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Champions Revelations is a breath of fresh air to the game. Not like a super human massively powerful breath that blasts everything in sight but that satisfying breath that lets you realize you are content.  I have been playing Champions online since beta testing and have enjoyed the game but like many, I noticed the lack of content and game balancing issues as well as the lack of a need to group with others.

While the new expansion does not resolve everything it does add a great new high level Crisis zone and region to play in with Vibora Bay.

I still find no reason, other than for the fun of it, to group with others outside the public missions and I think the general balance issues were resolved some time ago.

The expansion does bring a lot though.

The story for this new addition to the Champions universe is great. The voice acting is better and less campy than the original, and the enemies you will face are enjoyable.

Vibora bay is much like New Orleans and as you run around you get the feel of a bayou gambling town. Cryptic did a good job of giving you the New Orleans blues town feeling while keeping to the comic book style art. Unlike New Orleans though, this city is alive with voodoo magic, Vampires, and Werewolves. Adding to that is an Apocalypse crazed half-angel, half-demon who is the arch nemesis to the new locale.

My favorite location prior to this was Monster Island. I have heard many other players say the same thing. While I thought Lemuria’s undersea location was interesting and large, it was hard to get around and even a little harder for a Martial Arts type character (Like my main hero, Captain Kanuk) to fight in. Vibora Bay is a GREAT alternative for those who are closing in on the level cap of 40 but are finding themselves not as interested in Lemuria.

The Crisis zone for this addition in itself is very large and there are even a few lead in missions in Millennium City. You can start the missions by visiting Jury Rig, a visiting hero hanging out in M City near Dr. Silverback (Renaissance Center Science building). I won’t spoil it for you but the story has a decent twist to it that eventually leads you to the Vibora Bay crisis. As I stated, there is lots to do in the Crisis zone before heading off to the regular areas of the Bay.

I won’t offer any spoilers about the Crisis but I can tell you that you will do dozens of missions there and meet lots of heroes, some the old familiar Champions like Defender and Ironclad, some new like Doctor Ka and The Black Mask.

I took my Martial Arts Super Spy character to this zone at 37^th level and went to 39^th already without hardly touching the many missions and story arcs of the zone. I have not gotten to the point where I am trying out the new powers offered here yet but will update my report when I do.

Cryptic originally planned to release this as a paid for expansion but after the outcry of existing subscribers for new content they made the wise decision to release it for free. They have added a bunch of new costume pieces in the store to buy but there was tons of content offered up to the current player base. It was just the shot in the arm the game needed.

Now that it has been released Cryptic needs to go and add more content for lower level Supers . my 2 cents is for them to add another lower or mid level crisis zone and zone expansion so that there is ample content to level multiple hero characters with a variety of powers. Having some choices in mission progression would be great for those who like to create a wild array of characters to play.

The new Vibora Bay zone was timely too. I was just at the end of my six month subscription when it released. I am sure that was no coincidence, but it kept me subbed for some time more as I truly am enjoying the game  with the additions and look forward to taking other heroes to the Bay.

If you have never tried Champions you can start a free trial/ demo at the site. It is well worth giving it a go if you like the thought of playing super hero characters with amazing powers.

If Cryptic continues to add content I will continue to subscribe, especially if the content is the quality of Vibora Bay.

Juryrig's place

Left to Right: Liberty Lass, Commander Cosmos, Captain Kanuk, Revenant, and Foxie Rayne

Super…Just Super… That is basically my comment for my personal experience in Champions Online.

This has been a very enjoyable game for me as a MMO enthusiast. I will get into the why of that shortly. I love playing super heroes and enjoyed a couple of years in COH/COV but I am finding the Champions experience to be a better one. Now, that does not mean there are not improvements that need to be made in the game and I will touch on that as well. I also approach the game in a more casual manner and have not been racing my way to end game. Even still, my main character is 33^rd level  now, only 7 levels from the game level cap.

Here are my tips on enjoying Champions online and getting the most out of the game.

1)      Play more casually and enjoy the content. There are quite a few pop culture references and Easter eggs in the missions if you stop to read them.

2)      Tweak the graphics. If you do not like the comic book style cell shading (outlines on characters and objects) you can turn it off. Also, I noted the default settings were low for my PC so I cranked them up and they look great.

3)      Really enjoy the character creator and try to make something very unique. The depth of this creator is awesome and it is a blast. I have seen many clones of your favorites though and to be honest , while I am okay with paying homage to your favorite super hero, I think the creator allows you to be very creative.

4)      Don’t be casual about your build. Pay attention, close attention to the powers you select and the items you slot. This will make a huge difference in the game for you. My main Character, Captain Kanuk formerly of the Canadian Mounties’, is primarily an unarmed martial artist. This is probably the hardest character to play in the game to date and is something that Cryptic has recognized need attention.  You can see the powers I selected below and while 2 gun Mojo and Lead Tempest did not initially fit my concept they have worked well to give the character some ranged attacks and have allowed him  a couple of strikes that can hit multiple targets. Here is the very best tool for setting up your character in advance. http://champions.zarzu.ch/download.html This character builder is AWESOME!!!

5)      Make sure you are tracking to the super stats you chose but also note how the other stats impact your powers, resistances, etc. This is aligned with item 2 but I wanted to point this out separately.  Here is a good link that can give you some direction on how to manage your statistics. http://www.brighthub.com/video-games/mmo/articles/49384.aspx

6)      Meditate zen style while Cryptic continues to fine tune powers and tweak the game. In other words, don’t get too uptight and expect changes to come. The game hit the one month mark and while changes and power nerfs have slowed down they are still coming. Heck, my unarmed MA power set (and all melee power sets) need some love still too. This is especially true if you are planning to have melee characters in PVP. So expect change and be ready for a free retcon or two more before all is said and done.

7)      Explore…There is a lot to find in the game and tons of achievements to unlock. Like my little guide to hidden missions in the tutorial there are hidden treasures throughout the game. For example, here is the perk list from the Wiki: http://www.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Perks

8)      Make sure to complete all missions for a zone. Are you worried you may have missed one? There is a nifty little tool to help you make sure you have hit them all. Find it here: http://www.crimecomputer20.com/

9)      Definitely make alts and try some powers. Yes- at the moment you will have to replay the tutorial but that is not so bad. Different power sets are all fun in their own way. I create my characters with a theme to them but do pick powers that will be beneficial while still being part of the overall concept. Be a tad flexible here so you do not gimp yourself with an odd power grouping. One of the drawbacks of allowing you to mix powers can lead to you totally gimping out your character and making him or her too weak to play right.

10)   Play with others. You may feel you can solo most of the missions and that might be true but on the larger missions take along a friend or invite someone who needs it. While grouping may not seem entirely purposeful at times it is more fun.

11)   Last but not least, get in as good Super Group. The one I belong to is great. (Called Watchfire if you are looking for a group) and have made a ton of difference for me. I can always find a guildie to come along or help with a tough mission. This can make or break your experience.

I do have some concerns but have kept up with Cryptic and know they are actively addressing them. Here are the things to watch for and things I want to see fixed soon.

1)      Content, content, content. While a decent amount of content was added to Monster Island the game needs more at all levels so that it is more fun to play your alt characters and not have to repeat every mission in the game with every character you make. My suggestion to cryptic is to create another crisis and post crisis zone to give some variety.  A Moon base or space station would be fun. This would allow you to go through two of the three crisis zones that will take you up through your teens in level.

2)      More and more varied PVP maps. I know there are some great ones coming along with the Blood Moon event  http://www.champions-online.com/bloodmoon but there needs to be a lot more. They should do more like Stronghold or the ones mentioned coming in Blood Moon; Themed PVP maps instead of simple brawling zones. I have not bothered too much  with PVP due to this and the fact my main is an unarmed MA character.  Not a hot build for PVP games.

3)      Power Nerfs and changes are inevitable early on but I do wish Cryptic would pay close attention to what the player base is saying over stats and averages in reports. Tools cannot predict what is fun. There was a period where I was reading that melee was fine. Statistically and on paper that was probably true but in play, it was not as effective as many of the ranged builds. Consequently, it is sometimes not as fun and feels more difficult. Now that has been acknowledged and there are plans to resolve that fact.

4)      Better grouping tools and reasons to group. They are actively working on this and have made changes for the better already but more need to come.

So those are my tips as well as the areas I would like to see worked on to enhance the player experience. I hope this helps you some to further enjoy this fun game.

Commander Cosmos in regular costume and Super Group costume

A return to Azeroth

It had been many long years since I had visited the grandeur that is Stormwind City in the lands of Azeroth. Now, when I say many long years I mean it. I stopped playing World of Warcraft before the Burning Crusade was even talked about.

Did I quite because I was one of the WOW haters; No, not at all. I enjoyed my time in the game and had a couple of character close to the original level cap. There were just other things to do like Playtest tons of other MMOs and games that were coming out.  

Dark Age of Camelot, Asheron’s Call, City of Heroes and many others over the years called to me and I wanted to give them a try.

Now, with Cataclysm immanent and posing some very interesting new twists to the game I decided to boot up my old account, create a couple new characters, and see how things were going.

Being completely honest my expectations were low. I was totally expecting my “raised bar” of graphics and game play to kick in. I was ready to say “UCK” look at the old and clunky engine, ACK, at all the old style kill and fed ex quest runs.

I downloaded the client and leapt in to the old yet still familiar world.

My new little Priest

I am going to think back a little bit and reminisce so bare with me.  WOW, when it launched still held that allure of wonder and exploration. I recall fondly that it was a worthy successor to my old Everquest and even though WOW had stolen many things from the other games I played, including much of the setting (I am a Games Workshop fan from way back) it was great fun.

I remember my first trip into the starter zone, loaded with new players finding their way around and questing, looking for help and guidance from MMO vets that ventured from games such as EQ. I remember being impressed with my first glimpse of Stormwind and Ironforge. I was awestruck by the coolness.

I might be exaggerating a little but needless to say my memories are fond ones. I wanted to see now what kept the appeal going. I had to assume it was the loyalists that have played for years that have kept the game alive and strong.

Now, Fast forward to Sept 26^th 2009 and a desire to revisit the old girl that is WOW. My expectations low and thinking the newbie zone would be completely empty I logged in and created a Priest.

When I entered near the Abbey I fully expected to hear crickets and run around the lonely land doing newbie quests. This was when I first realized how vital and alive WOW still is. The starter zone was FULL of new characters running around. Now, some things from my old experience had changed. Mostly it was the extremely high level characters running around on wondrous mounts. The other thing, and I will say now it will be my only major negative experience, the community was well, Immature at best.

Shouts of noob, loser and many other things were being spewed forth like bad sewage. I also have no idea what being gay has to do with whether or not you are good in a duel or PVP type action. It must have some impact and it must be inherent that being gay impacts your ability to fight other characters or why would you see people shouting that you are a loser gay noob if you lose the duel.

I digress but that is a MAJOR turn off to me and something I usually encounter in FTP games and PVP centric FFA servers with other games like Age of Conan, Battlefield Heroes, etc. Which means, as much as I like PVP I tend to wander away from FFA servers, etc because I really don’t like the level of immaturity that goes along it, as well as the ignorant and potentially hurtful name calling.  As I said, I digress and this could be a whole topic of its own.

Back in Azeroth I found  that, while the graphics were simple and light in processing requirements, textures, etc. they were still pleasing to the eye.  After all those years the game did not visually offend me in anyway.

Blizzard did a great job at creating a style that shines through and makes the game world enjoyable even though the graphics capability is subpar compared to MMOs of today. Now, don’t get me wrong, they are outdated and don’t compare with games like Age of Conan, Champions, or Aion but they don’t have to either.

Finding that I still found the world visually stimulating and that the newbie zones were full of people I was thrilled. I could tell by some of the banter that many of these players were fairly new to Azeroth. How cool is that? I wish every newbie zone in a major MMO was that  full so many years after launch.

At any rate I ventured out from the abbey, whistling and smiling as I ran to kill off some kobolds. I came upon a glade near and old mine with a camp site in it. Much to my horror it was littered with corpses. That of the kobolds I was sent to kill. Oh well, a product of the amount of players in the area. I await the respawn, as did the 15 to 20 other people.

Aha, the battle was on. I will get to them before you many, many others. I thought to myself as I prepped up my Smite spell.  

Still looking pretty darn good

OK…Yawn…15 kobolds later I did find something that good old WOW was lagging in. I had become a bit spoiled by some of the new combat action in recent releases. At the lowest end was Aion with new combos and more active looking combat. It gives you “some” extra choices at least. At the higher end is AOC, and Champions which have active combat that you have to pay attention too, especially AOC. I thought next of Fallen Earth which left me wishing it was a better game than I experienced in beta, but actually had FPS style combat. Harkening back to Star Wars Galaxies, even its combat felt a little more active.

Even with this glaring backwards glance to combat of old with cool down timers and all I still found that an hour passed and I was on my way to town. Yippie, I was not as bored from combat as I thought I would be.  The race for new powers to buy and better gear was still within me and WOW fulfills that need to achieve even today.

While I know it would be earth shattering to change this if WOW could fast forward their combat system to something more like today it would continue to be a real gem, even if it did nothing else to change.

It has apparently undergone some graphics updates as it did look better to me when I cranked up the settings to max. . That might just be my PC though. Hard to say and I have honestly not followed WOW enough to know if there were any official graphical updates to the existing zones so far.

I found myself playing for a couple of hours straight without noticing. WOW has still got the goods as far as gaming enjoyment goes and to boot, it is about to undergo one of the coolest changes in an MMO. It is about to get blasted up. If you don’t mind the simple graphical style (or even enjoy it) and you are OK with the quest standard set by this very game then you should still be able to thoroughly enjoy World of Warcraft. You will even be able to find groups in the low level areas of the game to adventure with.

Hats off to you Blizzard, while WOW may not be as ageless and timeless as Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones, or the grand tale of Lord of the Rings, it still has what it takes to dominate the market share in MMO gaming.

The only thing that will unseat this giant is time. I sincerely believe that no matter how good a game is no single MMO will dethrone the giant. With Cataclysm on the horizon I think it will remain King of the Mountain for a while.

I am off now to play some more Champions but I find my mouse cursor floating over the artistic W of the WOW launcher on my desktop. We shall see.

Champions:  Captain Kanuk: The build

Rating: Build rating is on a 1-5 scale with 1 being poor/ difficult through 5 being Great/ Easy.

Solo Time: Is the percentage of time you are likely to spend doing missions solo. This does not mean you have to. It may be advantages to group with 1-2 others. More, and most of your Crisis zone missions will be too easy.

Type: Unarmed Martial Artist

Solo Difficulty: 2

PVP Difficulty: 1

Captain Kanuk in his city spandex outfit

Captain Kanuk is a Canadian hero taught Martial Arts by the French Canadian Master Monk named Hey-Aye. After the death of his girl friend in a violent crime the Mountie fled to the mountains where he was taken in by the great master who trained him. He returned to Quebec to right wrongs and eventually was called to Millennium City to beat back an Alien invasion.

The First 10 to 12 levels:

Solo time: 80% +

Difficulty: 4

From Champions Builder http://champions.zarzu.ch/download.html

This is a pure unarmed martial arts build. This will be one of the most difficult characters to play in PVE and will not be good at all in PVP but watching this character fight is a load of fun, especially when combined with Acrobatics. I have a hunch the build will get some love soon as well as it greatly needs it.

Going into the Crisis zone you have only a few choices as a Unarmed Martial Artist. With your first two powers, Righteous fists (your energy builder) and Thundering Kick you will find that you will need to run up to an enemy as fast as you can. This makes Acrobatics a great choice for your travel power once you leave the tutorial zone.

Crashing Wave Kick definitely should be your next attack power.  The ability it has to stun your enemy is critical when fighting mobs of henchman and the occasional Villain. When taking advantages do not take the ones that increase threat and agro. You are not a tank. Increase your damage output. Add a rank to either Thundering Kick or Crashing Wave kick to increase DPS.

You will most likely want to make your superstats Strength and Dexterity as your main passive Defensive is Dex based and not only will Strength increase your damage output in melee but it will allow you to pick up increasingly larger objects to hurl as you enter combat. You can kill one or two henchmen in a shot if you can hurl a truck into the enemy before entering the fray.

At 8^th level you have some choice but taking Dragon kick will give you yet another crushing attack.

The other option, which may be better for you,  is to take your passive defense, lightning reflexes at 8^th instead.  This defense works best in one on one combat with a villain rather than fighting large mobs.

When taking Talents that is a good time to take one that spreads some points across multiple stats, increasing Ego, End, or Con some. If you want to focus purely on your damage dealing put it all in Strength. However, later on you will encounter more powers from enemies that may require other stats. Martial Focus or Acrobat will be good talents to take at these levels.

Somewhere between 10^th and 11^th level you will finish the crisis zone. It depends on whether or not you have done both of them but you should not be higher than 13^th at this stage.

13 the through 23^rd level:

Solo Difficulty: 2

From Champions Builder http://champions.zarzu.ch/download.html

Solo time: 70%

My first recommendation at this stage of the games development is to begin to deviate from the MA abilities and maybe take some might attacks or blade attacks. But, let’s say you don’t want to. That is OK as long as you understand the challenges.

With the Captain I was not trying to build a Ninja but a fighter. Regardless, when you hit 14^th level you will want to take the best Martial Arts attack there is, Burning Chi Fist, and upgrade it with fists of Righteous flame as soon as you can.  If I were building a Ninja style character I would have taken Smoke bomb next. With combat being pretty tough for the unarmed Martial Artist smoke bomb will get you out of a jam. By this type viper agents have probably used this very tactic on you so you know what it does.

The Captain in his cold north outfit

What I took after Burning Chi Fist was Bountiful Chi Resurgence which is a healing power. With no extra ranks in it the power is not effective at all. You may want to look towards something else if you feel the need for self healing. Regeneration might be a better choice if it fits your concept.

I did take a leap of faith and increase Bountiful Chi to rank 2. This actually had a pretty big impact on the power and I found it more (but still marginally) useful.

At 20^th I went with Inexorable Tides. This kick attack hits a cone in front of you, causes good damage, and will stun/root most common enemies and typical villains. This and Burning Chi Fist make up the two best attacks you have as an MA build. As far as advantages I pumped as many as I could into Burning Chi Fist to give it some extra DPS. 

At 23^rd I decided to take an active defense power in Masterful Dodge. This power will help keep you alive at later levels when fighting villains. You will see the dodge damage reduction blurbs flying overhead once activated.

I did a few respec’s at the Powerhouse and tried out some different approaches (as they were free at the moment for this character) and wishing to stay with a straight unarmed build this is the best I could get to. The Captain is pretty solid but still gets beat more often than other heroes. I love the high flying martial arts though and visually it is a blast.

 As you reach into the high teens in level you will begin to encounter areas you will not be able to solo in and, unlike some other builds, will probably not be able to solo some small group missions the other   builds could such as beating Poe (Purple Guild leader) and taking on the Fight Club.

25^th Level and your Nemesis:

Aside from you build your nemesis is coming soon after your pass the 23^rd level mark. Be wise with this creation. If you give your nemesis power sets like Telepathy, Ice, or Darkness with minions that are similar you will be in a world of hurt. The ability to create your Nemesis is a blast though and don’t forget that the first mission with your arch enemy is not really meant to be taken alone…invite a friend. You CAN solo it but it will be really tough.

I won’t ruin any of the story from you but you will get drops with clues from some of the random minion attacks by your arch enemy that will allude to the Nemesis plans. The drops could be notes, data chips, etc.

In one of the first ones I had to take out a radio tower.

The Nemesis missions are fun and if you choose a good arch enemy they will make the game for you in many ways. I chose a woman who studied under the same Master (Craven Huntress) but focused on the single sword. She later recruits a clan of Ninja to her cause.

She seems to have a near endless supply of minions to throw at me. On occasion, they even beat me.

Nemesis at the TV station with some minions

Conclusion:

The Unarmed Martial Artist is, without a doubt, the weakest build in the power sets. I like a challenge though and find the powers to be a load of fun even though at times it can be frustrating. Make sure to find the closest spawn point.

Gotta have a desert camo suit as well

I am thinking that Cryptic will give this and other melee classes some love. Even though they may appear to do more damage than the ranged guys the reality is they still do not do enough since most of the unarmed powers are focused on a single enemy.

Another piece of advice is lead into your fight by throwing something heavy like a good old pick up truck if you can. You will probably take out a minion or two with the one attack and is another benefit of the Super Strength.

You also might ask “Why didn’t you take Thunderbolt Lunge?” Well, others complained about it being weak and not very effective. I tried it against dummies in the Powerhouse and swapped it out for Lightning Reflexes at the time. I then got Lightning reflexes to Rank 3.

To close I want to say I actually enjoy the power set and build but hope that Cryptic will give them a little bump soon.

A sweet high flying kick!

I have found that there are clearly two types of players in Champions Online. There are those that have come to the game to create the hero they have imagined and will build everything around character concept. I am probably closer to this player than the later.

The other players are those who want to simply be powerful, or be a master of PVP. These folks pay very close attentions to statistic choices and build powers. They may have a loose concept in mind but typically that is only packaging. The folks are strategists and tactians simply wanting to be the best or better than others.

Personally, the reason I play a Super Hero MMO is because I have a vision of heroes I like and have created over time. I developed a couple of character in City of Heroes years back that I loved and translated them over to CO (Champions Online). Thus, I am one of the concept players.

Here are a couple of  videos (no sound sadly) of one of my concept characters (on Xfire):

Captain Kanuk Fights Crime

Captain Kanuk takes on a Villian named Rakshasa

NOTE: Both vids were from headstart before launch day patch.

Captain Kanuk and his Gageteer former sidekick, Kid Kanuk are concept characters built from an idea not a power build. The Captain is purely a Martial Artist and Acrobat though he does have superior strength and agility. This is a tough build in CO and provides some challeges but has been fun. The neat thing about CO is you can build just about any character you want.

Why do I bring this up specifically? Because of the day one patch of the game. It ratcheted up the toughness of Henchmen, etc while weakening some passive and active defense abilities. This patch, from a perception and marketing standpoint has created a potential disaster for Cryptic and they are in a tough spot. Some, the strategic builders, like the patch and have no problem with it. The concept builders hate it. They feel forced to build certain kinds of characters instead of what the want.

This impacted my concept character a great deal as Martial Arts is a tougher choice to begin with if you do not add some Might defenses for instance. Now Cryptic needs to find a way to balance this for both audiences and keep them happy.

I am still enjoying the game immensly and some of my other characters have NO problem at all completing missions and fighting off mobs . Captain Kanuk, however, is challenged and his sidekick, the Gadgeteer, has it a lot easier with jet boots and experimental blaster that can be upgraded to fire in a cone, healing bots, etc. I am sure it will be addressed but the lesson learned here is DO NOT put out a patch day one and test it with a variety of live players first. A test shard launched immediately and this will help the future but some damage has been done.

Either way, I am a fan and playing and enjoying the game though I am having some more frustrating moments then in the past.

Now go fight crime the way you like and take VIPER down.

Champions online has announced the special rewards and adventure for those who will be participating (like myself) in the head start.
We thought we had it under control! We thought we stopped the Qularr!

Perk Rewards players can collect for completing the invasion perks.
Perk Action figures can be picked up at the Perk Toy Vendor in REN Center
Bug Hunter action figure
Dr. Silverback Action figure

 

Fallen Earth is a post apocalyptic game set in the near future where a combination of disease, war, and nukes have left the world in a wreck. The game takes place in and around the Grand Canyon so lots of dry, desert areas.

There is plenty of lore to read if that interests you and it can be found at www.fallenearth.com. The story premise is solid with seven factions to be a part of.

The reason this is a capsule review and not a full blown review of the game is the first thing I will admit. I DID NOT GET VERY FAR yet in beta. There is a reason for that though which I will get into.

I would also like to say I LOVE the post devastation type settings such as Fallout and I am looking forward to some games such as Boaderlands and Rage. I was thinking that this would fill that MMO void and it might for you.

The company and devs are VERY responsive and have actively participated in the beta as well. There is always one of them around to help noobs to the game like me.  While I think this is great there is also a reason they needed to do that which I will explain below. Now on to the review.

Character Generation and Tutorial:

Character appearance options are good. You get all the bells and whistles of a modern (North American) based MMO with the ability to customize your appearance to your liking. Not as robust as say City of Heroes or perhaps Age of Conan but as good as any other and better than average.

This is cosmetic only as Fallen Earth is a skill based game and there is really nothing to select in this regards at the beginning.

The tutorial is solid, fun,  and gives you a great introduction into the game. You start as a clone coming out of a cloning tank in a Life Industries facility in Hoover Dam. A voice over a crackly PA system offers to help you and gives you guidance as you learn the ropes and fight your way through a CHOTA (one of the factions ) assault. I won’t give away too much here but it is pretty cool and does give you the basics. It even lets you take a whirl on an ATC.  Props to the devs for setting the mood.

You will note a theme here about intuitiveness. The only thing wrong with the tutorial is that combat mechanics are a little different than other MMOs and should be explained. They are not inherently intuitive and take a little getting used to as well as being a little clunky. Still, enjoyed the tutorial a lot.

Getting into the game:

So once you complete the tutorial you awaken some time later, stepping out of a cloning vat. Here you are presented with the choice of faction and starting location. Each location has a focus such as being melee and pistol oriented, etc. This seemed straight forward enough. I chose one that focused on Pistols and Rifles. There were a couple of quest givers that got me started on the path of adventure and crafting. I got the quests, made some bandages, and struck forth into the wasteland.

I came out onto a scenic vista looking out over the desert. A small tattered town was not far off in the distance. The towns graveyard was close by with the broken shell of highway overpasses looming at the edge of my sight. This added to the ambience as I exited the cloning facility. While the graphics appeared to be a little out of date they were good enough for me to feel that I walked into a Fallout type MMO. I immediately headed for town.

Nice Vistas

Game Graphics:

I was a little surprised at this as I have a pretty darn good system (XPS M1730 loaded laptop) that I play on and can play AOC at full/ highest settings with no problem. I actually had to lower some things to get the game to run smoothly and tweak some settings.  I still had it on high setting but should have been able to run it on the highest given the fact the graphics were nowhere near the complexity of AOC or AION.

That being said, I like my visuals and while the game appears a little dated the far flung ruined vistas were well done enough and did not feel too sparse. Character models look decent but the movements are not extremely fluid, especially in melee combat which you will do a lot of.

I sallied forth:

I ventured into the small desert town full of shabby buildings and ragged settlers. I first ran into crafting trainers and shops but quickly found some quest givers. My main quest was bigger than just getting to town so I set my thoughts on that aside.

The game took a big turn for me here and will deviate from my adventures to address these.

I have played plenty of sandbox type games and enjoyed them. Heck, I even stuck it out with Vanguard after launch for some time, Played Star Wars Galaxies pre NGE, Played the original EQ for years, etc (used to lead players on the Qeynos to Freeport run, etc) . The initial problem I had with Fallen Earth was it was simply not intuitive. I ran around and grabbed a bunch of quests thinking I was doing well and getting into the game.

First, you can only track one quest at a time and the mini map, while giving you a little indication on where to go, does not help much. It took me a while to get my bearings. You start off with three basic weapons (Crossbow, zip gun and a length of 2X4). I took a zone that was focused on pistol and rifle so went to my first quest after some gang on a hill thinking to shoot them dead.

Boy was that a mistake. Ranged combat is frustrating at best. While I like the fact that the enemy will dodge your fire they do it better than NEO taking on Matrix Agents. At an early stage in the game combat inevitably boils down to swinging your board at them.  I ran out of ammo quickly and did not have the resources to get more. When you die you go back to the cloning facility nearby and need to run back. After six or seven times in a row doing that and now out of ammo I looked to the community for help. I was sure I was missing something.

Good news here, the community is helpful and devs were on as well. Apparently, I missed something major. Crafting and salvaging is a must for you to get anywhere. There is nothing other than the little crafting quest you start with to indicate the importance of this. Also, you will need to go grind out, farm low level creatures (yes even some town rats) to get some stuff to sell, maybe a ammo drop or two, and skills levels to get you going better. At least that was my experience.

The best way to get ammo, etc, is to make stuff and use or trade it. There is no real way to let you know just how critical this is and my first thought was “If I want to just be a wasteland merc living off others I am screwed.” What if I don’t like crafting? I think I would have a tough time. BUT, the community directed me to get into crafting as a critical part to making your game experience better.

Something else that needs to be explained better is the use of food. You absolutely need to eat stuff as it helps you heal faster, etc. While this makes sense it is not obvious how important this is either.

To sum it up, right or wrong, I felt the need to grind out tons of low level gang member kills and digger kills (zombies from a nearby Life industries facility). This did allow me to complete a few quests which I then had to squint at the mini map to find green highlighted quest givers in town to turn the quests in.

I am not talking about the mini map in the upper corner but rather the one that you open. It is very small and does not seem very flexible. It felt like having a fine print map from AAA that I could not intuitively find my way around. Keep in mind I have been playing MMOs since M59 so I am well aware with game mechanics and finding my way.

Simply put, once outside of the first facility the game is not intuitive and is rather frustrating rather than fun.

Moving on, I grinded out some kills and quests, dying several times and putting points in my ranged skills despite the fact I always ended up swinging my 2X4 more than shooting.

I finally felt good enough to go into the Life Industries facility in a canyon close by, the focus of several quests. Here, I got even more frustrated to be fair. The tunnels are fairly long and I was constantly worried about running out of ammo. Good news here was zombies don’t dodge well like the gang members, neither did the giant roaches or beetles that were in the facility. They did, however, take lots of zip gun shots and a couple of crossbow bolts to kill. Again, I had to rely on an upgraded version of my 2X4 to conserve ammo (this one did more damage than by original 2X4). I kept dying, coming back at the far off cloning facility, and running back to fight the same creatures I just fought again. My satisfaction at advancing through my quests to this facility was quickly overshadowed by the tough combat and frequent death.

Zombies of FE

The community all expressed this was the case and starting off was hard. I am fine with that in this setting but it needs to be balanced with more fun than frustration.

So why did I not get very far? Well, the reasons above. The game has promise and the setting is interesting. I am 100% certain I did not get to the cooler stuff in the game but I did not want to wade through a frustrating grind to get there. Thus, I stopped and went back to other games I play.

Conclusion:

It was apparent that many in the community really liked the challenge of the game as it was very challenging. I like a challenge as well but it felt more of an exercise to overcome frustrating moments and try to have some fun. Admittedly again, this is as far as I got. I logged in a couple more times to try some different routes. I had some other quests back at the gang’s house but they were whooping my behind just as badly as the Life Industries complex. I was only successful because some others came to my aid. This made it a little more fun but to be honest I was not a very effective ally with them as they had real guns. It was more about them being body guards while I tried to get to some quests there.

Other than my little ATC ride in the tutorial I did not experience any vehicles to speak of, I did not get deeply into crafting, and I did not get much into the factions. There is obviously a LOT more to this game to experience. I did not even get out of the starting town area really. That being said, the reason I did not was the frustration of trying to get there in a world that is not intuitive and extremely deadly.   While there did not seem to be any real death penalty (at low levels at least) running a long way back from the cloning facility to re-battle the creatures that just killed you was not that much fun.

I see the potential in the game but for me it is just not there at this point.  Unfortunately, with the pre-launch release of another game coming in the next day and others on the horizon I am forced to give Fallen Earth a pass even though I am a huge fan of a post apocalyptic setting. The game needs to be a lot more intuitive and a little less deadly. Neo should stay away or he will be crestfallen that even lowly gangsters can dodge bullets better than he can.

Today marked the end of the Champions online open beta. It concluded with a massive invasion of robots called Destroids on the iconic Millennium City. All of our beta heroes were allowed to jump to max level 40 and take on not only an veritable army of smaller (yet powerful) robots but also help in taking down the MEGA DESTROID picture below.

Rampaging the city

In reading about this event everyone who participated in the take down of one of these behemoths will get some starting perks at game launch such as a destroid action figure. What is an action figure you ask? Why they are a series of little collectable pets that follow you around. Just one of the ways Cryptic helps you to differentiate your character. Some action figures can be gained in shops or by completing perks. Others are rewards such as the one for the End of Beta.

Now that I have come up from air playing the open beta relentlessly I will take some time to write up a review. First off, I do not believe in an un-bias review. When it comes to the subjective, like whether you like a game or not, there is always an element of bias. So, I will try to be as balanced as possible while admitting that I actually like the game and will be playing it. If that makes me bias then so be it.

Open Beta Review:

Champions online (CO) is a super hero MMORPG that is, what I believe to be a worthy successor to City of Heroes/ Villains. Now, I know that was not the intent of Cryptic but I will call it like it is.  I will not be doing a comparison any further than to say the tutorial is extremely similar to the opening of COH and there are other similarities. There are also many differences.

Character creation:

CO really shines in this area. Customization is key here and you have plenty of it. You can start with a template for your power set or you can mix and match. There are enough power sets and variances to create just about any hero you have imagined.  The powers themselves start of fairly basic with some sort of energy building attack and another, usually more powerful attack as well. You will use your energy building attack throughout the life of your hero. Not only is it the basic attack you start with but you will use the energy generated to fuel other attacks, defenses, and special abilities.

Costumes can be amazingly varied. You choose your gender and your facial features and build from templates or you can customize your face and body from many sliders. There are a couple of character pic examples herein. 

Kid Kanuk the Gadgeteer

Some previous games with this type of creation seem to have actually offered more in the way of selections (You have enough though, believe me). I was a little let down by this but I was still able to make who I wanted. I did find that later you will find items and fulfill missions that open up more costume options (See the U.N.T.I.L. cloak below that I opened from a mission perk).

I also was able to open up some unique weapons such as an Anime style blaster and blaster rifle which further set me apart from other characters.  So my original (very minor) disappointment was abated.

I am not entirely fond of the actual faces that are used and while you can customize them quite a bit they all end up with a “look” that I think can be improved.  They are not terrible, just could be better.

Entering the game/ Missions:

Many have written and posted videos of the Tutorial zones and the first two crisis zones (Canada and the Desert) so I will not spend a ton of time here except to say that the tutorial, while reminding me of the opening to another game, serves to educate you to the basics very effectively while allowing you   to be and feel like a hero. Don’t forget to look for the hidden missions in the tutorial area as once you are done you will not be able to go back and collect them.

Once you have helped the Champions (games most powerful super group) to save the city from alien invasion you get the choice to go to one of two “crisis zones” . You will go to Canada to stop and ancient evil or go to the desert to stop irradiated mutants. These zones are not that large but open up a great deal once you have solved the immediate threat.

You will spend your first 10-15 level in first, the Tutorial, then the crisis zone, and then the larger, more open Desert and/ or Canadian regions. You will be able to go to Millennium City in there as well which is a very large game zone.

There are tons missions right from the start and a few story arcs. READ THESE as they are well done and advance the story lines for you as you battle against evil agencies like Viper and uncover the summoning of a great evil spirit by a super villain.

Track your perks in your journal too. Some are a total waste (such as the Mauve perk) but others provide useful extras. There are tons of perks for you to go after. If I had a complaint here it is that you cannot tie your perks to the rewards they give you. It is a leap of faith as you may kill 100 Purple gang members to get a silly title like “Mauve” or you might end up with that cool UNTIL logo for your cloak. Cryptic need to add a way for you to see what the end reward is or what you will open up and be able to buy with the perk points you accumulate.

Powers:

I have read some interesting assumptions from people in the Open Beta. Many think that even though the animation might be different that your initial powers are basically all the same. A ranged fire attack is basically the same as your ranged Ice attack. This could not be further from the truth. Every power has buffs, debuffs or add-ons associated with them. Two examples:

I have a Shadow power character. Shadow bolt is the basic ranged/ energy building attack. However, it also causes fear that will make your enemies cringe and momentarily stop fighting. This power can be upgraded as you level as well with advantages to do more damage or increase the fear effect. All powers have upgrades that will allow you to further differentiate your character.

Another character has an experimental blaster (Gadgeteer powers) that sends out a constant pulse instead of a burst. While it does not have the range of shadow bolt it can be upgraded to be a cone, effecting multiple enemies at once, and it has the ability (1%) per hit) to turn your enemy into a toy (little Teddy Bear) for a brief period, weakening it.

All powers can have up to 5 advantage points spent on them. Some cost 1 and some cost 2. You will never be able to get all advantages for every power. Items you find may enhance some of your powers directly as well. Some create awesome affects too.  Experiment here in the Powerhouse.

The Powerhouse is where you go to level up. A large Cog spins in each zone that will transport you here. What makes this universal training center great is that you can test your powers out before leaving and change what you just selected for free. Once you leave though you are committed and must respec your powers at a cost if you wish to change them.

Red Jack the Arcane Gunslinger

Crafting:

Typical of an MMO you can craft items. In CO you will choose between science and mystical items to craft and these are broken down further so that you specialize. You can build items outside your specialization but not as many. For instance, my Gadgeteer took science and inventions as his crafting focus (This made sense to me).

I was actually able to craft useful items that sold well in CO’s version of an Auction House. Bags are particularly useful to expand your own inventory.

Harvesting raw materials is much like other MMOs as well. Find an irradiated corpse, ammo box, gun case, crates, etc and get the stuff from them that will allow you to craft items.

Crafting is…OK. Nothing great or special but functional and useful.

Zones and shards:

CO characters play on one virtual server separated by Shards that will house X number of characters each. You can switch shards at will by opening your map and selecting the option to change. When you look at a shard it will show you if you have friends or Super Team mates there. I personally like this as it makes the zones feel less crowded with masses of super heroes.

The Zones themselves, after tutorial and crisis zones are very large and densely packed with missions and enemies. I like the art style of the game characters and world but it is definitely a style and you may not like it yourself.

I was only able to experience three zones and did not get to Lemuria or Monster Island. I am glad for this as it leaves me something to look forward too after release.

That being said, the City, Desert, and Canada zones kept me well busy with interesting stories and adventures past 20^th level.

Conclusion:

It is a super hero game in the tradition of City of Heroes and  will appeal to a certain audience. The art of the game is stylized for the type of game play and uses cell shading at default though this setting can be removed. I like it any way but found it useful to leave on as it highlighted enemies that were hard to see.

A Power Armor Character

I loved the action oriented game play and variety of characters you could make. The missions are plentiful and well done. Even the “kill this” quests were fun.

If you were able to try before you buy in the Open Beta you will have a good idea of whether or not you like the game. I found it worthy of at least a six month sub and many of the people I chatted with from OB did a lifetime sub (though I will avoid the hornet’s nest about why Cryptic offered a lifetime sub in the first place).

There were some things I hope that they address in the next week before release like the disappearing weapons and XP changes but even with those the game is in pretty good shape with lots of content.

I found the game very worthy of my time and will be playing it. I hope to see you flying over the skies of Millennium City soon.

This is the end my friend

Here are the other two hidden missions that will advance you in Aliens on Earth.

While leaving the blockade with the Mayor and venturing further into the besieged city you will see a street off to your left. There is a girl standing there.

Tutorial hidden perk mission

Just accept the quest from her then follow her back to the Mayor and his daughter. You will need to protect her from Aliens on the way but you  get some experience when you deliver her safely to her old college friend, the Mayor’s daughter.

The other you will find at a flashing police car not far from Champions HQ. In it a you talk to a hero over the radio who has been trapped. Accept the mission given and hunt down the trapped hero. This will be highlighted in a green circle like other missions.

Tutorial hidden Save the City quest

Finding the captive

If you complete these as well as the other listed missions it will be the first step in a larger perk chain.

Aliens on Earth perk chain

So make sure to find these additional sotry lines and have fun.

Cat Carrier easter egg quest

Approach the cat carrier and hit Z to examine it. Once you have done that get the cat carrier. It will be in your inventory. Open your inventory and click on the carrier to recieve the mission. Hold on to it for a bit. When you go to help Silver Avenger You will see the women in desperate need of her cat, Martha Reece. Turn in the mission to her for some extra experience.

The second one is not far from the the first. It is further up the street behind a wall on the same side as the cat carrer. You will find Fox Bat under some rubble.

Finding Fox Bat

In this mission get the rubble off him and he will give you a mission. Make sure to get the mission from him before he runs off. He will flee around the corner once you have the mission. Follow him and he will fade away. About the area he fades you will turn to another side street with some more Aliens. Kill them and head that way.

Area where you get Fox Bat gun

A little around the corner in the above picture is a flashing metal case. Access it to complete the Foxbat mission and get the gun inside. Place the gun in your active slot (bottom right hand corner) and use it against enemies. It is pretty good for a quick kill. Have not used it much so I do not know when or if it runs out.

There are plenty of these little tid bits in CO so keep an eye out for them and comment on anything you know about here too.