City of Heroes Review

As you journey from one part of Paragon City to another, meeting contacts and retrieving clues from missions, you will encounter different evil factions as they try to further their diabolical plans. Combat has lots of eye candy as attacks are accompanied with visual displays and sound effects corresponding to the type of attack. Ice bolts crackle, electricity sparks and rings of fire sizzle as you battle the forces of evil. Street gangs like the Skulls or Hellions deface property and mug passing citizens, The Circle of Thorns, a fanatical pagan cult engage in strange rituals at the feet of huge statues in city parks as they try to summon minions into our world. Skyscrapers dot the horizon and if you have the power to teleport or fly, you can do battle twenty stories up or stand on top of them and survey the city below. You truly feel like you are playing a comic book.

Super-heroes are usually more buffed than average folks...

... I'm sure it has something to do with their diet.

Finally, Cryptic Studios has to be given huge credit for releasing such a polished game on their first outing. City of Heroes has had very few issues commonly associated with the launch of a MMORPG. They must have taken notes from other recent title launches and have done a great job with server stability, communicating with customers about problems and their resolution and providing a game that is mostly lag free and has content for low, mid and high range characters right from launch. Also, even though the game has only been out for a month, the first content update is scheduled to go live any day now adding new areas to the city, new crime factions to battle and other new content.

Still some things need improvement. When looking for a team to group with, you should be able to see what level the person that is giving you the invitation is. When you are looking for teammates as a group leader, you can see the level of those looking for a team, but not vice versa. Too many times, I have joined a group that is many levels below me and I have to make apologies and excuse myself. I am not opposed to helping others out; I just do not want to spend all my time babysitting.

Another small feature I would like to see added is the ability to promote others in the group to leader status. As groups lose players and add others through extended gaming sessions, the person at the top of the list is the leader. If he leaves the group, the person directly under him takes on the leader role and the responsibility to recruit new teammates and select missions. If that person does not want to lead, they must quit the group and then be re-invited by the next person in line. This process continues until the group finds someone who wants to lead. The option to promote a leader from within the group ranks would be a nice addition.

Finally the time it takes to log out is far too long. Currently you have a 25 second wait and if you hit your keyboard at all it stops the logout process and you have to try again. The time should be reduced to about ten seconds if you are not in combat or have agro.

Again, these are very minor issues.

Cryptic Studios rose to challenge of providing a great alternative to the typical fantasy MMORPG and ended up with a game that looks and plays great. While some are not happy that the game is not EverQuest in spandex, due to the lack of crafting, no PvP (at present time) and no player housing, City of Heroes stays true to the comic books that inspired its creation. In doing so, they've created an exciting gaming world that has brought many new players who never considered playing a MMORPG to Paragon City and the alter ego of a super hero. For a long time comic book fan and MMORPG player like myself, City of Heroes is a dream come true.