Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

You'll do some running around and rescue passengers on the frozen lake not to mention free others encased in ice. At some point you'll also be directed to pick a crafting class. While it's tempting to skip this, you'll actually need the created device to survive a later boss encounter. On a nearby mountain alongside one of the NPC Champions is a standard dimensional portal that will take you to where a villain is summoning something powerful enough to doom mankind. This dimension did have a creepy element to it and not following the NPC's advice about killing certain things first proved fatal in the final fight. This is where the preview of Canada ended and likely will push you towards a more challenging area.

In a Desert on a Horse with No Name

If cold weather and moose aren't your thing, Champions gives you a second choice to earn your early levels. The desert zone is actually a military base that could easily be named Black Mesa. Toss out those creepy ice zombies and replace them with irradiated soldiers. One of your earliest missions will send you up against guys with miniature nuclear warheads strapped to their back. Your objective is to not only take them out but disarm the warhead before it explodes. While it wasn't too challenging once you've tried it a few times, I was blasted in the air more than once. Other tasks will have you activate defense turrets, deactivate a Fallout 3 sized atomic bomb, and kill plenty of radioactive creatures.

Like Canada you'll be directed to a crafting mission that you'll want to complete if you hope to survive the boss instance to follow. Once the correct mission series is finished it will be time to enter a vault deep in the side of a nearby cliff face. Its here you'll learn of a super soldier who has gone quite mad will, of course, oppose you. To even face him however, you'll have to fight your way through dozens of creatures and use the crafted anti-radiation device to survive. This instance felt significantly more difficult than the dimensional portal in Canada. This concluded my adventure in the desert, and I can only assume you return to Millennium City to continue your adventures.

I walked away from Champions Online with a number of impressions, and although I only saw the first few levels, if the rest of the content follows suit it should be a solid game. These levels felt like a good comic book story with lore and design creating a believable environment. As Cryptic presents more for the press to see, we'll be sure to provide you with previews of other areas so be sure to keep checking back. Look for Champions Online to hit retail July 14th .