After unleashing a devastating punch, the flaming gorilla crumpled to the ground. As he fell, a green orb flew from the creature and settled onto the sand. The item was obviously a form of loot, but The One made no move to retrieve it. The orb, Emmert explained, is called a boost, an award that can provide temporary enhancements to the player, but can also harm him.

The green boost, representing poison, remained discarded as The One strode over to another angry creature, a sort of bear-man hybrid rearing up on its hind legs.

After waving his claws in the air for a few moments, the bear-man brought them down hard, thundering into The One -- who raised his arms to block, a defensive maneuver not often manually performed in MMOs. "So you notice there, the player was manually blocking," said Emmert. "Just like in a console action game, you can block. Obviously you'll take damage to some degree, but blocking helps you."

Manual blocking is part of a system Emmert refers to as console action gameplay: gameplay most commonly found in console games but tweaked for use in Champions Online. No longer on the defensive, The One charged in, stringing together a quick three-hit combo that leveled the bear-man and caused another piece of loot, this one a colored garment, to fall to the ground. Retrieving and subsequently activating it caused The One to burst into flames that did not harm him, but would inflict considerable punishment to adversaries.

"Something that we felt was lacking in our previous titles was tangible loot," said Emmert. "This item can be placed onto your character to alter its appearance. Now the thing is, you don't need to display it if you don't want to; it's completely a player choice. If you want to show it off, great; if not, great. This particular item added a special ability, a flame effect: any target hit by your powers has a chance to catch on fire."

Emmert held out a closed fist. "There are three things I really want you guys to walk away understanding. One, we want total customization," he said, ticking each item off on a finger. "You'll see all the different costumes and super powers available to you. Two is the console action gameplay. Three, the vast environments."

With that, the burning hero sprinted past the screen of vegetation and headed deeper into the jungle. After a series of twisting paths that wound up steep hills and down into valleys crawling with monsters, The One discovered a hunting lodge encased in glass. Seemingly innocent in appearance, Emmert explained that the lodge is home to ARGENT, a corporation rendered illegal in most of the western world.

"Their headquarters is now basically a terrorist state," said Emmert. "They're using Monster Island as a resort where rich people can come and hunt the most dangerous game."

Steering clear of the lodge, The One turned and continued trudging through the overgrown jungle. The area began to gradually thin, weeds, dirt and stones giving way to craggy rock ground coated with veins of lava. The One stood silently surveying the terrain before throwing himself to the side. A boulder doused in flames cratered into the spot where he'd been standing moments before.

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Gallery: Champions Online Screenshots