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| Champions Online by
Cryptic Studios. |
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QUESTING:
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Champions Online relies upon missions for the bulk of
one's experience. They have totally removed the
grind from the game. Leveling is fast and easy.
Out of 40 levels, you could get 20 of them in just your
first day of play without trying to power level.
Unfortunately there are only 2 early areas to quest in.
Everyone completes virtually all the quests in their
area. This means that 50% of the population has
done the exact same quests as you. There are very
few quests that are left undone.
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The missions have quite a bit of
variety. For example one mission might provide you
with a handheld laser device and tell you to go thaw out
5 frozen citizens. While this is an excellent
design, it fails in the fact that you can solve this
quest in just 5 minutes. You can solve most the
quests in a similarly short length of time. There
is virtually no waiting or camping for spawns.
What you need is up when you arrive, and even if 4 other
people are trying for the same mob, it only takes a few
minutes to satisfy everyone.
While this might sound good on paper, it is unsatisfying
in play. Without difficulty there is little sense
of accomplishment. Champions Online is a game
stuck in easy mode with little option to make it harder. |
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GROUPING:
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| There is virtually no grouping in
Champions Online. It is a game where you can solo
everything with ease. Even missions marked as
taking a group can easily be handled alone, even those
of higher level. This makes the game undesirable.
Most of us play MMORPGs to play with others. In
Champions Online there is no need to interact with
anyone, and the quest system discourages grouping.
On the rare occasion that you are able to group up, it
typically only lasts for one short mission.
Sharing missions is theoretically an option, but most
missions have pre-requirements that your partner shall
not meet, therefore the group breaks up quickly.
Designers need to recognize this drawback early in game
creation. Games that rely upon quests for
advancement must assure that the quests are not a
hindrance to grouping. In Champions Online they
are. |
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| DIFFICULTY:
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Champions Online is an easy game. There is no
hard setting. There is no camping or grinding.
There is no relevant death penalty. If you die it
is meaningless, as you are right back where you left
off. There is no challenge in this game.
Even master villains can be taken down with ease.
This is another big design flaw. Without risk
there is no reward. Without challenge there is
little sense of accomplishment. While the
developers did an excellent job with the game, the
designers have failed in important ways.
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| Champions Online is also a short
game. Players can burn through its limited content
in little time. It has replayability in creating
new characters with different powers, but that likely is
not enough to save it. It needs to be harder,
slower, with required grouping in many cases. But
due to its reliance on a limited amount of quests for
advancement it shall not be easy to ramp up its
difficulty. Champions Online could be an excellent
game if they were to take its power mechanism and put it
in a more challenging setting. But as it is, it is
a nice, but meaningless experience. |
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| CONCLUSION: |
| Champions Online is a game with
potential. It has its strengths and weaknesses.
If you are looking for an easy game that you can play
solo, it is good. If you are looking for a
rewarding game where you can interact with others, it
fails. Due to its ease of leveling and lack of
grouping we cannot recommend Champions Online. If
they offer a free trial, it is excellent to play.
But as a long term game it is far from where it needs to
be. |
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| Pros: |
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Excellent Powers |
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Good Graphics |
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Good Stability |
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Comprehensive Character Creator |
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Nice Combat |
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| Cons: |
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Limited Content |
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Easy Mode all the time |
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Useless Crafting |
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No Grouping |
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| Item: |
Champions Online |
| Rating: |
80 out of 100 |
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Developer: |
Cryptic Studios |
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Publisher: |
Atari |
| Street Price: |
$48 USD |
| Reviewer: |
Flex |
| Review Date: |
September 2009 |
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