After training the levels received from carving our path of
carnage through the bank, I was whisked away to Stravana's secret base,
Abyssal Planes. Honestly, how can you be taken seriously as a super
villain if you don't have a secret hideout? After witnessing the pure
genius that is the CoX
character creation system, it came as no
surprise to find the bases are, in one word, un-freakin-believable! The
screenshots I've included in the review can't do it justice. It takes
time and effort to grow your base from that first single room into a
haven so cool, it makes the Bat Cave look like...well, a cave, but it
will be well worth the effort to make the architect in you
happy. Along with the smorgasbord of decorating possibilities
available, there
are also functional items you can add, like teleporters, crafting
tables, extra storage, and empowerment stations.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: right; width: 200px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/50649"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/50649/preview">

style="font-style: italic;">Your own personal portal. style="font-style: italic;">

To build a base, you need to be in a Supergroup (think of them as
guilds) that can be created with... wait for it... one person! How many
times have you been running along in the game of your choice and seen
players target="_blank">calling
out for people to join their guild ("You don't need to
stay, I just need X people") just so they can create a particular item
in the game? They don't have any urge to run a large guild, they just
have a name in mind. I can't stress how much I wish other games would
allow you to create a guild with a single person. Being a one man
Supergroup may leave you a lot of work to get the base of your dreams,
but at least this way, you don't have to argue with anyone over the
choice of decor! 



Since we're on the topic of all things cool, let me take a minute to
explain one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a game yet: the Ouroboros
Flashback System. The name may be clunky, but the concept is anything
but. How often in your gaming career have you wished you could go back
to a series of quests just because they were a lot of fun, but
didn’t want to take the time to get another character up to
that level? If you're anything like me, you simply reminisce about the
good old days of your character's early career and move on. Well no
more, Sunshine! The Ouroboros Flashback System allows you to go back to
any story arc your character could have participated in. Notice how I
said, "could have"? Starting at level 25, you can go to the Ouroboros
and find a list of every past story arc (equal to or under your level),
select one, and go play it. Whether you've already gone through the arc
before, or it's one you may have missed, they're all there just waiting
for you to jump in. How freaking cool is that?



My mind is still reeling from all the things I saw this week. There are
so many new and exciting systems that I still haven't checked out, but
sound fantastic, such as Strike/Task Forces. These are a series of
quests that require you to get a group together to complete. Think of
it as a mini-raid that still requires all the skill and strategy of a
full-blown raid. Don't believe me? Waltz into the final mission on the
Roman-themed Imperious Strike/Task Force like you're taking a stroll on
a Sunday afternoon and see what happens. To picture the massive ambush
of gladiators raining down on you, think of last year's surprise
blockbuster, 300. Stroll in like you own the place and it's not going
to be pretty.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: left; width: 200px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/50650"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/50650/preview">

style="font-style: italic;">You know you want it!

I could go on and on about some of the spectacular things I've
witnessed, but let's get off the Mellow Yellow for a bit and come back
down to Earth. Even though this game has come light-years from the
boring 1-2-3, rinse, repeat game that I played in the past, there are
still a number of things I'm not overly happy about.



In this day and age, everyone expects a company to reinvent everything,
to be original, and target="_blank">to
be creative. I'll agree with this wish list in a
number of areas, but there are certain times when this creed should be
completely ignored. Camera control in an MMOG should be one of those
things that should be left alone. The majority of us have been playing
other games for years, so why not make the camera control scheme work
the same way as virtually every other game we've played? Hold the right
mouse button down and move the mouse to pivot the screen off your
character. Why does the default control scheme in style="font-style: italic;">CoX want me to
actually use the keyboard for this? I don't know and quite frankly,
find it a little more than astonishing. 



The user interface is also non-intuitive and quite often, I found
myself spending an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out where
some things were (such as how do I tell what level my character is).
Combine this with pieces of the UI automatically attaching themselves
to other windows when you open them and you now have a system that
becomes more frustrating than it is helpful.

style="margin: 10px; border-collapse: collapse; float: right; width: 200px;"
border="1">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/50646"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/50646/preview">

style="font-style: italic;">Yeah, you know. Me and Lord Recluse
are tight like that.

To be fair, I was able to remap everything the way I wanted, and I
eventually figured out how to unattach various windows, and the camera
control has now been set to *almost* the way I want it. Some of this I
managed to figure out on my own (do I get a cookie now?), while other
issues found their resolution with another shining star among the
tapestry of CoX's
night sky, the community. The people I met in my
travels were all very friendly, helpful, and never rude. On the
contrary, quite a few of them were very playful, and it's easy to see a
deep sense of roleplaying permeates the game and its players.
Communities like this have become increasingly rare to discover, but
when they're found, they are deeply enjoyed.



Before I let the game off any hooks though, I do have one final
complaint that I must air out. With a melee-based character, the combat
is initially too slow for my tastes. It feels clunky and with a limited
number of powers, it feels as though you’re hitting your hot
keys then waiting for your cooldown timer to refresh with the speed of
sap sliding down a maple tree in January. It's not *actually* that
slow, but compared to the fast paced combat the majority of games out
there share, it's slow enough to be noticeable in comparison. The good
news though, is that your character will not only gain speed as he or
she progresses, but with the addition of new powers (every two levels),
you'll quickly find yourself with a wide enough range of abilities that
there will always be one available for use.



I have to admit that I'm completely shocked at how much has been
changed, improved, and added to this game since I had last played it.
The alterations are nothing short of amazing, and the amount of new
content is simply staggering. If this week's release of Issue 13 is any
indication, they're on the right path and they're not content to just
sit on their laurels and make minor adjustments here and there either.
Coming down the road in Issue 14 is something players have been crying
for in every MMOG - the ability to have player created content. Players
will be able to design their own missions, bosses, story arcs, and
more. The candle of CoX
is shining brightly already folks. Be sure to
get those sunglasses ready when they take the next step!

src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/reviews/hammerIcon35x35_2.gif"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/reviews/hammerIcon35x35_2.gif"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/reviews/hammerIcon35x35_2.gif"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/reviews/hammerIcon35x35_2.gif"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album36/hammerIconHalf35x35.gif">

(4.5 / 5
Hammers)