This past weekend was an extended testing window for the Champions Online closed beta — almost three full days of superhero action. While the NDA is still in effect and I can’t comment on specifics, I’ll just say that there are sticking points, concerns I have… and there is much anticipation and joy to be had. I even got to see a few other bloggers in game, including one Tipa and her terrifying creature beyond the sea.
I went ahead and purchased the six-month subscriber dealie, since I figure that (a) there won’t be any other MMOs this fall I’ll really want to subscribe to, (b) it really is a good deal if broken down into a monthly fee, and (c) it guarantees entrance into another Cryptic closed beta — Star Trek Online. I haven’t been following STO much at all, but I retain curiosity on some level and am willing to try before I buy (aka “beta”). It’s weird — with games I highly anticipate, I hardly want to play them prior to launch and “spoil” the experience, but with others I don’t mind a beta lap or two. Champions is in the middle of the road — I’m in the beta, but I haven’t touched it for over a month, and the new changes and tweaks are quite apparent.
I look forward to the NDA dropping and being able to talk about the game more freely — and from the sounds of it, others do as well!
Bio Break 
Having played C.O. a bit and watching a friend play it fairly extensively, I can say that I am more secure than ever in my Aion decision.
There are some things CO does really well but in the end it will be as much of a niche game as COH is and was. I think it will be hard for any superhero MMO, especially one without Marvel or DC behind them, to garner enough attention to pull out of the niche status.
CO has surprisingly little hype, especially this close to release. I did not expect it to have WAR or AoC levels of hype but its still surprising me how “under the radar” it seems to be flying.
Aion does not have the hype of WAR or AoC either, but compared to CO its hype central.
Either way, I hope you enjoy CO Syp. I am sure it will end up being an excellent game!
Having played it this weekend and at other beta sessions, I am uninstalling it.
I’ve gotten the chance to play in the closed beta and I for one am very pleased with it. Yes, as you said there are a few issues, but no game launches perfect. Still very excited to really get into it once it goes live.
I spent many hours over the weekend playing CO. I don’t want to say too much because of NDA, but I had a LOT of fun in the process.
I have a few issues with the game, mostly polish, but I hope those get ironed out before release. A bit doubtful though, since they don’t have much time in their hands now.
That’s why I will not get the game on release day. I will play a couple months of Aion and return to CO later. The gameplay and the core of the game are extremely fun in my opinion, but I want to give the dev the chance to work on details before I join them.
Aion is extremely polished at the moment, but to me, it is more of the same and I’m sure I will feel bored after I’ve seen most part of the PVE content.
There’s no way I’m plonking money down for any game before I’ve had a chance to play it. So no open beta, no sell. (and that doesn’t mean a fileplanet sub either.)
Glad you’re all enjoying it though.
Yea, after playing it this weekend. It’s just not good looking, smoothly animated, or fun. I had the most fun customizing. Also people make such horrid looking creations. I can see why more games opt for less customizable chars. It really ruins the style.
Im a fan of CO but can see why others may not like it. I had quite a bit of gametime over the weekend and enjoyed it however there are as you say some sticking points. Im still going to buy the game and give it a fair crack of the whip but I may sit out the first month and let everything settle.
I’m leaning towards the 200 dollar purchase. Which is 215 Canadian not including the actual game…
I spent about that much on Warhammer for 9 months of play so it would equal out, get me some custom parts, a game to fall back to, and the ability to pilot the USS Space Tuna with some sort of Captain Picard Jr… it’s a tough decision.
@Tizlor: They’re charging $220 CAN for us Canadians for the lifetime sub.
I’m in, made my preorder and my gf and I have gone with the lifetime subs. Looks like several guildmates will as well, so we’ll hardly be lonely. It really just came down to how much time we spend in each game. I wish every MMO offered it.
Oddly, I feel like I can relax a bit for the launch. I haven’t been this casual on starting a new MMO in awhile.
I’ve been pretty excited about CO for awhile now, even though this is my first time posting. I used to play CoH/CoV and like the casual play style that those games offer.
I’ll be in the Open Beta next week and then will decide if it’s worth the $60/$200 or whatever. I’ve pre-ordered Aion, but was actually underwhelmed with it so far (beta).
Aion doesn’t have any hype? It’s all most people will talk about these days. If that isn’t hype I don’t know what is. That will, of course, make the inevitable playing out of the MMO Love Affair that much more interesting.
I have my eye on Champions, as the character creation by all impressions appears to be ridiculously granular and an improvement over CoX. But I’m worried the game will turn out to be just as repetitive as CoX too, and that like other superhero MMOs I’ve played will only retain novelty in playing with your customized persona. So when the NDA drops I’ll be really curious about whether there are other things to do in the game and tangible reward for effort.
I’m anxious to get into the Champions beta and see what it’s like so I can make up my mind on what preorder deal to get.
I’ve tried the Aion beta (and because of that I’m now stuck with the preorder) but it seemed too grindy and very casual unfriendly. I actually haven’t bothered logging in again since the second beta event.
@Frank Who said Aion does not have hype? It does, though not as much as WAR or AoC did. However, the Aion hype is different, in that it is almost completely player created, as opposed to WAR which had dev interviews and podcasts all over the place. Aion’s hype is mostly through positive word of mouth.
@Llokki There is no more of a grind at low levels in Aion as there is in WoW or Champions Online for that matter. Also remember that this is still the 1.0 client, both 1.2 and 1.5 adds tons of quests into the game as well as tweaking the leveling curve to lessen the grind.
With respect to Aion and the ‘hype’ alot of it is due to how well it is looking and how good launch will be……….. the level of ‘polish’ which people are reffering to needs to be wound in a tad, people need to remember that it isnt a ‘new game’ this is a game which has been released in the East (hey that rhymed) for over a year which has been ‘westernised’ i.e translated and minor tweaks.
As for champions, well i think it will do just fine, the majority of CoX fans will probably move as its a massive improvement on that and I’d expect alot of others will decide to pick it up. All in all both games will do reasonably well come launch date. For those of us who are going with CO however Im not expecting a glitch free launch
@pitrelli
With due respect to you, you are incorrect.
First, Aion has not been out over a year. It was released in November of last year, so not even a year.
Secondly, and this is a mistake that a lot of people have made, the Aion beta and the Chinese version of Aion, which is what everyone has been playing, is still running the 1.0 version of the game. Except for the translation and “Westernization” this is the exact game that was released on release day in Korea.
How good was WAR 1.0? Or AoC 1.0? Not very. Thats what makes Aion so impressive polish-wise.
@naamah88
With due respect to you you seem like you are looking for an arguement for arguements sake.
Ok I was a couple months out ….. not a biggie
‘this is the exact game that was released on release day in Korea’ if that is the case I would be very very surprised, I would think they would have learned things from their launch in the east and carried out the changes and implemented them to make this launch as smooth as possible. If not then they are thick as pig s£$%!
As I said WAR and AoC didnt have the benefit of a launch elsewhere (9-10 months earlier) first so cant judge it by that im afraid. Im sure if AoC or indeed WAR released in say China first and they had the mistakes they had on launch they would work on them for release here.
Again its down to opinion, Aion doesnt float my boat but I dont have any hate for it, more of a *meh* feeling. Im just stating facts that it is NOT a new game
@pitrelli
I am not looking for an argument for arguments sake and I apologize if that is how it came across.
I understand if Aion gives you a meh feeling. Its not for everyone. I understand its criticisms and even agree with some of them, thats fine.
However, what does annoy me is MMO folks saying that the polish that the game is releasing in is no big deal. I hear people say everyday
“Well, its been out for a year, the polish is to be expected!”
As I said we are playing version 1.0, the exact same client that was released in Korea originally, plus the translations for the NA market. This game released in Korea stable as hell and that will carry over here. The engine and polish is simply amazing.
All we have seen for the last 5+ years in the MMO world is botched releases, with bad performance, lack of endgame and bugs galore. AoC, WAR, Darkfall (bleh!), Dungeons and Dragons…the list goes on. Games that were missing an entire endgame, with laggy performance or bug ridden clients. We have yelled and screamed about how this is not the way it should be. Every time one comes out, we lament the state of the MMO industry. The one where they can release these travesties and its fine, because thats the way its supposed to be.
Now, one has finally come out that is stable, does perform well, is as bug free as you can get and has all features advertised with a complete end game and all we can say is “well its no big deal”?!?!
NCSoft deserves kudos for this, even if you don’t like the game-play. We, as MMO players, should stand up, point to Aion and its release and say:
“See guys? This is how it SHOULD be.”
/rant
@ naamah88
Again I would be astonished if they had simply released their ‘first’ version of their Koreon Launch. Although it may say Client version 1.0 Im possitively certain changes will have been made. They wouldnt go to the bother of translating etc without streamlining and fixing bugs which were there on their previous launch, that doesnt make sense.
Again I would stress this is NOT a new game. If WoW was to launch on the moon so the little green men could get in on the action do you think blizzard would just neglect the lessons they learned from their initial launch and just send them their first ever client? Of course not. But to them it would indeed be version 1.0
Again this isnt a slight on Aion I just think that the back slaps have to be toned down since they had the benefit of an earlier release in a different country.
A better example of this is Darkfall, by all accounts the EU release was a bit of a nightmare however 5-6 months later the NA server was added and it was a much more stable and polished release…….. back to you 😉
I like the word ‘again’ by the way