This game will blow you away. Period.
User Rating: 9.3 | City of Heroes PC
City of Heroes is the angel from heaven for every comic book fan who wanted a cool superhero video game. I must say that when I was first talked into buying it by the guy working in Gamestop I was very skeptical. At the time I had been playing Final Fantasy XI and was not looking at changing. However one time during one of FFXI’s long maintenance sessions I thought I would pop City of Heroes in and play it for a bit. I haven’t touched FFXI since. The graphics in this game are very well done. The detail does leave a little to be desired at times but when the size of the city and all of the fully done buildings and cool little alleyways are taken into consideration, it’s not important. There are many little nooks and crannies in the city to chase bad guys into. Overall I give graphics and aesthetic appeal in this game an 8. Another awesome aspect of the game is the huge character creation process where you can make an individual character (in other words you won’t meet ten people who look just like you). As long as you are original in your ideas the chances of meeting a clone are very, very slim. You can choose whether to be a male, female, or huge (a big beastly looking hulk-type character). Then you get to pick between a huge variety of faces, jackets, helmets, tights, t-shirts, tank tops, boots… the list could go forever. Gameplay in this game is extremely combat focused. It is not like other MMORPGs where you can do non combat almost economical activity (i.e. auctioning, fishing, mining…). You level in this game through combat. You make money in this game through combat. You boost your powers through combat. There is no other way. You can trade influence (money) with other players for enhancements or inspirations (both covered later) but that is one of the only economical things you can do in this game. Thankfully the combat interface is easy to learn and to use. You can click on individual powers to use them or use the keyboard, whichever you prefer. Gameplay in this game gets a 9. I would give it a 10 but because of the lack of side quests and other non combat activities it doesn’t deserve one. Powers are boosted using enhancements. Enhancements are semi permanent items that can be tacked onto a power. Enhancements do things such as boost damage or reduce recharge times. Inspirations are temporary power boosts used when things look grim. Some inspirations boost attack power or accuracy or things of that nature. Inspirations only last thirty seconds but that is usually long enough. Unlike almost all other RPGs this game lacks an “inventory.” You can carry up to 10 enhancements that are not tacked onto an individual power but that is all. Another aspect of the gameplay also is part of the wonderfully diverse character creation process. You must pick your archetype which determines the powers you receive and the way you fight. The archetypes are blaster, controller, defender, scrapper, and tanker. Blasters are long ranged damage dealers with a low defense. Controllers have a low defense and use their powers to hold large groups of foes and inhibit their attack powers. Defenders boost the attack powers of their allies and hurt the attack powers of their enemies. Scrappers are melee damage dealers with a high defense. Tankers are melee attackers who take a lot of damage but remain standing due to their high defense. Your origin is also another decision that will need to be made. You will have to choose between being a natural, science, magic, mutation, or technology hero. Your origin has little effect on the gameplay but it is still a nice touch. Sound in this game is amazing. All the bams, bops, and smacks will blow you away. The sound effects are very diverse and are all appropriate to the situations they are heard. Though no characters speak, that is hardly important to the overall role sound plays in this game. I give sound a 10. I personally feel that this game is beyond value. It is very interesting that you can spend hours playing this game and it will feel like nothing. In most MMORPGs (at least for me) after an hour or two it gets old and you have to get up and do something else. City of Heroes keeps your attention because you know as soon as you get 500 more experience points you can get that new power you want or use some new enhancements. If you are into comic books and superheroes then you will agree with me that as far as value is concerned this game gets a 10. Reviewer’s tilt for me is a 10 because I love superheroes and MMORPGs so this game is for me. If you aren’t into crushing bad guys and saving the planet then this game isn’t for you. So overall I give this game a 9.3. I felt that it was an excellently put together work with few glitches and a lot of replay value. Thanks for reading! 
