Champions Online

Just a quick reminder before you hit the Halloween parties this weekend: Cryptic Studios is allowing everyone to play their super hero MMO Champions Online for free beginnng at 1 pm Eastern time today through 1 pm on November 2. This will allow players to check out the Halloween themed Blood Moon live event. You can download the client now ahead of the free weekend.

Cryptic's Bill Roper posted up a State of the Game message on the game's forums earlier this week which goes over some of the stuff that's happening during the Blood Moon event. He also hints at some upcoming stuff they have planned for the game including another live event for December and " . . . the very big surprise we have in store for early 2010..."

The Champions Online Bloodmoon Halloween event started yesterday, but for those who still haven't logged into the game yet, the developers at Cryptic Studios give a complete run down of the features players can expect. Events include hunting werewolves, with the possibility of becoming a werewolf (and being hunted) if bit. There's also a new Celestial power set to try out and a special holiday PvP mode where a band of heroes must try to fend off a horde of zombies, but if any fall, they will become zombies themselves. The Bloodmoon event is live now and will end on November 5th.

Download HD Champions Online 'Bloodmoon' Video (87 MB)
Check out all Champions Online downloads

If you have been thinking about checking out Champions Online but don't want to pony up the $40 to play the game, developer Cryptic Studios has got the perfect opportunity to check the game now soon. Starting on October 30 anyone will be able to download and play the full game for free until November 2.

The occasion of the free weekend is to give potential new Champions Online players a chance to sample the first live update to the game, the Halloween-themed Blood Moon. The first live event actually begins a few days before the free weekend takes place. Remember, Cryptic and publisher Atari recently lowered the price of the game permanently to $40.

Released about six weeks ago or so, sales of Champions Online were good enough that the super hero MMO debut at the number three spot in NPD Group's just released list of the top 20 best selling PC games in September. Now it looks like the price of Cryptic Studios' latest title has gotten a permanent price drop.

Our sister site Joystiq reports that the original $50 price point for the game has now come down to just $40 for retail sites like Amazon and GameStop and even download services like Steam and Direct2Drive. The game's first major live event, Blood Moon, is scheduled to begin on October 27.

It's been a little while since we have seen any lists from the NPD Group on retail PC game sales. The organization decided to no longer release their weekly top 10 PC game sales lists to the media but today they did release their top 20 best selling PC games for the month of September in retail stores.

It's not a shock to learn that NCsoft's fantasy MMO Aion was the number one best selling PC game for the month as it was already selling well in pre-orders online. The Collectors Edition made it to number four for the month. EA's The Sims 3 continues to do well in the number two slot while Cryptic Studios' super hero MMO Champions Online made a strong debut at number 3. Blizzard's MMO expansion World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King made it at number four.

One interesting note before we get to the list itself. Phantom EFX has two of their popular casino PC games in the top 20 list but their hardcore PC FPS Darkest of Days, released in September, failed to make the top 20.

1. Aion - NCsoft
2. The Sims 3 - Electronic Arts
3. Champions Online - Cryptic Studios/Atari
4. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Blizzard
5. Aion Collector's Edition - NCsoft
6. Mumbo Jumbo Assortment - Mumbo Jumbo
7. The Sims 3 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts
8. World of Warcraft Battle Chest - Blizzard
9. Real Deal Slots Treasures of the Far East - Phantom EFX
10. World of Warcraft - Blizzard
11. Spore - Electronic Arts
12. Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
13. StarCraft: Battle Chest - Blizzard
14. Zuma's Revenge - Popcap Games
15. World of Warcraft: the Burning Crusade - Blizzard
16. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Rocksteady/Eidos
17. Real Deal Slots Adventure - Phantom EFX
18. Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Seas - Her Interactive
19. Civilization IV: The Compete Edition - Firaxis/2K Games
20. The Sims 2 University Life Collection - Electronic Arts

Developer Cryptic Studios decided not to waste any time in creating Champions Online's first free content expansion/update. The super hero MMO had already announced plans for their Halloween-themed event Blood Moon but this week they gave out more info on the update which begins on October 27.

The Blood Moon event itself will last until November 10 and has 13 previously dead super heroes coming alive as zombies under the control of the villain Takofanes. The event will add the healing-support themed Celestial power set to the game and if you manage to defeat all 13 zombie-fied heroes you gain access to the new power set two weeks before everyone else in the game. More info about Blood Moon, including new perks, rare item drops, rewards and more, can be found at the Champions Online web site.

With the release of Cryptic's new MMO, Champions Online, there are now two superhero MMOs on the market. The first is Cryptic's old game, City of Heroes (now under the direction of Paragon Studios under NCsoft), and the distinctions between the two are very striking. If you don't have the money to throw down on subscriptions to both games, though, you probably want to choose just one. That's where we come in. We've played both Champions Online and City of Heroes extensively, and here's a comparison for what you want. Do you prefer character customization or content? We know the right game for your tastes.

The NVIDIA line of graphics processors are among the most popular (if not the most popular) brand of high-end gaming hardware available today. However, some would argue that these days, graphics cards are offering fewer significant returns with each successive generation. With this in mind, it becomes important for the company to start shifting focus from strictly speed and high resolution frame rates (which are still a very important aspects of PC gaming) to the addressing the gameplay experience itself. One step in this direction was through adopting PhysX technology into its repertoire and having the software run using GPU instead of through a separate card. With PhysX, PC games offer deeper immersion using effects that operate in a realistic non-scripted fashion, like with smoke, cloth and liquids moving in real-time.

NVIDIA's 3D Vision technology takes the game experience even further by bringing games into the third dimension by stereoscoping games in real-time and using special shutter glasses. Unfortunately, not a lot of gamers have $600 to spend on 3D graphics. The glasses alone cost over $100 and the required 3D ready monitors that have a 120Hz refresh rates are very expensive and hard to find, leaving 3D out of the hands of the average consumer. However, NVIDIA has found a way around the prohibitive costs and an easy way to deliver a 3D experience. Not counting the cost of the video card itself, gamers can use NVIDIA 3D Vision Discover for almost nothing... or in some cases, exactly nothing. That's right, by taking the PhysX approach and incorporating 3D technology into the software drivers, PC gamers can literally give their games more depth.

Download the Resident Evil 5 Benchmark

City of Heroes' five-year monopoly on the comic book superhero MMO space came to an end recently with the much anticipated release of Champions Online. Based on the pen and paper role playing game and developed by Cryptic Studios, the company that originally started CoH in the first place, Champions is the newest contender for players who want to slip into virtual spandex, suits of armor, mystic robes and everything in between. They all come together to protect Millennium City, a metropolis under siege by practically every conceivable domestic, mystical, extradimensional and extraterrestrial threat.

Check out all Champions Online downloads

Games that are coming out soon have a lot of unknowns that the average person might not know. Who is this character inspired by? Is all the talk of volumetric fog or cel-shaded graphics really worthwhile? Do the game mechanics really seem solid, or are they lackluster? In All You Need To Know we provide information to help you fully appreciate what these upcoming games have to offer.

Superhero games are one of the major archetypes, and they range everywhere in genre from extreme action to in-depth tactical strategy. So far there has only been one in the MMO genre: City of Heroes. The original developer, Cryptic, sold the rights (and most of the original team) to NCSoft to focus on their newest game, Champions Online. Naturally, this game is what Cryptic knows best after years of support: a superhero MMO. Now that they have the license that they originally wanted, Cryptic has decided to take on their pals head-on. Here's hoping that the Champions backdrop is substantial enough to push its online iteration forward.

Champions Online has just completed its first official day of operations (notwithstanding the folks who played in the Early Start period) and it looks like some changes to the game's balance have cause a number of the players to get upset. Now it looks like developer Cryptic Studios will allow players to "retcon" their character back to a previous level.

In the meantime, the first info has been revealed about Blood Moon, the first major free update to the game that will be released in October. Looks like players will have to fight off zombies and werewolf packs in this Halloween themed event.

Just in case you haven't been paying attention for the last few months, developer Cryptic Studios and publisher Atari have officially launched their long awaited super hero MMO Champions Online here in the US today (Europeans still have to wait until Friday to get their chance to play the game).

In a new "State of the Game" message from Cryptic's Bill Roper he states that they have already made some adjustments to the game just before the official launch based on input from people who got to play the full version a few days early. Some players have found that the missions are not challenging enough and Roper states, "We're usually going to initially err on the side of it being too easy, and then trial and dial in on just the right balance as best we can." He goes into detail on what they have done to adjust the game before launch as well as fix a few bugs. He is also hinting about the game's first free content update which will be titled "Blood Moon". Sounds like an October-Halloween theme to us.

Today marks the official release day for the comic book themed MMO, Champions Online. This launch trailer gives prospective superheroes a quick look at what the game has to offer before the players immerse themselves into fighting superpowered villainy.

Download HD Champions Online 'Comics Come to Life' Trailer (143 MB)
Check out all Champions Online downloads

The fall PC game release season begins this week with three titles; a super hero MMO, a sci-fi multiplayer shooter and an a cute looking action games from the creators of, oddly enough, the Hitman games.

Champions Online: Cryptic Studios' long awaited next super hero MMO (based on the long running pen-and-paper RPG series, officially launches today. The series blends in a lot of what Cryptic created for City of Heroes (the extensive character creation tool, the fast action) with a bigger variety of locations and a more "cartoony" art style.

Earlier this week Cryptic Studios announced that they had "run out" of their limited supply of lifetime and six-month subscriptions for their upcoming super hero MMO Champions Online. There was a huge outcry of players as a result of this news as they thought they had until the game's launch date of September 1 to purchase those subscription options.

Apparently yelling in message boards can on occasion help as Cryptic has now announced that they have reinstated both offers and will let players purchase those subscriptions, with no supply limit, until 11:59 pm PT on August 31. News of the offer has apparently been so popular that at the moment the game's account server is having issues dealing with the traffic.

Just to recap: The six-month billing plan will save you $29.95 over a regular monthly subscription. It also gets you access to an exclusive art deco-style costume set and more importantly access to the closed beta for Star Trek Online. Cryptic states that their MMO based on the sci-fi TV and movie franchise will begin "later this year".

And what about that lifetime subscription plan? Well for $199 you will never have to pay any monthly fees for the game ever again. In addition to the Star Trek Online closed beta access and the art deco costume set you will also get an additional Champions Online costume set (retro future), a Mirror Universe uniform for Star Trek Online when the game officially launches (very nice), an in-game Foxbat action figure and a whopping eight additional character slots for Champions Online.