We'd been asked by a number of Champions fans to pass on questions to Cryptic about the game, and one of them was whether or not we'd see playable secret identities. Roper answered:

"We have actually designs, probably in the not too distant future after the game launches, of doing a whole secret identity thing. I'd really like it to have gameplay impact, so for example if I choose an occupation, like if I was a scientist, then I could have a different look for my secret ID but when I was in my secret ID I could get a bonus to my science crafting skill,"

He went on to give further examples of possible benefits, such as a law enforcement secret ID that enables better evidence location. Roper explained that it would have been easy for them to just add another costume slot and tell players that's their secret identity, but they wanted it to be a full game feature.

After the lengthy talk from Roper, it was time for a hands-on with the game itself. As we'd been told, the customisation process is just massive. First of all, you get to choose what type of character you want to play, you start off with humanoid, then there's a whole host of other types ranging from the earlier 'Shark Man' to an insect-like being. Once you've picked your race, there's the gender to decide upon. Now the proper head scratching begins. Most body parts are scalable including forearms, neck, head, feet and so on. Then there's the small matter of a face, costume and accessories. There are thousands of possibilities, and just when you think you surely must be done, another set of options pop up. I opted for a lycra-wearing human male called Richard, with only a few spikes decorating his arms, legs, shoulders and head. I decided not to go for many of the huge accessories that you can strap to your avatar, just a pair of demon-like wings, and his powers were mind blasts. The player on one side of me chose a gun-wielding yellow insect and on the other side I noticed something that looked like Sinead O'Connor in a kilt.

When the game loads up, players find themselves in an emergency situation where they must help the police and military. A bug race has invaded Millennium City and you must rescue citizens, recover evidence and take out the bad guys. As Roper said earlier, the usual yellow "!" And "?" identify where quests or missions can be picked up. The first missions teach players how to perform the basic attacks and dodges, and reward players with some items to enhance their combat or defence, depending on their choice of play style. A quest tracker shows players where to head to complete their next mission on the mini map, and a list of quests sits just underneath.

This starting area takes players up to level 5, by which time they should have completed all the missions and been able to move on to the rest of the game. At the end of this section, players can learn their travel powers but, sadly for me, we could go no further than the starting area to test them out.

The art style we'd seen in screen shots from Cryptic was unique in that everything had a thick line around it, much like a hand-drawn cartoon. However, this option can be turned off which results in the game looking more like your conventional MMO.

After having heard all about this game from Bill Roper, then playing it, we were certainly impressed. Customisation is key in MMOs, and it's extremely unlikely that players will see other characters that match their own while playing Champions. The powers system is exciting and unique, and all the choices such as the colours of your powers and where they shoot from mean that each character will feel even more separate from the rest. Five levels of this game barely scratched the surface of possibilities - there is certainly plenty to keep gamers occupied for a good while.

Roper lastly revealed that the release date for Champions will be the 14 July in Europe and North America. Don't forget to read our interview with him from last month, which goes over many of the game mechanics and principles behind the game.

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