“Manny, until now we’ve scraped along the ground like rats, but from now on we soar like eagles. Like eagles on pogo sticks!”
Let me let you in on a little personal history with me and online gaming. My first introduction to Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) came in the form of Anarchy Online. I played it for about three weeks. Straight. I rarely left the comfort of my desk (which at the time was actually not that comfortable), and usually went to sleep as the sun, and my roommates, were waking up. Unfortunate for my AO friends, my timing couldn’t have been worse. After those few weeks Thanksgiving break came along and I was out of state with no way to access my crack. About a week of going cold turkey (and eating it too..get it? cold turkey? ha!) and by the time I got home, wanting to play AO was the furthest thing from my mind. So, one down…
About a year and a half passed before thoughts of MMOs came crawling back into my head. As they say, you can take the addict away from the drugs, but you cant take the drugs away from the addict. (ok…no one says that, and if anyone did, I’d punch them….what a crappy saying…hopefully, the point is still semi-clear.) Anyway, as a long time Final Fantasy fan, when I heard they were making a FF MMORPG I had to join in. In fact, I was so dedicated to playing that I actually sold $900 of my DJ equipment just so I could upgrade my computer for FFXI. And once it was finally released, lo and behold, the addiction was back. I even dragged two of my friends into it with me (one of whom still plays today). But after a few months, the drudgery of killing the same rabbits 50 billion times got old. (Oh, and let’s not forget the UBER rabbits that reared their ugly heads every now and then.) So, with a heavy heart, and a lighter wallet, I decided to stop. The addiction had been fed and it would go back into hibernation for a while.
But like a zombie that just wont die (god I suck at metaphors), it came back. Actually, I think I’ve learned to control it a bit. It was begging to be let out last April but I held off until about a month ago. For those of you who have read some of my posts regarding the Justice League, you might get the impression that I enjoy my superheroes. Well, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I LOOOVE my superheroes! So, with the impending release of City of Villains I figured it’d be a good time to test it’s current counterpart, City of Heroes (CoH).
“But Alexis, aren’t you just going to leave this game in a couple months like all the rest?” I can hear you all thinking the same thing. And who knows? I just might. However, after everything I’m about to explain about this game you might start to see why this is not only a stand out MMO, but one that will have me coming back time and time again.
Be Yourself
The most widely praised and downright cool part of the game is the character creation. CoH has one of the most in-depth character creation systems ever..well..created! You start by picking how you got your powers (ie, Mutation, Science, Technology, Magic, or Natural). I chose Mutation. After picking your body build (Female, Male, Giant Male) you can then start the process of making your superhero. There are hundreds of different options to choose from and complete control over the size and shape of any part of your character. There are hundreds of different clothing options as well. From hoods to masks, tights to business suits, everything you could imagine is in there. (Capes however, though available, are something you have to earn later in the game.) You can even pick from an enormous selection of logos for your superhero to display proudly on their chest. And on top of all this, you can change the color of every piece of clothing and any part of your body. With all of this, there are literally millions of different combinations so that you’re almost guaranteed to never meet someone who looks like you. Gone are the old days where you can take two steps without running into another pointy haired elf (I’m looking at you, Final Fantasy XI). Here, you’re completely unique. And the best part? You can create as many different characters as you want and keep them all! CoH really wants you to experiment and find as many ways as you can to enjoy the experience.
HELP!!!!
So what does a superhero do, exactly? Everything a superhero’s supposed to do! To start with, you’re given some simple missions like “Arrest 10 Lost” (Lost being the name of a gang, and ‘arrest’ being a nice word for eliminate), but for the first few levels you’ll pretty much be walking around town stopping street crime. As you might be saying “and this is different from killing rabbits…how?” let me explain the contact system to you. As a superhero, you have many different contacts. From the City Representative to the lowly newspaper reporter, you will gain the friendship of many different contacts. Each wanting to either give you a new mission or introduce you to even more contacts.
As an example of the missions you might be going on, I’ll tell you about a recent experience I had that spanned many different missions. I was talking to my contact who deals primarily with the “Clockwork”, a group of dangerous robots. After being asked to clean a few of them off the streets, I set off to dish out some justice. However, among the remains of one fallen Clockwork, I saw the words “Help me!” scratched into it’s case. Taking this new clue back to my contact we discovered that a top mechanic has recently been kidnapped and realize that it must have been him who wrote this message. I decide to go to the factory where they are making these specific Clockwork and shut them down. Afterwords, I find an encoded note that I can’t make sense of. So I take it to the City Representative who then passes it along to her scientific contacts and returns the note to me decoded. Apparently it’s an address where they’re keeping the mechanic! I run over, bust in to the abandoned warehouse, and take down all the Clockwork I can find only to be ambushed by one of the Clockwork leaders! After defeating him (or should I say ‘it’) I rescued the mechanic who tells me that not only was he kidnapped, but his family too! Fortunately, he knows where they took them and I dash over, kick some more bot-butt, and save his family. All in all, a very long set of missions, but it was so much fun to get new clues and try to figure out the case.
I HAVE THE POWER!!
In City of Heroes your character can choose from many different “power sets.” I personally decided to go with a Katana and enhanced healing. Though after certain levels you can pick up powers from new sets like martial arts or the power to control fire. Another power you can eventually pick up is flight. My character just hit level 14 and I picked up Flight without thinking twice. With the power of flight (or super speed or super jump) the world becomes a lot more open to you. What might have taken me minutes to get too only takes seconds. Not to mention that it just looks awesome! Oh, and to explain the quote at the top, it’s from one of my favorite games (prize to whoever identifies it first), and it’s exactly what goes through my head every time i jump off the top of a building and start soaring through the air. Awesome.
What? No Gil??
Actually, no money at all. “But how is this possible? You need money to buy goods!” Simple. No goods. Now before you faint, let me explain. Unlike almost every other MMO out there, CoH doesn’t have items. There are no +5 Swords or “Armor of Whatever”s. What superhero upgrades his costume? In CoH there is no crafting, trading, or auctioning. There are only two things you’ll ever have: Enhancements and Inspirations. Inspirations could be compared to potions. You have inspirations for strength (Enrage), healing (Respite), accuracy (Insight), etc. They are temporary boosts to your stats that can help you out a lot in tough battles. Enchantments are essentially what you upgrade your character with. You could think of them as training. After certain levels you can add ‘Power Slots’ to your list of skills. Then in these slots you can place enchantments. You can have enchantments to increase a skills accuracy or strength, or perhaps increase your flight speed or health recovery speed. There are dozens of different enchantments to help you improve your character. Both enchantments and inspirations can be acquired in two ways. Firstly, you can get them by defeating enemies. Secondly, you can buy them from contacts or superhero trainers. “But wait! You said there was no money!” In place of money, CoH dishes out Influence. You can acquire influence by saving people’s lives, completing missions, or giving trainers extra enchantments you don’t want. So while technically there may be some form of currency, it’s definitely something you’ve never seen before.
The Final Showdown
So what exactly sets City of Heroes apart from every other MMORPG out there? I could say the character creation, or the in-depth missions, or the fact that you can even create a super-group with all your friends. And while some aspects may be similar to many other MMORPGs, there are several main differences. One of them is its level of accessibility for the average gamer. You don’t have to spend hours and hours trying to finish your next quest to get your next item which gives you a new quest to find a new item. You can sit down and play for 30 minutes if you want. The point is, it doesn’t suck up your life like every other MMO. Another main difference is its subject matter. Not everyone can live in a world of swords and sorcery. I sure couldn’t. But like many other comic book nerds I’ve finally found a place that let’s me live out my fantasies. And really, who didn’t want to be a superhero when they were a kid?
A 4 out of 5.
