I want a Hero

Learning the ropes, I mean webs… er, whatever.

The most interesting thing to happen in this game is that when you first step onto the streets of Liberty City, you feel like a hero. When you thwart the schemes of a few street toughs who are robbing a woman and she comes back to thank you, it makes you feel like a million bucks. Of course, when they mash your face in, you don’t feel like so much. Maybe a buck seventy-five or so, but that’s all part of being a hero, baby!

However, before you start roughing guys up, you have to make yourself a hero! The character creation in CoH is amazing on every level. You start at what kind of background you have and progress all the way to customizing your look, which has an amazing amount of options, and writing your history and personal battle cry. This game has an incredible amount of personalization options, another first for the MMO community.

As mentioned before, the action in City of Heroes is quite intense. It’s not like a fighting game, but it’s as close as a MMO has produced to date. You get new powers on a fairly regular basis, which allows the game to stay fresh. Not only do you get to choose from a list of powers decided by you in your background but you have access to the general power category which includes such abilities as flight and super speed. You could make a character that combines Dolemite with the Flash, which is frightening and beautiful all at the same time.

Combat in City of Heroes ranges from leaping, building to building, to thwart bad guys on the street to taking on sect of villains in there own hideouts. When faced with a group of thugs you can take them all on at once or use certain powers to subdue others while you POW and ThwoK!! the ones closest to you. The action is fast-paced and the fists and energy beams are flying everywhere. Every villain fears you and every kid wants to be you. Life is good.


The missions that were mentioned before are instanced for you or your group of friends, so you don’t have to worry about overcrowding. Don’t you hate it when you want to help a few goons “see the light” and some other bozo in matching leotards beats you to it? No worries about that, these goons are all yours for your own little private boot party. The missions are also one of the coolest aspects of the game. They range from burned out warehouses to sewers to skyscrapers and all of them are a blast.