Champions Online

 PC
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 40
  3. Negative: 1 out of 40
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  1. GameSpy
    40
    Champions Online too often feels like a professionally assembled Second Life module, where character creation is king and the thrill of being superhuman wears thin once you realize that everything else just feels off. Whether or not future patches can set some of the more glaring flaws right is anybody's guess.

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Best PC Game of 2009
29
#29 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
72
#72 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

User Reviews

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User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 256 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 126 out of 256
  2. Mixed: 44 out of 256
  3. Negative: 86 out of 256
  1. gabriot
    May 19, 2014
    4
    This game is in every way shape and form a step back from a game that already came out 10 years ago - City of Heroes. Why they decided toThis game is in every way shape and form a step back from a game that already came out 10 years ago - City of Heroes. Why they decided to continue Champions Online and completely shut down CoH completely baffles me, I guess the microtransaction model was already in place for Champions so it seemed more profitable. Regardless, I've lost all respect for the company for selling out like that.

    Basically the game is your standard free to play microtransaction bullcrap that plagues the market today. Some of the ploys they use to get money are laughable. For instance, when you build your first character, there will be items included in things such as a Halloween pack and a dryad pack that allow you to select them without having an indicator by their name that you have to purchase them (even though there are other items that are selectable such as Ancient Armor cosmetics, which clearly state they must be purchased) - so basically it tricks you into thinking those items are selectable and available for your character, then once you are done finishing your character it pops up a dialogue saying you have items that must be purchased otherwise they will not show in game, because it turns out (shock) that you have to pay for things like the halloween pack and dryad pack... what an absolutely scummy way of trying to trick users into paying. On top of that the character creation is just a huge step down from CoH, half the items when you put in certain combos and certain scalings (common ones I might add) have awful looking graphical glitches like a shoulder pad having your shoulder pop right through it and show visibly from the outside. On top of that, when you get into the actual game, it's cell shaded (even though the character creation screen WAS NOT) and you basically get a character that doesn't even look like what you created.

    In general the cel shaded graphics look like ass, and it is also a huge step backward from the already gorgeous game with 10 year old graphics - CoH.

    There are also less than half the choices for unique and cool skill sets that CoH had, which is ridiculous. The only melee classes are weapon classes, so forget the cool things such as claws and spikes.

    Combat is awful, and leveling up is dumbed down, basically they made this game for people that don't want to worry about building a character rpg style, and just want to play some mindless arcade-like game.

    The game has half the character and passion the original game had, it's really sad to see this is what is left of the once glorious CoH.

    If you want to play a free-to-play mmo with superheros (or any mmo with superheros for that matter) the DC Online game is the only way to go. It's not perfect, but it's better in every way shape and form than this lackluster game "Champions Online" is.

    Don't waste your time with this game, it's trash.    … Full Review »
  2. Fideous
    Sep 2, 2012
    10
    Champions Online is now three years old and the developers have worked tirelessly to improve game play, include new content and resolve theChampions Online is now three years old and the developers have worked tirelessly to improve game play, include new content and resolve the bugs which were abundant on the initial release. Perfect World bought this game and Star Trek Online from Atari for over $50 million dollars and the new content is coming in at least twice a week. Taken at face value with all the included changes, its the most diverse, hero customizable, and tight community you would want to be a part of! It's now free-to-play, they still offer lifetime memberships as well as monthly accounts for extra perks. Graphics are great and support DirectX 11 -- posted tweaks on Steam to make them even better. The game play is fast and action oriented, the new alert system puts you in the action instantly, the characters are customizable with character points in addition to powers, you can create your own nemesis which appears in the world. It's worth travelling back to Millennium City to see the improvements -- for free!… Full Review »
  3. kickdacatt
    Aug 31, 2011
    5
    If you are familiar with the RP version of Champions then you're likely to be seriously disappointed with the character generation in thisIf you are familiar with the RP version of Champions then you're likely to be seriously disappointed with the character generation in this video game version as none of it has be preserved, sadly.… Full Review »
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