Where everyone is "super"

“This man is no ordinary man. This is Mr. H G Superman. To all appearances, he looks like any other law-abiding citizen. But Mr. F G Superman has a secret identity. When trouble strikes at any time, at any place, he is ready to become… BICYCLE REPAIR MAN! Yes! Whenever bicycles are broken, or menaced by international communism, Bicycle Repair Man is ready!” – John Cleese, voice over for Monty Python “Bicycle Repair Man” skit

 Some things in life are bad; they can really make you mad. Other things just make you swear and curse. When you’re chewing on life’s gristle, done grumble…play Champions Online.

First, apologies to the author of Life of Bryan for the twist on the opening lines to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. It is quite true, however, that if you are feeling a bit the blue side, there is nothing like donning a blue costume and playing Champions Online to boost your sagging ego a bit.  As you make your way through the streets of Millennium City, built on the ruins of old Detroit, from time to time people will walk up to you and thank you for saving the city, point out you are their favorite superhero and the like. I appreciate the sense of humor that comes through in  moments such as when an NPC walked up to my character and asked for my autograph, only to announce that he intended to sell it on Ebay because he needed the money.

A few Champions Online residents.

I have been playing the game for a bit over a week now. Despite the burgeoning ranks of “nay-sayers” who don’t seem to want anyone else to play a game if they don’t like it, I have yet to have any problems at all.  I haven’t had so much as one crash to desktop in all the hours I have been playing the game.   I have found every word of what a senior producer friend of ours (and yes that is the Royal we) to be true about Champions Online.  The character creator alone provides hours of fun, the open power system allows for a myriad of interesting combinations, and the latest “Blood Moon” event has been lots of fun. My only regret at rampaging through the wilds of Canada after I have been turned to a werewolf is that I turn back to my old superhero self upon death.

The only odd thing about the game is having so many super heroes around.  It’s a bit like the “bicycle repair man” skit by Monty Python. If you haven’t seen it, the skit is set in a world where everyone is a superman (or super woman) and the only person who stands out is…bicycle repair man.  Every now and then I see someone like the character “Mactaveous” who is featured in the Champions Online fiction over at www.lorewriter.com. Mactaveous is an ordinary guy who wear jeans and a t-shirt along with his mother’s checkered table cloth to try and fit in.  Every now and then I will see a super hero walk by named “Joe” or “Peter”.  One of the people in our “super group” (the Champions Online version of a guild) has a “super hero” accountant.  It’s sort of an odd feeling: in a world where everyone is a super hero “super” becomes normal. And that’s the challenge isn’t it? How does a developer go about making a player feel “super”? How do they do combat so it just doesn’t feel like another version of the last fantasy mmo?

Yet I personally feel that the devs at Cryptic Studios have done a grand job of it.

See you online,

Julie Whitefeather