City of Heroes

"A simplistic game with very visible flaws"

I really wanted to like this game. From the outset, I was taken with the way it was laid out. I knew it wasn't too involved, though. I read enough reviews prior to purchasing the game to know that. I went into it expecting a month's worth of entertainment, and I got that, just barely, so if you want a review that tells you how the game plays out, this is the one for you. I'll let you know why you probably won't end up renewing, and what you can expect for your $40.

Sound/Graphics: 9/10 - I'm lumping these together because they're just window dressing. Yep, looks good. Yep, sounds good. Not much more that needs to be said about it. I doubt many people will have qualms with the sound or the graphics, although I would have to say that force field bubbles sound effects just about make me want to tear my hair out after a few minutes.

Gameplay: 2/10 - Gameplay is pathetic. It's every bit as repetitive as everyone says it is, and once you get through remaking characters until you figure out one you like, you'll be reduced to the xp grind from hell. The xp curve is not the least bit smooth. You hit a wall around level 12-15, depending on your class, maybe even sooner if you're not a great soloing profession, and from there, the curve basically becomes a vertical climb. Early players gained the benefits of imbalanced powers that were basically exploits you couldn't help but use, because if you didn't, the game was just not rewarding enough for the time invested. Now most of those powers have been fixed, and all of us coming along later are consigned to the hell that is xp grinding, There's only one way to get xp, and that's fight mobs. There's nothing else to keep you advancing, and everything else is just a waste of time, moreso as you get higher because it takes long enough to level anyway, without wasting time playing with emotes or RPing. There's no room for the "casual gamer" after 12 or so, because the time investment becomes enormous, and the rewards really aren't that fantastic after you get a movement power at 14 (or sooner for kinetic archetypes). There is currently no game on the market that rewards you as little as this game does after 15ish for time invested. Teaming is messed up, also, and you can't get reasonable xp in groups unless everyone is within a level of each other, with equal levels being ideal, but difficult to manage. Oh, and let's not forget that initially you'll be missing a LOT, too. They re-balanced (cough) the mobs so now you'll be whiffing about 50% of the time. They say you'll hit 75% of the time, but it's a flat out lie. You don't feel very heroic when you miss time and time again while your enemies hit you at least 75% of the time or more.

There's really nothing much more to say. I could go into details on how it becomes a grind, but trust me, there's no reason to. Games become a grind because they're incapable of making the activities which give you experience fun enough to cover that up, and this game excels at this, even moreso than SWG, and I really didn't think that was possible. I'd recommend you pass on this game, unless you're just dying for something to eat up a few weeks, which, while you're learning the nuances, will be relatively fun. If you're looking for something you'll want to play for months on end, this isn't it. Each patch sucks more of the life out of the game, and ruins what little fun this game initially had. Oh, and don't plan on soloing much, either. It's apparent that NCsoft doesn't want players doing that at high levels, either, so even archetypes that are good at soloing are finding that harder as time goes on, and with the game being such a tremendous grind, being solo and trying to grind things out, well, let's just say you'll find yourself thinking of what kinds of household chores you could be doing instead...

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/04