Champions Online Reviews
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IGN starts us off with a 7.6/10:
As a superhero MMO, Champions Online does a lot of things right. The amount of visual customization and the thrilling superhero combat are definitely the game's strongest points. The zones are also large, interesting, and finally take the action out of the city. Instanced content and public quests score big in terms of action and story, but most of the rest of the quests are of the traditional MMO mad-libs variety where you combine the word kill/rescue/collect with a number and a noun. The crafting and PVP systems seem like they've been included merely because people expect them in an MMO and not because they fit with the overall concept of the game world.
A review of any MMO is really nothing more than a snapshot of a constantly evolving game. If Cryptic can adjust the balance of the crafting system, find a more meaningful format for PVP and introduce new content and zones that makes story elements more apparent, the prospects for a player to enjoy the game over the long term will be high. Whether you'll really enjoy the game in the meantime depends on how much you like the character creation and combat systems.
That VideoGame Blog stays away from a scoring system:
Overall, Champions Online is a fun MMO to play. It's by far a game that warrants a purchase if you want something to occupy yourself with for a month. It's also a great title for those who want to play on their own time without being pressured by the barrage of quests in their log that require five people. Those looking for a heavily group oriented MMO will have to look elsewhere as there's nothing exceedingly mandatory about grouping here. If you're looking at it for a possible investment that you plan to keep for more than the free month, then you may want to wait two or three months for Cryptic to resolve the issues and bugs. With so much potential and only just a month in the market, Champions Online can only improve from here and it's sure to be a great game as it progresses.
GameFocus hits it with a 7.5/10:
If you are into playing a purely action based MMORPG then this is one you should look at. But if you are into more traditional MMORPG games, such as World of Warcraft, Everquest 2, Age of Conan, etc. then you should look elsewhere. This feels more like a console action hero game than a standard MMO which is not a bad thing but I cannot say go out and buy it without putting down this one caveat. If you do buy it, then give it a serious chance and play it for a couple weeks before making a decision on it, first impressions are not a good thing for Champions Online.
GameShark goes with a "B":
Champions Online doesn't inspire the drive to explore or build a community, but it thrives on the spontaneity of twitch-based combat and the thrill of experimenting with new powers. The Nemesis system, which lets you create an arch-enemy to battle, and forays into Lairs have been keeping endgame players entertained thus far. As the missions dry up, the staying power of Champions Online will depend largely on Cryptic's devotion to creating in-game events, such as the upcoming Blood Moon. If nothing else, at least you can finally make that fire-breathing dwarf with butterfly wings.
And Gaming Nexus gives us some initial impressions:
Champions Online is not your traditional online RPG. It feels tailored to a more action-oriented crowd of games and maybe will serve to attract players more used to Marvel: Ultimate Alliance style combat who would never spend hours calculating DPS in a Molten Core raid on Wow.
