Customer Reviews

City of Heroes

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

Update: I've now been playing for almost a month. I have one character (Empathy/Radiation Defender) now up to level 20, and a Fire/Fire Blaster at Level 14. The game continues to be at least as much fun as it was in the beginning. Went on my first Task Force mission over the weekend, got to level 20, took Group Fly as the new power at that level which is a lot of fun, etc. I don't quite get what all these no-star reviews are trying to say; this is the best computer game I've ever played. Beyond the first 7 levels or so, the real fun comes in grouping with other players to take on higher level missions and all of the social interaction that happens within a good group. Grouping is very easy and there's no problem finding people to group with even when you don't know anyone. Pretty soon your /friends list will be full.

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I pretty much ignored this title until recently. I mean, a game where you get to play a "superhero". How childish. How stupid.

How wrong.

After seeing the incredible buzz that this game has gotten in the week or two since release, I actually looked into it and decided to give it a try based on all the positive comments and reviews.

My previous MMOG experience has been limited to a couple failed attempts to get interested in EverQuest (a humorless torture mechanism that will suck the very living soul from your body as it crushes your will to live and tries to push you over the edge toward becoming a homacidal maniac) which I couldn't really get into for some reason.

But City of Heroes sounded like it might be good as a diversion for a while and, sure enough, even after a relatively short period of play I find I'm having as much fun with this as with any computer game I've played.

There are a lot of good things to say about this game, but for me the thing that ultimately matters is that it's actually *fun* to play rather than just being an experience grind to gain ever more levels. Right from the beginning when you find out you can jump high enough to soar over fences, trucks, walls, etc. (though not buildings with a single bound, at least not until later in the game) it's fun running around beating up bad guys, doing simple missions, etc.

The character customization capability is one of the standouts in this game. I don't think I've yet seen two players that were similar enough to each other that you could confuse them.

The urban terrain works very well (and is a nice change from dungeons and hobbits). The skills and character development options are many and varied, making replay or multiple-character play rewarding. And then there's flying.

I haven't gotten to a high enough level yet to get the ability to fly, but you have only to read the descriptions of other players to see that they've managed to capture one of man's oldest desires in a convincing way.

Even if you're not a superhero fan (and I certainly wouldn't have described myself that way) you may find that all that changes once *you* get to be the superhero.

G.

City of Heroes: If you didnt exactly like Everquest, or SWG, and are tired of L33T kids/adults broadcasting junk all game then City of Heroes is for you.

My History: I played Everquest for 2 year, was an early Beta tester for Planetside and played that for 3 months, was an early Beta tester for SWG and played that for 3 months. My typical playing style is 1-2 hrs 4-5 nights a week. 80% soloing, 20% grouping in game.

Character setup: I thought that SWG had a great character setup, but COH matched and exceeded it in many areas. There are at least 20 different aspects of your character to set up, with each aspect having many many options. In fact one of my few complaints about this game is having to scroll through the 80+ chest embelems when designing a character. This is also when you choose your characters power family. For those that say this game is just for soloing, I say you've never played some of the more defense or support based power sets, and if you are doing ok soloing, then with the support/defense type characters in your group you can defeat more baddies with less downtime.

People who dont like this game seem to be expecting Everquest: the Superhero version. You want loot? What sort of loot should your super hero be collecting? Did you see batman picking up armor from his latest defeat? No. What you get instead of drops, are more powers. So instead of the +18 sword that you hoped would drop you get XP that helps you to your next power say "Flame thrower" or if you were hoping for that +20 defense chainmail armor, may be you choose your next power to be defense based. Same difference, you just cant sell the powers on e-bay.

There is no commerece, or I should say none has come up of yet. The only drops are enhancements (which can be permanantly attached to your powers to boost them in some way) and inspirations which are consumable temporary heals and buffs. Let me say crafting, to me, holds no interest, commerce, to me, is actually annoying. I earn enough money in the game to buy the enhancements I need to strenghten my powers to keep playing and move into new areas, where there are new baddies to fight.

People who do not immerse themselves into the character they have created will not have fun, the game can come across as repetitive, but only if you dont enjoy the environment and the variety of bad guys that you fight (which is ever expanding)...

There is a monthly subscription cost (like every other MMO game)and NCSoft has already released the first big enhancement patch which includeded
1) allowing for multiple costumes on a single character
2) 2 new higher end zones
3) 5 new story archs (so more missions)
4) fixed many bugs including mission bugs

That is what your $14.95/month gets you (along with hours of gaming)

Also just for the record Ive experienced no server down time (and I only play weekends and evenings so peak times) and no major lag.

This game has occupied my time since April. I usually buy a new game every other month (so thats about $50 every 2 month, so instead I spend $30 for 2 months of City of Heroes... I think thats a reasonable price for the quality of this game.

Ive read many of these bad reviews and I couldn't agree less. This game is fun and the idea is great. I do not play other online MMRPG's because they take too much time and involve to much stuff. This is sleek easy and the combat is excellent. Teaming is great fun and required to progress far in the game. I have already made a lot of friends and formed a Super Group. All Archtypes are needed and serve their purpose. Ive found healers to be the most important yet the rarest of them which is a shame.

You can say it gets repetetive and levels are too similar but the promised June update starts to fix that where we are promised more baddies, more mission levels, private outdoor missions, missions where you can get cpatured and need rescued etc. Plus with City of Villains on the horizan PvP combat is on the way. The game is a great start much better than what I have read about Star Wars Galaxies, and I look for it to continue to evolve and grow into a great piece of entertainment for a long time.

If you want to be a superhero this is the game for you.

Bad Stuff:
1) Your character appearence does not change. I know a lot of people like getting new swords and helmets and whatnot in other games that make your character look different but this does not happen in COH, there is no equipment looting in this game.

2) No PvP. Ok, a lot of people consider that a plus but it's a shame to have human-player Super Heroes and no human-player Super Villians to go up against.

3) Pay-to-play. Worth mentioning, this is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game. You play with a great variety of people and that doesn't happen for free.

Good Stuff:

1) Character creation gives you a TON of options. In a week of playing on the busiest server I have not yet seen anyone that looks like me. Frankly, this makes your character more unique than in a typical game where all high-level players tend to have the same high-level gear and look very similar to each other. I've made several characters that I don't play just because the character generation is that cool (note: you need to uncheck the "color coordination" button if you want to play around with the colors of each piece of your suit).

2) There is a planned expansion called "City of Villians" which will apparently have optional PvP between heroes and villians, good news for me.

3) Combat is excellent, more more interactive than other MMOG's. In fact, there really is no "auto-attack". Every attack requires a press of a button, some special move you want to do and there's a big variety of special moves. You can't watch TV and fight at the same time in this game.

4) AI is excellent, honostly the best I've ever seen in a MMOG. I don't want to bore you with names and details, but let's just say that when you get to fight the group called "Tsoo" you'll understand that this is some vicious AI that someone put some time into.

5) Missions are fun and maps are excellent. Best "dungeons" I've seen in a MMOG since Everquest, with a lot of detail to them.

6) Instancing. I didn't think I'd like it, but it works well. When you enter an office building on a mission, that is your "instance" of it. Your group joins you there but another group doing the same mission in the same place will enter a seperate "instance" -- you have the building all to yourself. This makes for more sensible missions as your group can clear it from top to bottom, beat the boss and go get another mission without interruption or annoyance by random other people who show up.

7) Great variety of superpowers. Not only does nobody look like me, but nobody totally fights like me either. Blaster is one of 5 available archetypes, so there's lots of Blasters like me. But Blaster has 5 major powersets (pick 1), 5 minor powersets (pick 1) and I'm not sure how many pools of extra abilities (can pick up to 4) plus every individual power can be customized with "enhancement slots" (for an eventual total of 40) -- more damage, more range, more accuracy, etc, pick what works for you.

All in all, a surprisingly strong game.

Expansion packs will decree if City of Heroes (CoH) is a good-average game ora a great MMORPG.

Overall, CoH is very well done:

1) Character Creation is the best I ever saw in an MMORPG. From sizing, to clothing, to colouring...you can choose everything possible.

Unfortunately you get no capes and the voices and sounds you make depend on your gender (there are three possible: male/female/huge male - like the Hulk).
Furthermore, once decided your character, you can't modify him during the game.

2)Classes: at first glance it seems you get only 5 classes, but each can be personalized in such a variety of ways that the end result is that there almost is no one character that is exactly as another.
The classes are:
a) Tanker: withstand mass damage while beating the begeeses out of baddies in melee. Ex: The Hulk.
b) Scrapper: Deal mass damage with a good degree of resistance to bblows. Ex. Wolverine.
c) Defender: heal your companions and use your powers to control and impair high numbers of enemies. Ex. Hmm... difficult... Mrs. Richards (?).
d) Blaster: deal high amount of ranged damage (fire, energy blasts etc). Ex. Cyclops
e) Controller: control your enemies minds, paralyze them, have them battle each other. Probably the most powerful character. Ex: Xavier.

3) Graphics: simply stated...awesome.

4) Gameplay. Very good, but it could be better. Here are pros and cons.
a) PROS:
-There are a zillion of quests. Everytime you quest, you can do it solo or with your group. When you go in quest zones, other players out of your team can't come busting in ruining the party.
-It's intrinsically cool for comic fans to play super heroes in a perfectly rendered comic book city.
-People walk the city, taling to each other, talking to you... each has a name, and there are literlly thousands of civilians. Cars move around. Everything is VERY realistic.
-Power effects are awesome, malking you want more.

b)CONS:
-Gameplay can become repetive after a while.
-Game seems to be missing some basic commands (like DAOCs "stick")
-No objects in the game. This can kill the interest of many players.
-No in game economics.
-No PVP. The expansion City of Villains should address that.

Bottom line.
Buy this game if:
1) You are a comic book fan.
2) You really love MMORPGs and have a lot of time on hand.
3) You like more character building than equipment hoarding.
4) If all your buddies play it (with friends you will have a BLAST).

It seems that Massively Multiplayer games are being released with such frequency now that its impossible to find one that stands out among them...until now. City of Heroes is a fun and quite different spin from the Massively Multiplayer Online formula.

The character creation system is undoubtedly the best character creation system in any massive online game, period. There are so many options to choose from that you may spend hours just creating the character alone! You can choose to have a 2 color scheme or customize the colors for each part of the costume. The face and mask choices are limited but the markings and design are usually what set the people apart from each other. You will see characters that are more than just 'inspired' by existing comic book heroes, but then you will also see very unique designs at the same time.

Despite the many options there are still limits and numbers...even when you think you have the most unique character on the server, you will probably run into several players with similar characters. In fact, one problem I noticed was that many players would blatantly copy the design from another character. I was one of the first characters on launch day on the 'Virtue' server, and received dozens of compliments on my ninja-esque character. Then within the week, I saw at least 8 or 9 people with virtually identical design to my character...everything from the color choices to the designs and clothing/accessory choices. So even in a game with thousands of possible combinations, you will still have lazy, uncreative people blatantly copying each other's designs...one of the game's lowest points.

As for the gameplay, it is fun for a while, but extremely linear. One of the best parts is that unlike other Massive Online Games, you get powers and abilities early on, and continue to get powers at 2 level intervals. Hence, every even-numbered level you will gain a new power of your choice. The subsequent odd-numbered levels will grant you 2 slots for enhancements, which significantly boost your powers, so even the power you get at your lowest level can become one of your most powerful by the later levels. You gain enhancements by defeating enemies, or buying them at special shops with 'Influence' which is the game's currency. You gain influence by defeating enemies and by rescuing citizens from thug attackers. You can even ban together with other heroes and form Super Groups.

The fighting is fun, and grouping is more fun in this game than in any other. It is fast paced, and you don't just sit there bored out of your mind after hitting one button, watching your character hit and miss. You actually control your character through the whole fight, using whatever powers and abilities the character has to fight off the villains. Unlike some other massive online games, namely EQ, you don't have to wait around for hours on end for that one significant enemy to pop up, then argue amongst yourselves about who gets the loot...there are always PLENTY of enemies around in huge groups.

As for 'quests', there are missions you can receive from contacts that you meet through your trainers. These missions are usually specifically tailored for you, and if you consistantly take missions aimed at one super-villain group, you will find that villains will begin ambushing you, and you will eventually fight the super-villain leader of the group. The amount of enemies in the mission varies depending on how many people you group with, usually increasing the difficulty and experience table. There are also massive missions equivalent to 'raids' called 'Task Force Missions' in which a team of heroes work together to fight a series of missions, usually resulting in a battle with one of the super-villains in the game. These Task Forces usually take over 3 hours.

If it sounds great so far, you might want to know about the game's biggest downfall: boring repetition. The game is unfortunately the equivalent of a 'level treadmill' in that there is nothing else in the game to do except fight, fight, fight and level. There is nothing else going for the game, and while the gameplay is alot of fun, and earning those new powers is always a good feeling, the game just becomes too repetetive. It is also too easy...the frighteningly fanatical players who play nearly 24/7 can reach the character's maximum level(40 at launch, increased since the patches) in probably under a week and a half. Once you reach the maximum level, there really is nothing else to do, unless you feel like starting a new character.

You may have noticed I left the 'RPG' part out of Massively Multiplayer Online Game. This is simply because CoH suffers from the same thing all Massive Online Games do...other players usually throw a tantrum and complain about roleplaying. My friends and I were kicked out of groups for roleplaying, which is simply ridiculous. Hence I do not hold the 'RPG' part of Massive Online Games to be fact, since the majority of players seem to think of it as evil. Try roleplaying your character around other players and you'll see what I mean.

Overall, the game is great and is a welcome change from the usual massive online game. Unfortunately for me, I was bored within one month and I cancelled my account. However, in that one month, I definitely got my money's worth. It is probably also the longest time I've spent on any Massive Online Game since I left the abysmal EQ 3 years ago. So, coming from someone who HATES Massive Online Games like this, I highly recommend this game if you are looking for a change. It is fun, at least for a while, and if you find that you truly like the game and want to stay on it, then that's great.

My wife and I play this together and we have an absolute blast!
The game runs flawlessly for both of us.. I would expect that it would run fine on my machine (2.4Ghz./512MB/GeForce128) but it even runs well on her machine (800Mhz/256MB/GeForce64).. although it is not as pretty and maps take a little longer to load, it still runs fine. She is, however, now bucking for a system upgrade ;) Granted both of these run GeForce cards (I've heard/read the stories about problems with ATI cards), but those that tell you that you need a high end system to run it obviously have something else wrong with their systems!

Mission layouts can be a little repetitive but they get better as you increase in levels (those of you that are sub-20.. it gets better... believe me).

I've read a couple of reviews that state that leveling is too long... uh... I personally think that it is too fast! You can get to level 10 in an evening if you so desired!

Character creation has seemingly limitless possibilities.. yes there are no capes, but Cryptic's excuse for not having them just yet is a valid one! Nothing like telling your users that the reason there isn't capes is because they want to make sure they do them right!

Archetypes, Power sets, Origins... it's all here for you comic book fans (of which I am one)!

I was completely against a game that made you pay for play after you purchased the game.. but from one day of free beta playing, I knew I was going to have to purchase the retail version. I was hooked! Those that complained about paying to play after they bought it!?!? Give me a break.. take some remedial reading courses.. looks like you need them!

I'll admit that I went into this gaming experience very biased. I have been a fan of comics and superheroes ever since I can remember (some of my first toys were the Mego super hero action figures), and from the minute I heard that this game was coming out I was dying to try it. I even went so far as to finally upgrade my computer's video card just so that I could play.

I am hooked. There's no other way to put it. I just finally got the ability to fly (in the game, of course) ;) and I must've spent a couple hours just flitting around reliving childhood fantasies. I find myself thinking about Paragon City during the day and itching to get home so that I can get back online.

This said, the gameplay is largely repetetive, as some other reviewers have mentioned. I can foresee this getting irksome in a little time. For now there are tons of new powers that I can try out (like flight, whoopie!), and new character designs to experiment with. There are also new and interesting baddies as you progress from zone to zone in the city. What I'm banking on, though, is the fact that this is an ever-expanding universe with new updates (delivered free by download) all the time. This means that there may be new missions, new enemies, maybe even new powers and such, on a semi-regular basis. That fact made me give the overall rating as a four rather than a three.

My recommendation: If you are a fan of super heroes and have a computer that meets the requirements for this game (and if you can afford the $50 for the game and the $15 monthly charge) then you should really try this out. It may be just a hack and slash (or, in this case, pow! and zap!) RPG, but it's a really fun example of the genre, and the online aspect provides a depth of experience that is quite enjoyable.

Finally, one can have a pink mohawk, orange spandex, and a tail ... and not get laughed at (as far as you know!). I am a comic book fan and am familiar with MMORPG's and I have enjoyed this game completely!
I played a lot of Asheron's Call and Galaxies in the past and I had fun, but for me personally, I just didn't like the crafting and nonsense work. I already work 10 hrs a day and don't want to work another hour and a half when I get home! In City of Heroes, you just go out and take a bite outta crime! No messing around with surveying and scavenging, just plain old combat. It's easy to pop on for 30 minutes here and there for a little crime fighting.
Another thing I really like about City of Heroes is that I can still enjoy it on a 56k connection. Yes, I am still one of those puds on dial-up! When I installed games like AC and Galaxies, the update patches took in the 2-4 hour range ... ouch! City of Heroes took me a total of 20 minutes, that's from install to update to character creation. Surprisingly, in-game lag is not bad. I have had maybe two moments of frustration when I had to log off and back on, a lot less than in other MMORPG's.
The combat in the game is pretty cool! Mostly point and click style with strategy and the ability to run away if needed. You can chase down thugs or just stand around a corner and snipe them from a distance. It's fun moving from building top to building top ... yes you can jump in this game. One of my characters has come to the point where she can hover, which is pretty cool to survey the city or take some beam shots at unsuspecting criminals. I can't wait to fly ... up, up, and away!
Unlike some of the reviewers so far, I like the graphics in this game. I can't run under full graphics settings, but I am still able to see the details in the city and the colored blasts of my character's super powers. The city changes as a day goes by (light and dark). One thing I wish the game had was weather and its effects. It would be cool to break up a crime in a dark alley, while its raining cats and dogs!
Character creation is very detailed! You can create a female, male, or superhuge hero and then customize height and size within those three categories. The outfits choices are real meaty and in the end, chances are, no two heroes will look like one another. For me personally, it was finally an opportunity for me to create some of the RPG superheroes I had made in a dice game as a kid.
Anyways, I am really enjoying this game! Which is cool because after Galaxies (Star Wars is very loved in my house) I was ready to swear-off MMORPG's completely! I am glad that I gave-in and tried this one out. If you have never played a MMORPG and want to start, then this game is a good starter game. Easy combat system, easy chat system, and easy levelling system ... good for newbies!
Grab your pink spandex, paint your hair blue, and head to Paragon City to foil the plans of Dr. Killpatient ... we could always use more heroes!

(Please note: this review is intended for those who have played or are familiar with at least one MMORPG [UO, EQ, AC, etc.] and have taken or can take the initiative to look up basic information about the game on their own)

City of Heroes (CoH) offers a fun, drastically different MMORPG experience: playing a super hero in a world where superheroes are as common as the criminal organizations they fight. Create a character, pick your power sets, design your costume and you've pretty much gone through 90% of the customization of the game. Because CoH has no true economy or item system to speak of, your focus will not be the accumulation of wealth. Your character's appearance is determined at creation and cannot be modified ever again, which in combination with the lack of items and economy, leaves little for many players of MMORPGs to focus on. After all, what's the point of playing if you can't quest for that ultra-powerful weapon that glows and only two other people on your server have?

All you have in City of Heroes is your reputation as a player. The game is a true roleplayer's dream world: all you have to focus on is your character's growth and involvement with your fellow players. Those who've always liked comic books and envision themselves as a superhero of ANY variety will have a field day in CoH: you learn of a drug lab in an abandoned warehouse, enter alone or with a team and fight hordes (literally 10-20 at a time in some cases) of thugs. You see a mugging as you wander the street and utter a battlecry as you punch the offender's face in: the bystanders flee in a very realistic way and the victim you save runs up to thank you when you're done.

But the experience would lose its charm quickly if the actual game dynamics weren't up to par.

The combat system is pretty innovative: it requires more conscious thought and team tactics than most other games. Unlike other MMORPGs, where every party member follows a formula that can be macroed with relative ease, CoH's combat is fast paced because almost every encounter entails multiple enemies at once. While crowd control certainly exists, the dynamics of ordinarily straightforward roles like Tanks and Nukers is changed drastically when faced with multiple opponents.

CoH's designers also clearly had your friends in mind when they made the game. Unlike FFXI, which made it a battle to even get onto the same server as your friends, CoH provides numerous ways to ensure you're still able to play with your friends. The acceptable level spread for a party is much wider than most games, and parties of level differences in excess of 5 are not uncommon. The sidekick system also allows you and a friend to play together regardless of your level difference: sidekick, and poof, almost the same level as your friend (on a temporary basis, and without the additional abilites gained by leveling).

The world isn't very big, but you have incentive to explore it all as the mission system takes you to randomly generated locations around the various city areas. This has the added bonus of removing camping problems from the game: when your team takes a mission, you are the only ones able to enter the (randomly generated) mission location.

Character customization is about average. Aside from the costume possibilities (NCSoft lists the number of possible permutations in excess of 2.0 x 10^27), once you've picked your power sets, you're going to have the same basic abilities as everyone else. The ability to choose from power pools is nice, but without equipment, there are clearly limits. Enhancing your powers with (aptly named) enhancements allows for a limited amount of customization: do you want your energy beam to travel farther, do more damage, or hit more consistently?

On a more technical note, CoH had one of the cleanest, smoothest MMORPG launches to date, with relatively few bugs and almost no server problems (I have yet to encounter either myself). They offer no live customer support, but their CS team e-mails you back about issues promptly and with a minimum of automation.

On the whole, CoH is an interesting experience geared toward those interested in roleplaying and character progression as opposed to ph4t l3wt. If that sounds interesting to you, or if you have a desire to put on a mask and combat evil, get the game.