Champions Online: just doesn't cut it.

I re-downloaded the game and installed it. It has been a long time since I played so starting in the city was a bit different. This is intentionally brief.

The main problem with CO is while it is different from CoH, it has too many parallels to avoid comparing each to the other. The character creation, the power selection, the character animation, the "freem", was a pale shadow of CoH.

The boss fight in the tutorial was... well, lame. Sure, the guy talked, but he walked around like a robot in a power suit and more frustrating was that the more experienced member of my team - the NPC Defender, was busying himself fighting the little things and not assisting with the big bad. I'm sure this was intentional to give the player a boss fight experience, but it gives one a low opinion of the main hero of the city that he can't be bothered to assist a less experienced hero with the tough guy and then expects me to do grunt work of deactivating consoles while watching over my shoulder. The man is a fraudulent wuss as far as the story line has presented itself based on this interaction.

I liked the blocking - simply as a mitigation factor any character can use.

Sorry, can't play CO. It makes the impending loss of CoH more bitter grapes.

You mentioned it, but the way characters move in CO is aweful. They jerk around instead of being fluid and a solid pose for flight? Uhg. I tried, I honestly did, so I could stay in touch with my old SGers upon my return, but that game is horrid.

Wow, I can't believe this post just showed up. I literally just downloaded Champions Online again, could not play past the tutorial again, and uninstalled it, yet again. I just said the same thing to myself, "Champions Online is not at all City Of Heroes." City Of Heroes is so much better: The art, the combat system, the much more realistic animations. Virtually everything sans the outdated engine and zone design is better than what I just played. Besides those issues, Champions Online attempted to mirror City Of Heroes in so many ways. The Qularr in place of the Rikti for instance, a Statesman like hero; it was all very transparent from the get go what Cryptic tried to do and what they did was a halfhearted failure at best.

I simply couldn't get past the forced archetypes of Champions Online. I know that archetypes were never a part of the original game and they feel hashed together. I was so taken aback by how fewer power sets Champions has too. We were really spoiled with City Of Heroes and its level of customization, vastly different and nearly perfectly balanced archetypes that complemented one another, and its cornucopia of power sets.

I've known for awhile that City Of Heroes would be my main and last MMO. Back in the day, an MMO could never hold my attention for more than a month until my sister introduced me to City Of Heroes. When I played the tutorial on Champions it simply didn't have the same wow factor as City Of Heroes had when I first walked into its virtual world. NC Soft really screwed us if you ask me.

I agree. I've tried to play Champions several times; during its beta, a free trial or two, and a couple of times after it went F2P. It's just... not a very good game. The art style is ugly, the missions are boring, and the writing... so much of the time it seems like it's more of a tongue-in-cheek parody of the superhero genre than a game that embraces it.

Some of the adventure packs/comic series/whatever they're called are relatively well written, and you theoretically can do those form level 11 to the level cap, but.... that's awfully boring.

I also don't like how it seems to be lacking in group content; content meant for groups, other than the zergy and uninteresting Alerts, doesn't seem to even exist until level 30ish, and even then, it's my understanding that almost no one does it, though I suppose that's what a supergroup is for.

Really, ultimately Champions feels like a game that was trying to be the spiritual successor of sorts to City of Heroes, but as it takes that first step it trips over its own shoelaces and falls flat on its face.

CO does a couple of things well- I like how they handled travel powers (making them their own thing & not a power taking up a build slot & mostly ignoring suppression & rooting). I like how it deals with mez- banging on a key to 'erode' a hold or whatever is way better than just being screwed until the power times out. I like the ALERT! system- the queue works well, the missions do their job well.

Alas, the development energy wasted on making the game console-friendly really hurt it. Nearly everything I dislike about it can be traced directly to game style & content limitations imposed by its console roots.


It isn't a bad game per se- I still have it installed. although I haven't played after a few in-game hours confirmed the opinion I formed shortly after launch. They have changed some things for the better, but it's all 'new coat of paint on a Fugly house' type stuff.

But it isn't CoH, and it never will be.

I'll make a more sustained effort to like it after November, but my hopes are not high.

I think most people are going to be looking at CO and coming out disappointed solely because it isn't even remotely like CoH. I can take or leave CO, it makes me no difference, but I do like a number of things within the game that I'm surprised never were in CoH at any point in time.

The game can be likeable; it just needs to stop being compared to CoH because it will never *be* CoH, you know? I think most of us are so used to one thing now that it feels nigh-impossible to like or find the good in virtually any other MMO. At least that is how I'm seeing it.

The only real bits that tick me off are:

The forced teaming. Someone can be plonked right on your team out of the blue for no real reason other than the game thought it was a good idea. Thankfully there is an option to turn this off!

Cross game chatting. Half the time in the CoX channel I don't know whether or not to reply to someone because I don't know if they are playing STO or CO.

The C-store. For those that think the Paragon Market was bad... don't even think about the C-Store. My God! 5 dollars for a single costume piece. I don't mean a pack, I mean a piece. It's just as bad in STO where some of the ships cost between 25 - 50 dollars to play. Yes, real cash.

I started having a bit of fun in the game once I stopped comparing it to CoH, because nothing will ever be that game or up to the standards that most of us have created based on it. The costume creator even does some things better than CoH...I know that'll tick some people off, but it's true. I am in love with the Jackal head, the way that you can make certain costume bits glow is really nice, too.

It's better than DCUO...which I have dabbled in as well. No mouse cursor available in that game, and I am a "clicker" by nature. I don't like having to mess with what feels like 20 keys just to control my toon. The 3 colors for your costume and that's it...that also sucks. BUt I admit that climbing on walls and such like a spider is pretty damn nifty.

Agreed. CO just isn't for me. I'm too used to City of Heroes. I don't even like the character models. It looks too....potatoey to me. If that's a valid way to describe them. Lol.

The only thing I don't like in the game is Alerts and Archetypes. It is an awesome game, if you have trouble staying alive you just need to get regeneration. You can play to level 40 solo. Kinda wish they would make new cities and new mission though, getting tired of the dang Alerts. It is a very fun game should try it with regeneration, if it too easy make the missions harder.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatMan The boss fight in the tutorial was... well, lame. Sure, the guy talked, but he walked around like a robot in a power suit and more frustrating was that the more experienced member of my team - the NPC Defender, was busying himself fighting the little things and not assisting with the big bad.

At least he doesn't lay down on the floor... and your a hero you don't need his help to beat him down. I didn't notice the robot part.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nethergoat But it isn't CoH, and it never will be.

You are right, it looks like a comic book, and it has more outfits, more travel powers too, and can have any name you want.

A classic thread title since 2009.

Looking good and playing good are two entirely different matters. Again, movement in the game is jerky and clumsy, especially with travel powers.

And I know I'm feeding trolls, but... Everyone is an amateur at first. Some great things come from amateur programers. Just look at the independent game market and how its flourishing right now. A lot of those games are, in fact, made by amateurs. I think what the Titan Network bunch is planning to do via Plan Z is amazing and a testament to the core of this community. It shows heart and courage. And as long as quality control is in place who knows what will come of it.

I tried CO so I could make up my own mind if it was ok. Uninstalled it. Nothing compares to CoH.

My wonderful father used to tell me that 'the human mind is like a parachute...it operates best when open'. That is why I tried CO for myself, even with the plethora of thumbs down reviews of it. Wasn't sure if it would be a love, hate or meh. Now I know.

Does not surprise me that Power likes CO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Power_NA CO isn't jerky in any way and if it is the CoH is too, I run the same in both games. Also it only clumsy if you run into every building so try not doing that, because CO is not clumsy at all. It plays freaking AWESOME! You don't never stop attacking for one second, beside when you blocking anyways, unlike CoH. Until around level 30, I have to wait for my powers to recharge for about 5 seconds depending on my power.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paladiamors I love you, I Burnt the Toast!

My thoughts on CO so far...

I like the character creator and powers, made a perfect Batman free form toon with good close up melee and expolding granades, something unavailable in CoX.

Game play is different, but just takes getting used to, my Dark Avenger toon was able to solo 5+ mobs at level 6, would have been toast in CoX and animations are generally good.

However the community I find is very lacking. The broadcasts are random chat noise, no 'level 6 group LFM' if fact been playing 2 weeks and have never seen anyone LFM. The teams i was invited to was just random invites where the leader said nothing then quit a few minutes later. I eveventually joined CoX channel, but even so there is a distinct lack of teaming as I expressed to the channel 'does anyone ever team?' and got the reply 'not really'.

For me the community/teaming in CoX is what drew me to the game, I think my days in CO are numbered and makes me realise that I am going to really miss CoX.

I bought CO nearly two years ago and I never made it much farther than the tutorial. I just didn't like the playstyle or the graphics.

I went back to it recently and once I jacked up the graphics resolution and found a powerset that I liked (the power armor one), I found that I am really enjoying the game.

Yes, the graphics are pretty cartoony and so far the game play has actually felt fairly simple, but for all that I am enjoying it. It's simple, but I am liking simple.

And honestly, so many of the costume pieces are familiar to me from COH that I'm wondering if there was some kind of agreement to share the costume pieces between games-- I've seen things like the Wonderful Wind UP Wings in CO that I know darn well were created YEARS after NCSoft bought the game.


I also have been playing a fair amount of DC Online, and I am enjoying that game too. It's nice to be able to run on walls or over water. (The Skillsets -- think our attack powers-- are lacking IMO, but I have been enjoying the story and the graphics.)

Nothing will ever be COH, but there are plenty of games out there that are entertaining in their own right.