Tales of spandex and derring-do

[jccub1]

***WARNING: GEEK ALERT***

Well considering the amount of time I've put into MMORPG Champions Online over the festive period, I'm surprised it hasn't cropped up in my posts more often. To cut a long story short, think World of Warcraft with spandex, capes and laser beam eyes - naturally it appeals to my inner geek-child. Yes yes, I know, who would

Comments

[jccub1]

I was on CoH before Champs and also found parts of it a bit boring too. There is hack and slash involved, as with most MMOs, but it's done far more slickly than CoH. But what I like with Champs is there is a far better balance between the RPG elements and the 'run around beating people up". There are hundreds of story arcs so the hack'n'slash actually has a purpose - rather than just for farming exp/items. Like CoH there are one-off missions, but you don't have to do them if you don't want and you can focus on the stories.

Story arcs usually range from 6-7 missions (smaller arcs) to 15-20 missions (larger, major arcs). I usually go for the story-led gameplay myself and have been pretty damn impressed. And the Nemesis System I mentioned means you also have a personalised story arc running for a long time - I've gone probably three months now with my Nemesis and have done probably 30+ missions against him with no sign of his final defeat yet. Each mission builds on the last.

The RPG aspect is also nicely balanced (in my opinion at least - and I'm an old Elder Scrolls/Fallout/etc player). Customisation is immense - truly applaudable. And in between levelling up there are different "roles" and "builds", each with their own strengths and weaknesses, so in short you can have up to 6 (i think) variations of our character on-screen to switch between depending on the situation or if you're working with 1 or 20 other people. I'm still learning and my main fella is lvl 38. There's a very deep RPG element which I think is easily glossed over by those that prefer a hack'n'slash game.

Did that make any sense?! Seem to have wibbled on a bit there lol

[jccub1]

Much better than CoH, far more polished from launch to be honest. Still things to add but there's a calendar of additional content that Cryptic are adding in the coming months. Some big content adds for first half.

Think I might have a free 2 week trial tucked away somewhere if you're interested?

As for time zones, the guys in our group are from Aus and the US. Hooking up is easier than thought, even with the time zones - our mornings are your evenings. There's always someone on in another time zone, more at the weekends.

[jccub1]

Will have a rummage for it tonight for you :-)
Here are the system specs:

Minimum System Requirements

* OS:Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7
* CPU:2.5GHz Single Core or 1.8GHz Dual Core
* Memory:1GB RAM
* Video:NVIDIA GeForce 7800 / ATI Radeon X700 or HD / Intel Graphics with Dual Core
* Sound:DirectX Compatible Soundcard
* HDD:5GB Free Disk Space
* Network:ADSL / Cable Modem
* Disc:DVD-ROM
* Driver:DirectX 9.0c

Recommended System Configuration

* OS:Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7
* CPU:2GHz Dual Core or Better
* Memory:2GB RAM or Better
* Video:NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or Better / ATI Radeon HD3850 or Better
* Sound:DirectX Compatible Soundcard
* HDD:5GB Free Disk Space
* Network:ADSL / Cable Modem or Better
* Disc:DVD-ROM
* Driver:DirectX 9.0c

[jccub1]

Hey there - not sure if you check LJ anymore but I found that free trial activation key if you're interested? Let me know and I'll email it across to you :)