Cryptic Sings “Weeeee Are The….”
By 
Hib in
Cryptic Studios, features on
February 21st, 2008
After splitting from NCSoft (and selling their successful MMORPG City of Heroes to them), Cryptic Studios has been….okay, I’ll say it…cryptic about their new project. They were the developer/deck chair arranger on the titanic MMO Marvel Universe Online, right up until Microsoft sideswiped the iceberg of World of Warcraft while doing market research, but nothing was known about what else Jack Emmert and his crew had up their sleeves.
The veil of mystery has been lifted. Stretching themselves after creating a great superhero MMO experience, Cryptic will next make…a superhero MMO.
Stay with me…it’s not as bad as you think.
Presenting…Champions Online.
For those that have no clue what Champions is, it’s a very popular pen & paper RPG (it’s like an MMO in your mom’s basement, kids!) with a very unique character creation system. Using the HERO character creation system, you basically buy different skills and powers with your allotment of creation points, allowing you to mix and match powers and abilities.
I’ll give you a second to think about that.
If you’ve now had the thought “Wait! That means no classes?!?”, go to the head of the class. Or “no class”, in this case.
Want a tank that can heal? No problem. Always dreamed of playing a nuker with stealth
abilities? Can do. Your fondest wish is to play a small cat with a large head in a really pink world? Bite me…Hello Kitty Online’s beta is two blogs over.
Another really interesting thing that’s been announced is that, in addition to creating your hero, you will also create your arch-villain, who will then hound you during gameplay.
My initial take? Obviously, Cryptic can pull off a superhero MMORPG with insane customization for your character…they’ve done it before. However, a classless system can easily wind up as balanced as Britney Spears on a Tilt-A-Whirl with an inner-ear infection. It’ll be interesting to see how they pull this off without it being perceived as “City of Champions”. Be prepared for me to discuss this one quite a bit more before release, which is scheduled for Spring 2009.
| 2.5 |
If you liked this, then you should seek medical attention - right after you subscribe to my RSS feed!!
February 21st, 2008 at 4:04 pm
“…a classless system can easily wind up as balanced as Britney Spears on a Tilt-A-Whirl with an inner-ear infection.”
Lets not forget how entertaining up to a point that could be.
Seriously tho, its a spiritual sequel obviously, which had to happen sometime… so… yeah I’m just going to start praying now.
February 26th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I’m very intrigued by the idea of a skill-based MMO (as opposed to class based). I wonder if there will be any limits on how often (and if) you can re-spend your skill points to try out a different spec. That would definitely help out the tank and healer shortage.
“We need a tank, you in?”
“I’m not a tank… but give me 2 minutes and I will be.”
February 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
LOL Hibby, you know you were always envious of me in coh haha! Cant wait to see ya in Champs Hibster!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
@Hall0559: Yes, it would be entertaining to watch, but it’s always more fun to slow down and gawk as you pass the car wreck than it is to be waiting for the firemen to get you out of the back seat of the crashed car.
@Adrenis: I haven’t heard, but I would assume there would be some type of limit, either with a “respec” system (allowing a certain number of respecs), or a time-limited system (only allowing you to respec a certain number of times per month). Either way, the skill-based aspect is what’s got me the most excited about this. I played SWG back when it wasn’t class-based, and I loved it.
@Cross: I was only envious of your enormous hat, CC.
And yep, you’ll see me there!