Champions Online

Sometime last week a friend of mine sent me a 10 day trial for Champions Online.  My initial reaction to the game was definitely poor.  For whatever reason the default graphic setup it chose was absolutely horrendous.  From the character creation to the game play it just seemed poor quality for a nintendo game let along a PC game.  After a conversation with my friend and some adjustments to the graphics settings the game came together a little better although still somewhat cartoony for my taste.

I enjoyed playing City of Heros so I was looking forward to giving Champions Online a shot.  Honestly the game play was unimpressive.  I could see many times what they were going for but it just seemed to fall short.  You start out like most games in the Newbie Tutorial setting with your two powers.  The problem is that the tutorial drags on and on as a series of quests.  I must admit the quests are pretty well written and thought out.  As you progress from quest to quest gaining experience you will gain levels.  With levels you would sort of expect to get a new power every once in a while.  The problem is you aren't allowed to get new powers until after you finish the tutorial.

The hours pass as you gain your first level, then your second, third, etc.  In all I believe I was level 6 by the time I completed the tutorial.  Finally as I emerged victorious from the newbie scenario I headed straight for the power training area.  Any sense of accomplishment was immediately beaten to death upon my arrival and a quick chat with one of the power vendors.  It seems that in my hours of questing and 6 levels I earned of the right kind of currency to get one power... Bite.  Hours worth of play and thats it, Bite?  Later powers in the line looked equally unimpressive and have expected to see Sniff Butt and Mark Territory somewhere in power tree.  After speaking to my friend I guess I supposedly picked one of the more limiting power lines in the game.  Silly me for not knowing which lines sucked.

Honestly though one of the greater joys in City of Heros had been the character creation process.  I felt like they offered a lot of costume and character options as well some pretty interesting powers.  The Champions Online character creation process just didn't excite me.  The costume choices often felt very limited.  It seemed like you could customize more things overall but the options for each choice were limited to the same slightly varied pieces.  At the end of the creator I always felt like my character just looked stupid.  Finally out of frustration and just wanting to play the game with my friend I punched the "Random" button until it generated something that didn't suggest my powers were good taste in clothing and a love of musicals....

Once I got into the game I was only there for a few moments before being unceremoniously booted.  I had previously taken my computer apart and I was waiting (wrongly) for my wife to help me put it back together.  (Space is limited and I have a hard time getting the cables to sit properly to close the case)  To reference my post a few days ago, I realized its my PC and I should stop waiting for her help and just do it myself.  With my PC back together and I think a few days left in my trial am debating whether or not to roll one more character and try to play with my friend.  I just wish any of the powers or abilities offer interested me more...

Star Trek Online

I've been looking at Star Trek Online recently with some friends of mine. Some time ago I promised a friend that when it came out I would play it with him. I have been playing the beta and found it to be interesting and enjoyable. It has its problems not unlike any other MMO, but many of them are being resolved or haven't seriously impacted game play.

I think my biggest gripe would be not having enough information about what things are or how things work. Some of this of course I attribute to beta, but with the game so close to the release date I assume the details of core principals of the game have been pretty firmly established. You have 3 classes, Science, Engineer, and Tactical. There are also three different types of ships, cruisers, escorts, and science vessels. Any class can pilot any type of ship but nothing really outlines what the advantages or disadvantages of the combinations are. I also don't feel like there is enough information on the skill trees and how they impact your character.

My initial issues centered around the handling of the ship. When start you are given a Cruiser class vessel. The ship is a decent starting ship but as a cruiser it doesn't give you quite the control I was hoping for. It wasn't until I tried piloting an Escort class ship that I felt pretty comfortable. I also tried out the Klingon ships. The handling of Klingon vessels far exceeds that of the Federation ships and you can really feel the difference in the game play. As I have come to understand this factor and its affect on the game I have come to appreciate it more.

I was disappointed that they did not implement cloaking on the Federation ships. With the changes in the storyline there is no good reason the cannon shouldn't support it. In the end I believe a lot of the anxiety around cloaking will depend on the interaction during game play. In general I had been leaning more toward the Federation but the superior handling of the Klingon ships and ability to cloak has caused me to seriously consider aligning myself with the Klingon's. I have always enjoyed speed and stealth over brute force.

It seems STO will also offer a Lifetime Subscription option a limited time. This option will cost $239.00 but it is a one time fee and you can play for as long as the game is around. At $14.99 a month it would take just over 2 years of play before you would come out ahead on your investment. The cost is a little steep but is it smarter in the long run. Not to mention the more serious question: How do I get a thumbs up from my wife?