I'm putting this in "Other Games" because I don't think my intended audience is the choir, strictly speaking. If you've always loved Champions Online, you obviously won't relate to this. If you can't put a finger on what unsettles you about CO, read on, maybe you'll find that you can relate to me.
I HATED the art style in CO when I first checked it out (and by extension, the Cryptic art style in general post-COH); but weirdly, after being away from CO for 9 months, I find myself kind of missing it, and wondering if that's some strange form of MMO masochism. So I've been thinking about why that is. I think I finally put my finger on it.
I think City of Heroes, even with older graphics, had better art direction and its look and feel was more immersive than CO's super-glossy, super colorful and bright art direction. I also think the world of stories in COH had greater dramatic appeal and the plot lines a greater sense of urgency.
Nevertheless, I have a couple of characters of the classic four-color variety that actually "pop" better in CO. I feel like they're right at home there. That wasn't enough to make ME feel right at home there, but there's something about CO that I still miss. Fast forward a bit to NW's launch--a game that I have enjoyed. I think I can partly blame NW for softening me on Cryptic's glossy leanings. It's a darker game artistically; it's colorful but not as overtly. In NW, I was able to view the same deal from a different angle. I think the deal with Cryptic's games is, Cryptic doesn't want to be totally immersive to surreal degrees; they want their video games to look like video games, with exaggerated angles and pretty colors and whiz-bang special effects that make you want to stare at it all for just a little while longer.
Problem is--or was--that's pretty damn jarring coming from more down-to-Earth art direction like COH's. But it's also kind of where the industry is heading, outside of the last bastions of hyper-realism in MMORPGs like Funcom and CCP. For better or worse, I'm getting used to it and learning to like it. But I can't call any of these places home. They might as well have a sign above the gateway that says, "Not another world; just a video game." I guess it was just a matter of time until 21st Century cynicism caught up with one of the most escapist genres in existence.
CO slowly grew on me, through play and through recollection over the past 9 months. It's not home. It's the Saturday morning cartoon of the super hero MMO genre. Its story does not illustrate the most engaging comic book universe. But it's good, light-hearted fun, and fun to look at (now that I know what I'm really looking at).