So.. which one of you has been hiding this game under a rock?

Figure

Super TL;DR post to follow.  Apologies.  

Crazy title, I know, but I'm curious how this game has been kept so under the radar.  Anyway.. storytime.

So.. it was a wierd an interesting journey to get to this point, but it ends with me becoming a gold member for this game.

Some background, I've played a lot of MMOs before, and there was one genre that I hadn't ever played before, and my friend has been posting on facebook about his hobo super hero team on City of Heroes.  But wait, you might ask, how did he get to Champions online when his friends were playing CoH?  Read on.  Considering it was to go Free to play soonish and there was a free week trial already in place for the game, I figured I'd give CoH a go in anticipation of it going fully free to play.

I've had been looking for a new MMO to occupy my time since I quit WoW some time ago.  Since the MMO I've been following most closely is unlikely to hit shelves until Q4 of this year at the earliest, I figured, why not.   I'd already given AoC the college try, and a less than stellar try at Aion made me ready for something completely different.

I had been planning to try City of Heroes once it went Free to play, but boredom found me downloading the trial much sooner.  So I created my character and got to the tutorial.  I didn't even make it past the first quest before quitting in utter frustration at the control issues with the game.  I pondered how the hell anyone could possibly have played City of Heroes for 3-4 years when the game was this hard to control.  I looked for options to fix the camera, and all sorts of tricks to try and make it bearable.  No dice.   I tried to soldier on, but enemies kept disappearing as they got low in health through some random building.  I was like.. wtf.. It was the most frustrating MMO experience I've had in recent memory, and I've been trying a lot of MMOs lately.

After this, I just uninstalled, and I wrote my friend a message on facebook wondering how on earth he managed to get to level 10 in that game.  I was boggled.  I was almost soured on the whole concept of the genre, almost not even trying this game.  A week later, I wanted to see if the other game in the genre could screw up gameplay as bad as CoH did, and I was sorely disappointed.

I downloaded the game, and marvelled at what I believed to be a rather obsolete looking installer program.  (Windows XP archetype?  wtf?  Isn't this 2011?  Didn't this game come out in 2009 or something?  Whatever, I went with it.

After installing the game, I tried to start it up.  Success.. or so I thought.  Went into character creation, and the game errorered out.  I rebooted, and it wouldn't get past 'patching'.  Restarted it again.  No dice.  Messed with some settings, checked 'force verify', tried again.  Still nothing.  By this point, I was just about ready to toss the entire idea of trialing this game and I didn't pick it up for another day or so.  But something told me to try again.  So I checked online and found out about the Windows 7 install bug.  So I changed up the compatability settings, and tried again.  Still no dice.  I'm so glad I didn't just give up on this game right then and there.

At the verge of just deleting the program, but having nothing better to do that day, I uninstalled and tried re-installing the game.  I was surprised that the download didn't seem to take nearly as long.  (Which lead me to check and discover that the patching files were all still in place, and that the game was simply doing a real verify.  It gets to 98% or so, and it starts patching..or rather, it slowed down for a bit and took a while to finish.

Maybe.. umpteenth time's the charm, I thought.. and on my 'promised myself this is the last time' try, it worked.  It got in, and there was no error messages.  Then I go about the 30 or so minutes of making my character.  Customization is leagues ahead in both games of the genre, and I wanted to make it right.  (Even after doing so, I still ended up going to the tailor sometime after to change up some things that I didn't realize I could change).

So I boot into the tutorial, and see a bunch of wierd bugs.  Whatever.. Alien motif.. was expecting villany or something, not aliens.  Let's get to it then.  So I complete the trial, after getting lost, several times (missing where the egg destroying quest in, and running back, only to realize it's right freaking there, and I walked past it seconds after logging into the game.  Silly me.  Anyway the quests were pretty ho hum standard MMO fare.  I found myself sort of wishing I was playing AoC again, which was a scary thought.  But then I find myself in the midst of a public quest, the one shining innovation of the WAR engine.  So that was nice.  Had some fun there, and chilled for two rounds.  Wasn't having any sort of crazy fun yet, but it was a nice, unexpected surprise.

So after finishing off the public quest, and running back to finish all the other quests I had missed up until that point, and wondering who the hell this Fox dude is and why he's so self-important, and why he sounds like Wilfred Fizzlebang.  Whatever man, I just saved your life... get over yourself.  Anyway, so apparently I'm supposed to meet this other self-important hero (and who's voiceovers immediately make me confirm this thought).  Defender is apparently my sidekick (or vice versa) for this big bad boss of some sort, that apparently locks me from doing other quests, so I know it must be important.  We finish the quest off together (also, wow, learning curve for that fight.  All the other fights up until that point had been massive cakewalks)

After the fight and the subsequent sort of let down afterwards of disabling this various devices with mere 'villains' guarding them (and not the master villain I had just faced), I was expecting that there was going to be a parade in my honor, and of course, was surprised when it actually happens.  Well done CO, you subverted my expectations by playing to them.

Anyway, so then I make my way to Ren Cen and get the 'shock and awe' feeling I haven't felt since first stepping foot in Orgrimmar almost 8 years ago.  This place feels pretty big.  And I got lost, and I remember feeling how that's a good thing.  The combat as well, was excellent.  Worthy of a triple A title.  I kept wondering when the 'this game is F2P, there must be some crapshoot somewhere'

It never came, instead I was presented with the vaunted PowerHouse (which I originally couldn't find, as I was expecting some massive building and not a small gear plugged into the ground) and then was told I could pick any travel power.  I found myself dangling the mouse over each one, and continually hovering over flight.  Could it be.. at level 6.. I was about to pick up the best thing in the game?  Having played Aion to 10, then never doing literally anything else in the game after getting wings as the combat had so bored me, I wondered aloud whether this would be the same, only to blast off and catch myself having fun.  

It was at that moment that a couple thoughts entered my head.  A>  Wtf why the atari tokens, Atari no longer owns this game.  B> Where has this game been hiding for 2+ years? C> How on earth is Cryptic having financial troubles? and D> Am I really about to subscribe to another MMO this soon?

So I slept on it.  And I woke up the next morning deciding that yes, I was going to subscribe to this game.  So I packed in for Gold, and added 1000 tokens to my account to get a device that I wanted and opened up the freeform character creator.  Wow, I was overwhelmed by the choices.  I thought I could break this down and digest it easier, but the sheer number of powers and abilities was staggering.  I tried doing a bit of research, and even now I still haven't quite wrapped my head around some of the later game concepts of how each power works together.  Congratulations Cryptic, you have designed an elegant piece of development for me to wrap my head around for the next few months.

So in closing, why isn't this game more popular?  It's clearly a blast, and the whole concept of the genre is awesome.  I understand that there's not really an 'endgame' per say in the traditional sense.  How on earth was Cryptic having financial troubles when they've been sitting on this gem of a game?  It boggles my mind that had PW not bought Cryptic, this game might have actually went under (and apparently still might, by some accounts)  I almost feel like blaming the community for not advertsing this game as the funbox it clearly (at least to me) is.  And I fault Cryptic for... I don't know but this game wasn't even on my radar until a week ago.. clearly there's some marketing problems going on.

godzilr1

I think that people either bought in on release and became so irritated witht he day 1 patch the pretty much broke the game or claimed it was too much of a WoW clone and never looked at it.

Personally i like the game.  The openess of powers and the shade changing is great.  you can sit in the powerhouse for hours just playing with builds.

Mithrandolir

I am one of the few people who really enjoyed the game. I like it a lot more than i ever liked CoX, having played both. It was a little too easy in my opinion, as i generally level very casually in mmorpgs and yet was able to get 2 characters to max level in CO within my first month there, but i absolutely had a blast playing this game.

I don't like F2P (or hybrid) models in mmo's though, so i am done with it, but I wish it the best and am glad to see I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it

Nitth

Man that was a long read....

Yeah, more or less had the same experiences as you, installer failing, first impressions, ect..

I went free to play(which i dont normally support) but it seems ok, couple of annoying things like puting pressure on you to buy bag slots.. but hey, If they gave you everything for free they wouldnt make any money right?

 

Enjoying the game as a level 17 tempest now and so far Champions for me seems like a Good, Relaxing, Fun game. Only major problem is there hasnt been enough grouping, That seems like a universal thing for all mmorpg's ive played recentlly so it could just be me.

 

Where has it been? I dont know. But i does need more advertisement coz people are missing out. seriously.

astoria

MMORPG forums are not good for finding out if a game is good or bad. They are 75% hate from people that take themselves too seriously. (i'm really not excluding myself in the above). They are okay for finding out why people didn't like a game and deciding if you care about that or not. I like this game, I've been subscribed for a long time and it helps a lot I have a great supergroup (dark enforcers) that play together.

It has some of the best combat and character customization ever. The content was thin at launch and some people just cant stand instancing with passion; I tend to prefer non-instanced MMOs too, but my eyes don't glow red when I see it.

 

Reas43

Like the poster above stated, forums are filled by angry, vocal types who wish to virtually bully and vent the way they can't in real life. That is why for this game I say: try it, you have nothing to lose. Make your OWN opinion. Had it not been F2P I would't have tried it. But like you I was blown away and gone Gold within 3 hours. I really feel I get my money's worth for the sunscription.

For MMO standards, and the internet in general, the community is pretty cool. I have no history of the past of the game. But I've participated i. The GM hosted in game events. Followed the State of the Game adresses and Ask Cryptic. I've never seen that type of communication in any MMO before. I can tell the game had issues at launch, and there are people out there with a personal vendetta, god knows why. But if you were to try the game in its present and developing stage you'd not recognize this company the haters talk about.

I am having spectacular fun with this game. I don't need anyone's seal of approval but my own. Thanfully, being free no one has anything to lose by trying it themselves.

As for Atari, losing them was a blessing. As you could see there was virtually no marketing for the game. PWI is a real player in the industry and certainly has both the resources and interest in its marketing.

Figure

I've already got one friend hooked on this game.  (Free to play makes this easy) and I'm going to work on more people tonight. 

Like others, I found myself lost in the powerhouse in the weee hours of the night trying out builds and blowing a ton of influence.   Freeform archetype is just.. staggering in it's complexity... sort of the feeling I'm hoping for the in the game listed in my signature.

A couple of questions though now, as the wiki isn't very helpful on the subject.

How does the 'stealth' system work?  Is it just a progressive full stealth system like I believe it is?  If so, are there additional powers/buffs outside of Shadow Form that can increase it to the point that I can walk around almost completely unmolested by others?  I found a video of someone in Shadow form that did the Zombie scenario without taking any damage outside of aoe attacks and I was curious if the game is still like this and if so what sort of additional things should I do outside of levelling Shadowform to 3 in order to try out that build.

Are there any devices I should look out for while questing?

About how much influence do you make on average at the high end of this game?  Where is that from primarily?  Will I be able to support a respec habit without resorting to retcons?

Reas43

I am not too sure about the steath system as I have never used it myself.  It's not a concept or playstyle that has ever caught my attention.  But I will say the 2 thing I know:

1.  My SG mates who have tried it don't like it.  No clear reason why.

2. Perhaps in PvE it doesn't matter, but in PvP charcters witth high intellects can actually see you.  Two of my characters are of very high intellect as a superstat and anything trying to stealth or teleport past it is quite visible (with a predator like effect).  That, of course can be counteracted somewhat by Superstating your Dexterity.  But add to it some devices widely available that increase perception 100% and I would be fairly confident players taking PvP seriously would probably not rely on stealth.

I've been able to gathr they mostly depend on passive advantages that can be slotted to your powers which are of use in PvP (Nailed to the ground, Crippling Challenge), Blocking, Breaking and preventing blocks, defensive passive, some form of heal and a nuke.

 

My 2 cents: PvP - although fun - is a side game to this game, not a core central feature.  Some of my SG mates it's all they do, and costume contests (for the $ awards).  But don't expect PvP to be the center of your play experience lest you be dissapointed.

Ah forgot about devices.   Not sure whether they are available with acclaim points I'd assume they are, but in the world at large I've seen many mission rewards with resistance to knockback, increse toknockbacks, increase perception type stats.  So at least by merely doing missions you'll find those.

Hyperbeam

So let me get this straight.  You've only just discovered this game, think it looks good after about a day or so and your wondering why it's so underrated or something?

 

You are aware that theres a world beyond you right? And that some people may have already tried this game before you realised it existed yeah?

 

 I'll summaries why people have been and gone with this game and Cryptic in general: Lack of content, a nickle and dime culture no matter what sub option you have, unbalanced powers if you bother with endgame, buggy poorly coded engine etc, etc. 

 

Can you have fun with it? For sure for about a week or so, after that it doesn't have that much to offer.  After a couple of days playing I doubt you can call it some sort of, 'undiscovered gem'.  

 

So sorry but noones been hiding this game under a rock, it just doesn't deserve much attention these days.

Ellisia

You looked under the wrong rock

I played this at launch and have tried a few times to get back into it over the last few months.  Its still the same bugged faceroll it used to be.

Castillle

Im going to test out CO when the lair revamps roll out. As other people said. There is a severe lack of things to do at end game. I got bored of it cuz i was basically running aroun doing lowbie group content n stuff >_< hopefully f2p and the revamps change that ^__^ the combat in co is actually really fun!

Reas43

It's already been said: Haters are gonna hate.

No one can tell you whether you are enjoying a game or not. If you enjoy it for a month and get bored or decide it's not for you, just stop and do something else. You are not closing a deal on a home mortgage here, just playing a game.

There are those who have been playing for months or years and are still having a blast. Not others. Only you can say which group you fall under.

Figure

I didn't really say it was 'the funnest game I've ever played', but it certainly is the most fun game I'm playing right now and could easily make a run so far at 'best game I've played all year' which includes luminaries like Aion and AoC.

From what I've seen, endgame is pretty much nonexistant unless you want to challenge yourself by soloing certain group encounters.  PVP is.. basically 2 maps.  As your rise in level, the likelyhood of facing people who group together increases, but that doesn't matter too much, especially under the popular zombie scenario and PVE will keep you entertained, probably right up until level cap.

But the depth of freeform customization combined with the everpresent allure of the costume design and the 'not bad' combat make this a highly playable, although probably not a long term interest game.  It feels like the sort of game I'd play during a downtime of a main game, or if I just want to feel overpowered for a bit.  The right builds can easily mop the floor with the majority of NPCs, multiple at once, as well as most boss fights with somewhat little challenge.  Some boss fights become a challenge a bit later, but the overwhelming feeling that you'll get while playing the game is the rush of just mowing down several rows of NPCs, then blasting off to fly over to another rooftop and do it again.  Occasionally it's repetitive, but so are comic books, the source material for the game.

This is the game for when you feel like, in your normal MMO game, your character just doesn't feel.. well.. 'super' enough.  So you throw on a costume, pick up some powers and fly around looking for trouble.  It's definitely a 'feel good' sort of game and that feeling permeates every aspect of the game, from character creation, to story (sorry, but Defender is poorly voice acted, and pretty ignorable.. but the rest of the story winds up not half bad), to just plain button mashing.  

There are some downsides that shouldn't be overlooked, but they are rather minor, especially if you know the 'other' places to quest outside of the city.  One of the downsides is that most of the sewer and warehouse 'minidungeons' are basically terrain copy and pasted, as if they had a standardized 'template' for them.  This sort of gettings boring to look at, but the cutscene and occasional boss fight with an interesting mechanic or two will keep you from falling asleep at the wheel.

Occasionaly the game will experience errors.  Sometimes you won't be able to open doors.  Sometimes the screen will go black and the game needs to be rebooted.  All relatively minor inconveniences.   Had they more developers, and added more gameplay diversity with them, this game easily could've been a AAA MMO title based on the freeform powers and customization alone.

The graphics, while cartoony, are charming in their own way, although sadly I can't jack the settings up any higher than they currently are, part of me wishes I could. 

I can probably see myself playing this game for at least 3 months, probably to September or October at least, although potentially shorter if I hit level cap and boredom sets in quicker than expected.  Right now, I'm certainly enjoying the ride, and thought the game decent enough that I should hand some support over Cryptic's way.  It was a refreshing change of pace from the other recent MMOs I've dipped my toes into.