Champions Online gets new stuff

Sounds good. CO can only get better.

puntastic

CO is still a thoroughly enjoyable (if somewhat lightweight) MMO. More content is fine with me, I still enjoy rolling new superheroes, though I do seem to either make kick-ass ninja cyborgs or leather-clad busty heroines... hmm...

You should make a heroine called Free Car Wash...

Maybe it's time to dust of my Indiana Jones/Dr Who hero when this adventure pack is released.

I've got a character called Gaylord.

He wears pink. He also has angel wings. and Dame Edna style glasses.

Level 15 so far.

Champions Online gets new stuff

Is it actual gameplay?

@levitate

Sounds good. CO can only get better.

The flipside, of course, being that it could not possibly get any worse.

Hmm, remembering what happened to CoH I reckon the potential is there for CO to get a heck of a lot worse. That would be something of a pity, but given the incredibly lethargic rate Cryptic are adding content to this one nothing terrible.

I think there are two kinds of MMO - and I'm probably going to get rimmed for this but here goes... Hardcore and Casual.

That's not giving them titles lightly but bear with me. Some MMOs are designed for long-haul play - Everquest/2, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan etc. They have an endgame which acts as an addictive timesink for people, and it works, and they suck people in. That's a perfectly good model for games which utilise it.

The other model are games which are not designed with an endgame in mind but more for the overall enjoyment of it all, it is here where Champions Online sits. And I remember a while back when they tried to ramp up the difficulty of it because a portion of their userbase demanded more of a challenge - that didn't sit well for the majority in a game which, let us be fair, has no real predetermined builds/roles as such, or one where you are not limited to a pre-set build for specific roles. Some games just aren't for those people. Champions Online isn't.

There are of course a myriad of in-betweens but my point is not all games need huge raids and massive challenges to be thoroughly enjoyable. When it is there, and when it works, it's perfectly acceptible to go for it. The problem Champions Online has with this model is down to how it was created - with no predetermined cookie-cutter builds it is extremely difficult to push a difficult or challenging "end-game" as such, because that defeats the purpose of having the freedom there in the first place.

And you know what? It doesn't NEED endgame. I am still subscribed over a year on. Is it a game I play everyday? Hell no. Do I play it a few times a week? Of course. As much as I love my MMOs and I love a meaty endgame, there is something deeply satisfying about a superhero MMO where I can just kick-ass, make kick-ass characters, kick the asses of lots of baddies and supervillains, dip into kicking ass in the PvP Hero Games. It's an alternative I enjoy having because the same damned thing over and over again can get a bit stale (especially this far into World of Warcraft, when you've raided ICC most days every bloody week for close to a year...).

Champions Online is a lightweight. Of course it is, and would I prefer more varied places and content? Well DUH! Of course I would, I have a list of ideas as long as my arm for areas I'd love to see in CO. But I don't play it heavily, it is my light relief and I adore it for that very reason. After a few hours in ICC, there is something therapeutic about Champions Online.

Are they screwing it up? Perhaps I don't like the drip-drip-drip of content, I'm not really a big fan of charging people for inane costume pieces and I must admit, the talk of an expansion has me concerned (although I am heartened a bit by the idea such a thing will be free, because with the costume store, there's really no excuse to charge for more content when the game sorely needs it). But it's kinds missing the point.

CO has a niche. It fills a hole in my life - it's a getaway, it's a playground I dive into when I am a bit fed up. Is it for everyone? Of course not. If you want something with more substance there's plenty on the market to get stuck into. And no, it isn't perfect by a long, long, long, long, LONG stretch.

But played in moderation, and in the right frame of mind, I haven't found a better hideyhole away from the usual grind and wipe of WoW. For that, long may it continue... but yeah. I'd love some more imaginative areas.

@kami:

Nicely put. I fully agree.

I tried the demo and was bored to death by level 5, it was clunky and everything looked like it was made of plastic which was a shame because i was looking forward to CO since i saw the previews.