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Thankfully, you do have another option. If you're still partial to the hero you took through Champions of Norrath, you can import his data over and pick up right where you left off. This is a wonderful option, and should be a genre standard by now. I'm loath to start from scratch every time I buy a sequel, and being able to bring back my cleric made my very happy.
Also new to this entry is the choice of light/dark paths that alter the storyline, but be warned, if you're thinking anything along the lines of Knights of the Old Republic, than Champions is happy to disappoint you yet again. With the exception of a few new areas, everything else remains the same, and there is no major alteration to the plot regarding your choices. After the standard that KOTOR set on how to offer multiple storylines in an action/RPG, this is something of a letdown.
The most glaring problem with Return to Arms has to be its random bugginess. Whether it's the ugly clipping that sometimes occurs as you walk through a level or the music cutting in and out during boss battles, there is a lack of polish here. The overall presentation is still excellent, even more so given the fact that this engine is basically four years old. Everything looks as beautiful as always, and the soundtrack is still haunting and dramatic. However, when you consider that many of these problems weren't present in the Baldur's Gate games or the first Champions, it raises some questions. The gameplay is mostly unaffected, but it simply shouldn't be an issue.
As I play through these types of games, it becomes more and more apparent that the dungeon crawler as a genre is in serious need of a make over. It has become somewhat stale as of late, with each new game simply mimicking those that come before it. While Return to Arms tries to overcome this, the overall roughness of the product and the lack of innovation in almost every area detract from what should be its biggest selling point- online play. Why this wasn't pushed more heavily by Sony is beyond me. Much deeper (and stable) than the first adventure, players can still communicate via USB headset and keyboard, and can now tackle the arena mode (essentially a survival mode) or even face off against each other. Characters are now stored on the servers, which means you can't use them in offline games. This forces you to have to build up at least two separate heroes, but it makes for a safer, cheat-free online environment.
Even with all these issues, I still played through Champions: Return to Arms. I love dungeon crawlers and Snowblind is still the best in the business when it comes to making them. The genre itself is in need of a shot in the arm, and I believe that they're better qualified than anyone to do it, given their track record. That's why I'm willing to overlook the bugs and tired formula. Taken for what it is, Return to Arms offers plenty of fun and a great online component that needs to be fleshed out more in future releases. Though not as powerful as in the past, there's still some magic left in the land of Norrath
Screens courtesy of Gamekult.com
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