Tag: Free to Play

Free to Play: Team Fortress 2

Out five years this year, Team Fortress 2 has been played and enjoyed by millions. After a year as a free-to-play game, has Team Fortress 2 retained its unique blend of class-based fun or has the weight of all the items on the Mann Store and all those free-to-play gamers crushed the quality of this… Continue reading Free to Play: Team Fortress 2

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 9: Community and Communication

This entry is part 9 of 9 in the series Experience Points

The goal of this series was to give an overview of the state of the game from a player perspective, as balanced as possible and taking most things into account. At whom was it directed?

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 8: PvP

This entry is part 8 of 9 in the series Experience Points

So far, most of this “Experience Points” series was based on just that: an overview from player experience. It’s a bit harder to offer my opinion on PvP when I haven’t dabbled in it much myself. As it seems to be a habit of mine, I’ll try and put in a few disclaimers before delving… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 8: PvP

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 7: Endgame

This entry is part 7 of 9 in the series Experience Points

Looking over the feedback on these articles, as well as community comments on various other “second looks” on the game, I’ve started wondering what was really up with the criticism of content gaps in Champions Online. I started playing a few months after the game was released and never had this problem, so I just… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 7: Endgame

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 6: Adventure Packs

This entry is part 6 of 9 in the series Experience Points

The Adventure Packs in Champions Online had a few goals, but were only partially successful. The point was to make self-contained repeatable mission chains that would work as scalable content, so you could do them regardless of your level or team size. This would give every character something to do and help with mission gaps.… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 6: Adventure Packs

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 5: Nemesis System

This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series Experience Points

It’s fun to save the world from a giant flaming gorilla, stop a high-tech terrorist organization and help grannies find their lost kitties, but each hero needs that one person that makes it personal. The Joker, the Lex Luthor, the Dr. Doom, the nemesis. The antagonist of a story is a trope goldmine. They help… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 5: Nemesis System

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 4: Costume Creator

This entry is part 4 of 9 in the series Experience Points

Something universally agreed upon in regards to Champions Online is just how good the costume creator is. While you cannot exactly make anything you want, most concepts translate very well into the game. The creator sports around 3000 regular pieces, another 400 gold pieces, dozens of C-Store sets and a lot of unlockables. Cosmetic items are… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 4: Costume Creator

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 3: C-Store

This entry is part 3 of 9 in the series Experience Points

As mentioned in the previous installment of Experience Points: CO, the most vocal fear in any Free-to-Play game is the Pay-to-Win occurrence. I wrote how being a freeform character, which is exclusive to Gold players, compares to being an archetype, but I didn’t address the actual microtransaction store and its relevance in the “Pay-to-Win” argument.… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 3: C-Store

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 2: Gold and Silver

This entry is part 2 of 9 in the series Experience Points

Until recently, Free to Play MMOs have had a really bad reputation. Technically, they still do among some folk, but considering all the “free to play” announcements in the industry the past few weeks, I’m guessing things are slowly changing. One of the major gripes people have with F2P is the (not very witty, but… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 2: Gold and Silver

Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 1: Past and Present

This entry is part 1 of 9 in the series Experience Points

Looking back, I’m not really sure why I ever saw the need to start playing an MMO, but there was a time when I had decided to find one to devour my time. After an onslaught of free MMOs (Dungeon Fighter hadn’t yet been released, so shush) I started playing WoW on a private server.… Continue reading Experience Points: Champions Online – Part 1: Past and Present

Champions Online goes Free-To-Play

Cryptic Studios’ Superhero MMO will soon join the growing roster of MMOs taking up the F2P business model. This means, starting from next year, anyone can hop on board and fight along with the heroes of Millennium City, and spend as little or as much as they want on the game.