At this point, we ran into our first real challenge. As we exited the back side of the shattered building, a horrific hulking alien bounded over to attack us. Glaring yellow eyes stared at us blankly, without much hint of intelligence. The back of the thing was covered in spikes, and its lanky arms ended in a set of wicked claws. Strange tubes on the arms indicated chemical or cybernetic enhancements of some sort. With nary a thought for our own personal safety, the Dark Duo engaged the alien monstrosity in combat.
As you can see from the depiction above, our haste and thirst for battle nearly lead to our tragic undoing. Dark Fighter landed a series of mighty strikes against the bizarre beast, but Dark Scarab got just a bit too close while launching volley after volley of arcane bolts. With a mighty roar, the alien swept the unfortunate mysticist backwards off his feet, where he landed with an undignified thump. Steady as a rock, Dark Fighter bravely kept at it, and by the time Dark Scarab got to his feet, the enormous otherworldly menace fell to the ground in a heap. We had won!
Emboldened by our victory, we rounded a street corner, and found a poor, defenseless woman cowering in a doorway. The hysterical lady begged us for assistance in making her way back to safety, and of course Dark Fighter and Dark Scarab offered to help without hesitation. A few tense moments ensued, with an attack by flying, batlike aliens giving the biggest scare. However, our two heroes prevailed without much trouble, and the woman, relieved, granted us an experience point reward, enough to take us both to the second level of super-heroic power.
Champions Online has been a great experience so far. The game engine doesn't push our older second computer when set to the lowest settings, and the limited privileges of a free to play account are more than enough to satisfy our superheroic appetites. The game is fairly intuitive, even for a nice year old, and gameplay itself is fast, fun, and engaging. MMOs are always great cooperative experiences, and Champions Online is no exception to that rule. I look forward to making many more memories with my son as we chronicle the adventures of Dark Fighter and Dark Scarab, known henceforth as the Dark Duo!