Anticipating Champions
I was going to skip this beta for Champions Online. I don’t have the same stomach for pre-release material as I used to and I figured I’d pass on the bumps and warts and go straight to the game at launch. I’d gone over Cryptic’s announced features of the game and it looked like it was hitting the mark for me.
Then word came out from a few people that there were problems and I was considering a ($220 CAN) lifetime subscription to the game. Suddenly the open beta felt like a requirement.
I shouldn’t have worried about the negative hot air though. Sure, there are bugs and oversights. More importantly there are design decisions that rub some people the wrong way, including even some of the City of Hereos fans, but (and here’s the big point): The working features of the game closely match what Cryptic said it would be. There’s been no misdirection, no ruse, no gigantic missing features, no bombshell to speak of here.
So far I’m having a blast with the beta. Michelle is downright ecstatic, it’d be hard not to feed off of her enthusiasm. I wasn’t hyped or pumped about any game most of the summer, but now that I’ve played it I’m smiling. We’re happily letting that subscription charge go through.
This is key too: We’re likely to play this game casually. Oh for sure, it’ll probably be intense at first, but long-term this will probably be our fallback position. A comfortable place we can always jump in and team up with friends. We were considering Guild Wars for that, because well hey, it’s a cheaper one-time purchase, but enjoyment-wise Champions is trumping Guild Wars for both me and Michelle. I’d rather be happier with a few less bucks in my pocket.
That’s not to say I won’t turn my overtly critical eye on Champions. It’s not all golden. Hell I’ve got a few rants half-baked in the oven already. But it’s also different enough not to bore me, which is saying something since I’m so tired of the WoW clones.
I’ve been griping that my Diku-burnout has been bogged down by three things that keep staying the same in MMORPGs: Classes, Combat and Character Progression. Champions Online isn’t a huge change, except in these particular categories. It almost seems custom tailored for what I was asking for.
We’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep you posted. I’m looking forward to launch.
Update note: I’m @Rogdor if you want to track me down in-game.
This is a bit of a stupid question, but do you need a key to get into this beta? I downloaded the client, but haven’t done anything with it yet.
Michelle (Sakkara) and I are using our pre-order keys (5 bucks at EB to pre-order). Massively had a bunch of keys they gave out but I doubt they’ve got any left. Fileplanet is giving out keys to subscribers at this point, so the window to jump into the beta for free may be passed, at least casually.
You could probably find a key online somewhere tho if you hunted around, but that might not be legitimately.
Unfortunately, limited keys are the trend since everyone started going with Fileplanet to manage their betas. It doesn’t fully qualify as “open” beta to me, since you have to be prepared ahead of time to get it, or pay.
Bleh, that’s what I though. Oh well.
Apparently Fileplanet is now giving out Open Beta keys to everyone, not just subscribers. Link for obtaining a key is on their front page: http://www.fileplanet.com/
I’ll keep you updated on how it goes Taek. I know we’d love to team up with you again. =)
Hey there. I got sucked into this beta, intriguing game, Nzarlae@skesska or Meltor@skesska would love to see you in game
Melt! Good to see you. Adding you to my friend’s list in-game. =)
I love the whole one big server thing, so convenient.
I’m still rolling the Lifetime Membership idea around in my head, for very similar reasons: long term, casual play.
I was worried at the start of Open Beta, but subsequently it was good to see they worked the problem and got it fixed for Day 2. And the client has been real stable for me.
And those extra character slots are very tempting. Angela probably won’t play, but I may install the client on her machine so she can use my account to create (and the share) Champion designs. She’s really interesting in the character creation but is a true-blue EQ2 fangirl when it comes to actually playing. :)