Champions Online coming Spring 2009

Four years ago City of Heroes made its debut as one of the more unique massively multiplayer online games to hit the market at the time, as it gave millions of gamers worldwide the chance to strap on a cape, lace up their leather boots and take to the skies as a bonafide super hero. But after numerous updates and a standalone expansion pack, City of Villains, City of Heroes has begun to get long in the tooth.

Hoping to maintain the loyal comic book crowd, Cryptic Studios is set to release another comic inspired MMO centered around the long standing pen and paper RPG series, The Champions.

Champions Online will be Cryptic Studios first developed and self-published title since their departure from NC Soft in 2007 and is scheduled to ship Spring 2009 for PC and Xbox 360.

For those of you that grew up in the early 1980’s you might recall that The Champions was a popular tabletop old fashion pen-and-paper role-playing game, first released in 1981. The game was renown for its deep and robust character creation system, a system that Cryptic has remained silent about how they plan to implement it into Champions Online, but has promised that it will be living by the motto of “total customization.”

Cryptic plans for gamers to have total control over their super hero persona by giving gamers the ability to put their own personal stamp on your character’s powers, looks and even their weakness. Unlike City of Heroes, which gave players a list of available powers set for specific character classes, players now will be able to create their own unique super hero as you’ll be able to select specific advantages and limitations for your powers, turning a set of common base powers into something completely unique to your character.

And what is a Batman without the Joker, or the X-Men without Magneto? Players will also be able to choose and create their own adversary’s, from their names, powers and costumes. Whoever the gamer creates will torment their progress throughout the game as their very own arch nemesis.

Unlike City of Heroes where the player is stuck defending one city, Champions Online will give gamers the chance to take their hero across the globe and even into outer space. You’ll be able to defend the innocent in the futuristic Millennium City, or travel underwater to Lemuria, or venture into the great unknown as you defended the mystical dimension of Qliphotic. All of these locations will offer up their own storylines, enemies to fight and heroes to unit with.

As The Champions universe has been around for 27 years, Cryptic is making sure that they will be using the entire history of Champions. Many organizations, heroes and villains that have been seen over the past two decades will make their way into the MMO, but this game will be a continuing history, as key events that might have happen over the past 27 years, would have already taking place once Champions Online has been released. Even if gamers are new to the universe, Champions Online will certainly bring gamers up to speed on this new gaming universe. But, Cryptic too is planning to expand on the Champions universe, as they have promised that when gamers enter the Champions world in 2009, down the road, the game won’t be the same as the year go by, insuring that Champions Online is a living, breathing universe that is ever growing and expanding.

The combat system for Champions Online will be done in real-time. Gone is the MMO staple of single-button “automated” combat. Gamers won’t have a lengthy recharge time nor will they have to wait for their next turn to strike out at their foes. The action will be fast and, according to Cryptic, will require you to use tactics to defeat the harder enemy NPC’s inside the game.

Gamers might also notice the cell-shading art style that Champions Online is using. This look and feel is reminiscent of 2007’s Crackdown for the Xbox 360.

As of yet, there is no details about PvP or any specific events that will be taking place inside the game. More news will certainly be released over the next few months leading up to Champions Online release.

Read [IGN] Site [Champions Online]