City of Heroes

"When the gimmick is better then the game"

As the only comic book based MMORPG on the market, this game has a head start in trying to differentiate itself from its competitors in what has become an overcrowded gaming field. Instead of creating a Drizzt Do'Urden or Elminster clone in the vast majority of fantasy MMORPGs, you get the chance to roleplay a clone of your favorite superhero, whether it be Iron Man or Green Lantern. And for the more creatively gifted, an original superhero. However, once you get past the initial joy of creating a superhero, you'll find that the gameplay is hardly different from what is currently offered by other MMORPGs.

Graphics: 8/10 - Solid visuals. Not the best character models around, but the special effects for attacks are fairly impressive. Hard not to be able to tell a fire based blaster from an energy based blaster. You can get some impressive fireworks going on in large parties with everyone nuking all over the place. The environment looks fairly impressive. You get a real sense of actually traveling through a large, living city with moving cars and a lot of NPCs populating the various zones. Too bad there is almost no interaction with most of the characters or objects in the game.

Sound: 6/10 - I'm sorry to say but even after having beta tested this game for over a month, I couldn't tell you much about the music. Not a single memorable track among the group. And most of the time, there is no music playing period. The sound, however, is solid. Appropriate sound FX for the appropriate attacks, etc. The banter from the townspeople, however, can get annoying when you save them for the billionth time.

Character Generation: 10/10 - The strong point of the game. About the only thing left out is cloaks (either I was unable to find it in the character generation setup during all that time or they were simply not included in the game). Pretty much anything can be customized to your liking, from belts to emblems to hairstyle. Lot of choices for every customizable item. Not a game where you'll have a problem seeing too many clones of yourself.

Gameplay: 5/10 - Ths first knock on the game is no PvP. It won't be implemented until the City of Villains expansion. Along with no trade skills, that means this game is purely about slaying critters level after level until you hit the level cap. Speaking of trade, there is virtually none in this game. The only items you pickup during your travels through the game are powerup enhancements which powerup your various skills. All that and money. At the higher levels, powerups are attuned to specific character types (powerups for mutants only, or for magic & science characters, etc.). The bottom line here is that most of the time, you'll be using store bought powerups. Most of the ones you find are usually worthless and inferior to store bought ones. Few people don't bother trading because since your inventory is limited to 10 powerups, they usually sell them as soon as they can and take the cash. And why bother trading for stuff when stores provide all you need? Combat itself is no different then any other game. A blaster is nothing more then a mage in a superhero's world. High on long range nukes and low on hp. Sound familiar, eh? Also, higher level players and hardcore gamers have little to work towards. In Star Wars: Galaxies, you could work towards housing, owning a pet Rancor, or even being a Jedi. Lineage 2 has its dragon raising. Most games at least have some rare items that can be obtained through special quests. You'll find nothing of that sort in City of Heroes. Quests are also poorly implemented. Rarely are they soloable and because you are fighting in closed quarters (most quests take place in buidlings, caves, etc.), you have little room to flee or fly away if your party gets into trouble. The higher risks are not balanced out with greater rewards. Most players should avoid questing and stick to fighting mobs outdoors for their leveling. The XP will be faster and you won't die as much. If I have anything positive to say about the gameplay, it is that the interface is easy to pickup and that it takes almost no time to find something to fight. Usually, it takes no more then a minute from the moment you log on to find things to kill.

Conclusion: Frankly, I'm getting somewhat tired of what's been produced lately in the MMORPG genre. There isn't enough innovation. The comic book gimmick will only go so far before people see that this game offers the same tired gameplay we've been seeing in the genre for ages. Personally, I'm passing on this game until something fresh comes along. If you've never played MMORPGs before, then I wouldn't mind recommending this to you. It is easy to pickup and the gameplay would be new to you.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/15/04