by Jeff Woleslagle on Aug 05, 2008
It's a different breed of superhero MMORPG...
Ten Ton Hammer recently got a little hands-on time with Champions Online and today we can finally tell you about the two instances we previewed. Snake Gulch, a beautifully rendered testimony to the creativity of the Champions lore, is a robot-powered Wild West theme park gone very wrong, and Stronghold is a high-tech supermax facility just begging for a breakout attempt.
"I was expecting a flat gray backdrop for this fight and immediately impressed at the quality of the art even in the cellblocks. Instead of hazing into a blur at the limits of the draw distance, the walls, floors, and distant objects took on an angular yet familiar look - exactly what you'd expect in a comic book. The effect amplified the detail in the foreground, drawing attention to the incredible job Cryptic has done with applying shaders and textures to the cell-shaded character models and objects. The comic book effect is carried forward in the animations, where freeze frames at the end of exaggerated swings, spell casts, and other actions punctuate the moves as well as a wham! or biff! bubble ever could."