention it.
Well it was a limited hands on. Maybe pvp doesn't come into play until later levels.
Because it's easy to please pvpers, add decent combat and give players a reason to fight like intanced pvp or some world pvp objective and they bash eachothers faces in for months.
It's much harder to please the pve guys that rush through all content right to the buggy untested endgame and bitch about it lacking content and stuff like that.
People that care about shit like quests and pve progression far outwieght those that enjoy pvp (which sucks for someone like me).
because of this most quick first looks focus on pve stuff.
I tend to disagree that instanced pvp is favorable, the more open the better, I'd think, but purpose, absolutely. Having experienced the poor impressions and lack of immersion and limiting nature i came away with about instanced pvp in potbs and war, i'd rather not see it instanced.
I think the only things that kind of bother me so far about the game are the words "instance" being so prevalent and the term PvP being pretty non-existent in the reviews and previews of the game.
I agree with whoever mentioned it, that heavy instance games just keep people from playing together in groups. Fine for a solo player, but then why are you playing an MMO if you only want to play solo anyway? Kinda defeats the purpose of playing with other people, doesn't it?
Pretty much the same with PvP. What's the point of playing with thousands of other people if you can't test your character against theirs? I know *I* for one don't want to play a game to "bunny bash" for months so I can claim I'm the best bunny-basher around. Wheee, look at me. I killed a cow.
Because 90% of the gaming community does not care about PvP.
Because 90% of the gaming community does not care about PvP.
Source? Oh wait you don't have one... I love people who just make things up
Can you base some study/ proof or the such to back up your claim that PVP "is one of the biggest aspects of MMORPG"s"?
Or are you just posting your opinion as fact?
Actually, the did stay on with the CoH for quite a while before moving on. As they developed it, they did bring it to the market . How could it get to the market without being created?
You are right, they did not "market" the game.
They abandoned/sold out of CoH because they thought that they were going to be part of something bigger - a Marvel Online game. As far as I can decern, when Marvel dropped the idea of releasing an MMORPG, Cryptic had to do something to do with the work that they had already done. (if someone else has inside info on this, I would be glad to hear it)
Too bad that work had nothing to do with the excelent gaming system which is Champions the RPG.
I think to some extent Cryptic has begun to realize what some people expect when the Champions name is stuck on something.
Cryptic created CoH left it to try to make more money doing something else rather than supporting CoX (I guess they thought it would flop without them?) and have made a mockery of Champions RPG as far as I'm concerned.
If it really was Champoins the RPG online, I would be here backing it like crazy.
Source? Oh wait you don't have one... I love people who just make things up
Source? Oh wait you don't have one... I love people who just make things up
I would recommend starting with Step #4, as it will make steps 1, 2, and 3 significantly less difficult.
Source? Oh wait you don't have one... I love people who just make things up
Personally, I enjoy PvP ONLY if its good PvP. CoX was not good PvP, whereas I felt guildwars and Warhammer had good PvP. CoX didn't originally have PvP in mind and it was thrown in... and you can clearly tell it was thrown in. After the launch of CoV there were many powerset balance problems which most games have, but I feel CoX's were self imposed. They tried to play the "balance" game, which CO just won't be doing. They stated there will be some powersets that are just more powerful then others, but there won't be a single "Ultimate build"
More questions answered (As best as I can):
JGMIII
"Well it was a limited hands on. Maybe pvp doesn't come into play until later levels."
Supposedly you can level pretty much from start to finish through PvP in arenas and so forth. They leave it as the players option, although I'm not sure if testers, or how many testers, would play this way as the game is Primarily a PvE game. I would also imagine Cryptic would rather players test the vast levels and missions while testing rather then spend their whole time in PvP-centric areas.
Reno0513
"I agree with whoever mentioned it, that heavy instance games just keep people from playing together in groups. Fine for a solo player, but then why are you playing an MMO if you only want to play solo anyway? Kinda defeats the purpose of playing with other people, doesn't it?"
I won't lie in saying that everything I've heard so far about this game has made me happy. There are a number of issues I've found with this game just by reading dev posts, blogs, and leaked player experiences. What I will tell you as far as instances go, from what I'm to understand, not every world is "instanced" so much as "zoned" The difference being that a game like guildwars would be instanced, where a game like CoH would be "zoned"
Now the zones have been said to be huge enough and have so much content that you could potentially level from 1 - max level (40) without leaving that zone.
Dr.Rock
What I really want to know is can you jump out of the way of a thrown or fired projectile if you are fast enough, as I am sick to death of simple LoS checks and homing projectiles. Without this a bit of twitch in positioning or blocking will still leave ranged fighters limited, as their mobility and ability to take cover are effectively ignored.
Not sure I could play a MMO still limited by the CoX being shot through a wall scenario
From what I'm to understand the game uses LoS checks (line of sight) as you mention, but to what degree is yet to be confirmed. For example, could hiding behind a larger teammate make him the target instead of you? Hmm, I'm not sure, but this is definitely a question to be answered by a developer, or something to wait on when the NDA has lifted. I can say from what I'm to believe, the LoS has been severely tightened so it plays more like a TPS then the old CoH.
As far as dodge and blocks, you are inherently given those powers from your power sets. Maybe it calculates positioning plus skill or maybe not. I'm not sure. I can tell you that you can mix and match defensive powers such as Regeneration/Super Reflexes which may help some and make some fights more interesting.
Dis_Ordur
"What I want to know is whether or not the zones are wide open. Can anyone elaborate?"
I answered this partially above, about the size of each zone. The zones are said to be immense, each zone allowing you to use the full extent of your travel powers. However, there will still be a transit system to move from zone A to zone B, as the zones themselves are all over the place. First you might be in Lemuria (under water) or be in the Canadian Wilderness, so you won't see Zones like.. "chunks" in vanguard or anything like that. Now will there be a long loading screen between which? That I can't answer right now.
Hope that helps!
I don't have anything against games being designed for PvP play, to each his own.
Champions is not, however, being touted as having a pvp focus. It seems to be very much focused on PvE, with acknowlegements made from the begining that the classes are not balanced for PvP. As such, I have no expectation of the game being reviewed from a PvP standpoint.
I responded as I did to the individual blasting the review as he seems to be under the impression that PvP should be treated as a central aspect of all games, even those not promoting themselves as primarily PvP.
So CO is not twitch based but it does depend on you mashing the right button or shoving the joystick the right way at the right instant in time. That's like saying, "I didn't drive home from work in a car, I drove home in a motorized 4 wheeled vehicle smaller than a truck and SUV. But don't call it a car!"
What you describe in your second paragraph fits the definition of a twitch based game; the timing of when you do things matters more here than non-twitch games.
Here here! Champions is a great system and their 5th edition setting is better than most game settings I've experienced. What Cryptic is doing is just WRONG. It's like when you're a kid and your mother tells you to let the new kid down the street (you know the one who's 10 years old, drools and still wears diapers, and whos house is strangely empty of pets) play with your new toy then watch him slam it against the wall as hard as he can until it breaks into 3 pieces. And you're the one in trouble for making him cry.
Cant you use 2nd build or respec? Respec gives you a good amount of money for unused enhancements. Sorry to hear your experience. I love cox. This game will probably be very similar.
Good of you to check that out actually, thanks for the thought. The game just changed too much for me with the removal of travel powers in the PvP zones. You know, superjumpers can't superjump, teleporters can't teleport, superspeed powers are no longer super fast--and all the enhancement sets in those powers are now junk, after working a long time to get them. That and how they brought in diminshing returns for heals, buffs and enhancement sets. It's just a different game as a result, and not one that I enjoy. I tried respecing, but couldn't get into the completely different gameplay. It's just not for me. Glad you like it though. I had some really good times.
That said, this game might give me a chance to start fresh with a superhero MMO. I'd really like to try that out :) I hope Cryptic will shy away from massive revamps to a live game, but time will tell I guess. I'll enjoy the ride while I find it entertaining, and then get off if it stops being fun.
Well tbh, graphic novels only very recently have become collections of comic book series. You know so that the comic company can sell the same stuff twice in a different package. Until this recent marketting trend, graphic novels were another genre; in my view with superior art. Some of these still exist mind you. The 300 graphic novel might be an example of the kind of comparison the review is making. That's just badass art, with a badass story based on an amazing historical event.
Also, I don't see Cryptic bad-mouthing CoX, as you suggest. I see someone else (not Cryptic) writing a review. The different nature of the graphics between CoX and Champions online is pretty obvious I think. They're very different. At this point, I'm not sure which one I prefer, but I want to give the new game a try.
That said, I enjoyed CoX for three years. Cryptic did some excellent work in that game, and it's still there. A lot of the now NCsoft staff were with Cryptic too I believe. Tbh, I think competition in the superhero genre is a good thing. NCsoft, Cryptic and SOE are going to have to compete for our patronage. Hopefully they'll feel inclined to bring their A-game to the table. If one of these companies puts out garbage, or treats their players poorly, gamers will have some other options. I like that. Choice is good.
I did not read the whole article because I don't have time... but i plan to soon.
I just want to say I am very excited for CO.
I don't have anything against games being designed for PvP play, to each his own.
Champions is not, however, being touted as having a pvp focus. It seems to be very much focused on PvE, with acknowlegements made from the begining that the classes are not balanced for PvP. As such, I have no expectation of the game being reviewed from a PvP standpoint.
I responded as I did to the individual blasting the review as he seems to be under the impression that PvP should be treated as a central aspect of all games, even those not promoting themselves as primarily PvP.
I agree with you to an extent. PvP is not the sole purpose of many games, in fact, its a very small part of many of the games out there right now. Its been said, and I have said and believe that this was meant to be a PvE game. When I say that I don't mean that I don't plan on PvP'ing in the game. On the contrary, I actually believe that CO might be some absolutely fantastic PvP simply because, its not balanced.
Personally I would love nothing more then to review the game solely on a PvP standpoint. I'd love just to test the game, and write something more in depth then I can provide here, but now is not my time. PvP is part of this game, and although its not the main focus of this game, I always like to think of PvP as that added spice that makes a game great.
Puuk
I wonder to what extent is the environment is interactive? Can my hulking (pun intended) super strength character lift up a car and hurl it at a bad guy (or anything else in the world)? That's the kind of interactivity that would seal a pre-order for me.
Therain93
Or rip a lamp post out of the ground and swing it like a club into a bunch of bad guys (like in Freedom Force! ; ' )
Its been mention in several articles and reviews that yes, the interaction does includes things such as picking up and throwing cars, using lampposts, etc. In addition, some missions involve using your powers and applying them to the environment, like using Super Strength to lift rubble off trapped citizens.
Weretech
Of course, as far as I'm concerned, any game that is called Champions should be using the Champoins the RPG rules. Champions Online doesn't. The rules of Champions were so well balanced that there is really no excuse not to use the rules other than being lazy. This game definatly doesn't live up to the legacy of Champions the RPG even from the start.
I was highly suprised to hear that they were going to release this for the computer market first - espeically how the hype is saying that is is a console game. They would have been much wiser to release it on the console market first and get a loyal following there before taking on the City of Heroes/Villains.
This game does take and use the Champions PnP rules as its base, but it had to be modified to work in an MMO, where there are thousands of players not just 6-8 around a table. Balance is more of an issue to such a large player base, when compared to a few friends playing together. The Dev team has worked closely with Champions PnP staff to make this as close of a transition as possible.
As for computer release before console release, your assessment implies there have been many successful MMOs on consoles which is not the case (PSO and FFO being the exceptions). Almost every interview with developers they get asked the question of whether this game will break the bad luck of MMOs on consoles. On the reverse side, there are many successful MMOs on PC and even the moderate successes have outdone previous console MMO releases. Simply put, you are more likely to get a larger player base with computer before console release. Keep in mind that with the push back on the PC release to Sept 1 the console release really isn't much later as it is set for "holiday" release.
Ivan50265
I was hoping to hear a little about creating my personal Nemisis in the game. Has it been implemrnted yet?
The Nemesis system will be in from launch. I saw a post mentioning that you do not make your Nemesis until level 30, but I am not sure that is correct. I have seen reviews and invterviews, that reference making the nemesis after completing your hero creation. Maybe, the poster misread something that meant the Nemsis will start plaguing you around level 30 or something. Again, I cannot say for sure which is correct, just report what I have read. Another thing to note is that in a recent interview, when asked about the Nemesis system, the developer said they plan on expanding upon it even after launch, possibly including the chance to play as your Nemesis.
Yamota
pvp? PvP? PVP??
Why do so many MMORPG previews/reviews fail to even mention if there is any PvP? It is one of the biggest aspect of MMORPGs to please, get on the program!
There is an extensive PvP system in place with 3 specific types of challenges, as well as dueling 1v1. Rankings will will be listed and doing well also grants useful rewards that cannot be obtained elsewhere.
Sounds nice, I just hope they got rid of the auwfull ( imo the worst pve ever, played most mmorpgs for years ) auwfull.......... auwfull random generated 5 theme lvl system. If you played every lvl of the 5 diff theme of lvls ( cave, office, etc ) once, you played them all and was it a pure grind with sometimes a diff staircase or diff door... I still got nightmares of it :)
if they acctually putted some effort in the pve missions / quests this time I will try this one :)
IMO, it is an example of a good understanding of MMOs. In the short span of time that someone previews a game there is no way to realistically gauge the PVP pros, cons, or even give an accurate description of it. All you would have is the limited experience of one or two classes in a tiny level range... and probably in a controlled environment.
Think fo the MMOs that you play. Now imagine a person doing a review of the gameplay, and fitting in what little they saw or experienced of PvP in the day or so of playing. Do you feel they would be able to accurately represent PvP in your game from that?
In response to Madeux in post #52:
" And the reviewers intent was completely obvious, unless you're trolling and just looking for something to pick at.
I'm all for being critical, but the negativity so often seen here is disturbing.
"The reviewer said something wrong, so this game is going to suck!! Everybody run!!!!" "
His clarification is exactly how I read it, FWIW. I also didn't see a negative connotation, though I can see how some would infer one.
<Edited to add what I was quoting, because I'm a doofus.>
I agree with you to an extent. PvP is not the sole purpose of many games, in fact, its a very small part of many of the games out there right now. Its been said, and I have said and believe that this was meant to be a PvE game. When I say that I don't mean that I don't plan on PvP'ing in the game. On the contrary, I actually believe that CO might be some absolutely fantastic PvP simply because, its not balanced.
Personally I would love nothing more then to review the game solely on a PvP standpoint. I'd love just to test the game, and write something more in depth then I can provide here, but now is not my time. PvP is part of this game, and although its not the main focus of this game, I always like to think of PvP as that added spice that makes a game great.
I *think* I read in one of the many preview articles about Champions that PvP was going to be available early on, and that you could earn experience and other rewards for participating in it. I apologize for not having the link handy, but that sounds like more than an afterthought, assuming I am remembering correctly.
Here is some more info on the PvP, since it seems alot of people are interested. It doesn't state when players can join in on these, but I doubt it would be only available late in careers. The info is from an interview with Bill Roper on on the atomic web site at: ATOMIC
"PVP
In the Champions Universe, heroes go up against each other to test their abilities, prepare for extreme situations, and compete in what is known as The Hero Games. These are basically different contests designed to allow superheroes to go up against each other in a competitive fashion. From team battles to end-of-the world scenarios to open free-for-alls, the Hero Games act like a danger room mixed with elements of professional wrestling and extreme sports. Currently, we're shooting for three types of PvP play in the Hero Games:
1. Tournament of Champions
This is team-based combat within a defined arena. Teams of heroes can rise to top of the leader-board rankings and gain both acclaim and rewards for their efforts. The Tournament started as underground events between desperate and unsavory individuals with super powers. Recent times have seen the Tournament of Champions become a sanctioned event that is televised and followed by millions of eager fans around the world.
2. B.A.S.H.
This free-for-all affair takes place in a condemned section of the Westside district of Millennium City. While not as pristine an event as the Tournament of Champions, it does have a bevy of followers who track the winners and losers (and offer rewards) with just as mush fervor. It also has the beneficial side effect of making street crime non-existent in that part of the city.
3. Apocalypse
These are special scenarios devised to push superheroes to their limits in extreme situations. The current setting is within a simulated Stronghold prison where some heroes take on the roles of assisting the prison guards and others are trying to break out. This prepares all those involved to either quell a prison uprising or shake free unjust shackles should the prison ever fall into the wrong hands."
Nice Review. I played CoX for a year or more, and really enjoyed it, but it got very tedious: Fight Frostfire 20 times in the same group in one night.. lol. Champions has a lot to live up to against CoH, but I've got a hero complex anyways, and this action combat and open missions sound good. Sounds like fun I may just have to try a free trial.
So CO is not twitch based but it does depend on you mashing the right button or shoving the joystick the right way at the right instant in time. That's like saying, "I didn't drive home from work in a car, I drove home in a motorized 4 wheeled vehicle smaller than a truck and SUV. But don't call it a car!"
What you describe in your second paragraph fits the definition of a twitch based game; the timing of when you do things matters more here than non-twitch games.
Once you play you will understand what im saying.
Nice! That PvP sounds like a lot of fun. Altho I also enjoy the: "You killed my father, prepare to die" type of combat, where I see a punk player and throw him into a nearby building bc he stole my loot last group. lol. Interesting that the last form of PvP is taken from a very popular sociology experiment of people role playing a prison. Considering that this sociology grips people in RL, taking it to an RPG, especially an MMO, is very brilliant. Look it up:
http://www.prisonexp.org/
Because it's easy to please pvpers, add decent combat and give players a reason to fight like intanced pvp or some world pvp objective and they bash eachothers faces in for months.
Or to put it more bluntly, PvP doesn't require any thought (or Skill or Talent) to implement , no Content required.
"Here's a stick, run around and hit each other." PvP design and coding are now complete.
Nice preview. Im really looking forward to this one.
Only thing i don't get in the preview is this:
"Less fun is the need to manually maintain attack range. Once a target is selected, players have to walk up on their own. It sounds like a small thing on paper, and makes sense given the importance of planning a route in Champions, but it can be extremely frustrating."
Sooooo... Why is it a problem that you need to maintain Melee distance when melee'ing? I thought that was expected?
Oh, and i still don't get the difference between a Comic and a Graphic Novel? Could someone give me an example?
Because 90% of the gaming community does not care about PvP.
Other than the extremely large communities around games that are completely PvP based, such as Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike, DoTA, Guild Wars, Halo. Hell, even WoW has made PvP a bigger focus with their tournaments and arenas. You know basically every game outside of most MMOs realize people want to have competition. In fact, I'd say your made up number is actually the reverse.
Or to put it more bluntly, PvP doesn't require any thought (or Skill or Talent) to implement , no Content required.
"Here's a stick, run around and hit each other." PvP design and coding are now complete.
PvP without purpose is lame. "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." The same thing applies to PvP.
If you think it takes nothing to implement real PvP systems you clearly do not know the first thing about PvP. Examples of PvP in games that have purpose, Guild Wars (competitive gaming), Warhammer (simply killing someone won't lock a zone, which won't get you to a fort, which won't get you into the city), Shadowbane (your city was the center of everything and destroying it meant a lot).
All of those examples were more than someone turning on the ability for people to hit each other.
I'm going to bend the NDA rules a bit to clear up some issues. I will only clarify what was stated in the opening and what I know to be public knowledge. Keep in mind though that the game is still in beta and constantly being improved upon so what I say here can and, in many cases, will be vastly different at launch.
Character Creator - I can sum it up by saying it looks at what CoX can do and laughs for 5 minutes straight before it brags, "Now let me show you what a REAL character creator looks like!" And it CAN back up that claim! It's not quite intuitive in some places and freakishly confusing in others but I find most of the reason is simply do to its shear size. It is so sick that I suggested they give players starting templates, otherwise many will be lost. Another thing mentioned is power orientation points but what isn't mentioned is that the color of powers can be changed too, individually. I've seen one electricity user with seperate red, green, yellow and violet lightning attacks.
Tutorial - The opening stated that the tutorial was short. I disagree vastly. It takes me about 30 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on various factors. I will add that some of the time is spent on what I can only describe as "side quests." I dare not say any more on that. The missions are more reminicent of Warcraft than city of Heroes. I found the open world event a refreshing surprise and as stated, you can join it by simply being in the area. As far as I can see, there is no way for malicious players to ruin it for others. They can't even aggro enemies onto other players as aggro lock doesn't break easily. Sometimes, I wish it did. I've face-planted a few times because I bit off more than I could chew.
Combat - Not to disappoint a few of you but combat is not twitch-based. However, I can also please those of that same group when I say combat often feels like it is twitch-based. At the moment, some end builder attacks can be triggered while you are in motion so you can, in effect, "run and gun" (and quite literally with a few power choices). Projectiles are still homing but they move so fast and can be tossed so often that only once have I noticed an attack bending to hit an enemy. Line of sight still plays an important role and because combat is so fast, breaking it to avoid attacks feels twitch-based as well. Some Endurance builders are auto-attacks but I assure you that this is a good thing! It's a recent change that is a LOT better than the old way. Make no mistake though. If you turn it on and leave to make a sandwich, chances are your character will be dead by the time you pull two slices of bread out. Auto attacks alone will barely manage to kill a single, even-level minion and WILL fail to kill anything stronger. You HAVE to use your other attacks too! Positioning matters as well. I've run into one boss whose charge attack highlights an area of effect. If you value your lifebar, you will move out of that area!
Blocking - In my opinion, the active blocking system is ackward, especially to those use to doing it in fighting games, but it is a nice addition to combat. It's also important, particularly against bosses. Refusing to block is like kicking Darkseid in the nuts and daring him to hit you back. It's about as stupid too.
Missions - As I've started earlier, they're more like Warcraft where you go to a contact and are given a specific task that's in the general area. Most are your standard, bread and butter affair. Go collect X amount of item Y from enemy Z. Defeat X amount of enemies. Take item X to contact Y. However, some missions, common ones at that, can have a plot twist. I came across a mundane guard mission later in the game that certainly didn't end the way I thought it would. Instanced missions are few and so far, most are for main story events. Many agree that the one at the end of the turorial is "EPIC!!!" the first time around. (Yes, you must spell that in caps with no less than 3 exclamation marks!)
Environment - Yes, some objects are interactive. I can and must confess there's a certain giddish glee in picking up a trashcan and hurling it at enemies 25 feet away, knocking off half their HP. As for larger objects, while I can't personally confirm being able to lift a vehicle, I can say that my character has tried but it proved too heavy for her. This feature, as well as a few others, is stat-based. If you want to chuck cars around, you better have enough strength to do so. What I can confirm is that one person claims to have lifted a vehicle during the turorial because they had the right stats and equipment to make their strength high enough so you'll be able to do amazing things fairly early.
As for the look of the game, I think the opening reporter meant that the game is highly stylized. The pictures give you a general idea but still frames can't do the game justice. It doesn't quite look like it was lifted from comicbook pages but vivid colors and simplified textures (compared to ultra-realistic games) give it the spoken "graphic novel" appearence. Don't let the word "simple" fool you. The detail is focused more on the highlighting, shadows, light reflections and bumpmaps.
PvP - I cannot comment on this as I know very little about PvP and didn't care to participate. I will say that at the moment, it's available pretty soon after the tutorial zone. About level 8 or so.
Travel - One thing I could kiss Cryptic for is making travel powers available VERY early! The tutorial area is small so it's not needed then, At the moment though, when you're ready to leave the tutorial, you'll have the option to pick one. There's a pretty good selection to choose from that is still growing!
One last issue I wish to address is the fear that, with every power available to every character, all players will do is create tank mages. On one hand, this fear is founded. Most players have created heroes that can dish the pain and take it too. They will probably learn the same lesson I have. There was one instanced mission that I couldn't beat solo so I teamed up with another tank mage to take it on. Because we handled the outside with no trouble, we literally ran in blasting everything in sight. Even though both of us had high damage, high hitpoints and healing powers, we were rewarded with a kiss from linoleum about 45 seconds later. After we respawned, we decided to proceed just a wee bit slower and were able to handle things better but not without coming close to wiping again. Later on it had occured to me that if either of us had just one control power, any control power, we could have applied it to just a handful of minions which would have been enough to avoid the first wipe. The lesson is pigeon-holing yourself to the tank mage style of play is foolish. It's far better to be adaptive.
Conclusion - In my opinion, the game is good but not yet great. Cryptic still has balance issues to address and bugs to work out but what they have so far shows great promise. They have given me almost everything I expected them to deliver and tossed in a few extra tidbits that made me crack a smile. If things continue the way they are, I honestly believe that at launch, anyone who is bored with this game only after two weeks has only the limits of their imagination to blame. How can you grow tired of a game that gives you a world to save and a sandbox of power choices to do it with?