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City of Heroes
Released On: Apr 27, 2004
85
8.6
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 58 Critic Reviews
85
95% Positive
55 Reviews
55 Reviews
5% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 58 Critic Reviews
85
95% Positive
55 Reviews
55 Reviews
5% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The greatest game ever made. And remember, this confession comes from people who have railed against the very creature that is MMOs. Furthermore, this is the most addicting game we've ever played. Period.
A bit like last year's "PlanetSide" in the sense that it isn't afraid to offer fewer things to do while making sure that you have more fun doing them. [Aug 2004, p.66]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 45 User Ratings
8.6
82% Positive
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
11% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
7% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 45 User Ratings
8.6
82% Positive
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
11% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
7% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Man, I can't believe the best superhero game up to date was made in the early 2000s. When COH came out it was amazing and with each update, we got more and more features, by the time going rogue came out players were able to do things they could never do in any other game change factions in a unique quest chain which can get a hero to a villain and back based of your choice of missions. Your hero build could be totally unique selection of skill sets and don't let me get started on the hero editor which lets players build the hero they want it could have been a unique new hero or representation of an existing one. The other huge feature in the game was the custom scenario generation and the COH community did not disappoint some of the missions made by players were masterpieces that will remain lost. The story in the game and quests were fun and about average but we all know that is not the true appeal of MMOs, when it comes to MMOs it is all about the people you share your online experience with and the COH community is the nicest most openhearted community I've seen in a game, which was an exception for an MMO since most MMO communities tend to be very toxic and uninviting. The homecoming server did show some hope for COH fans but that will be over soon since NCsoft failed for a trademark application for COH2020 unless a miracle happens in court all privet servers will be gone once again.
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PC
The ultimate example of contrast between a great and enlightened developer and an avaricious, oblivious producer. For years City of Heroes pushed free updates of quality and maintained more than a modest amount of subscriptions. Unlike contemporaries, the game was much easier to pick up due to more intuitive gearing and much, MUCH faster gameplay than had ever been seen by the likes of Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, or Anarchy Online. The character customization was also orders of magnitude more complex than anything seen before. It was truly an evolution of the genre, and there was genuine artistic effort put into it. Then one day some suits that had never played the game in their lives (or any game perhaps) closed out the development studio for reasons that could be described as lunacy at best and malice at worst, unemploying tens or hundreds of people, rendering this product I spent over $100 on unplayable, and displacing a community of thousands of fans who will probably never play another MMORPG again, much less a soulless WoW-ripoff grindfest like an NCSoft title. Do not buy NCSOFT.
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PC
It's quicker, less fussy and has that all important fun-factor that I think is essential for any subscription based game.
The overall quality of the game cannot be denied, and if you're a comic book fan, or like MMORPG's, or both, you owe it to yourself to see what City of Heroes is all about.
Even if you only play CoH for the duration of the first free month, it's well worth the purchase. Chances are you'll be sticking around, though. [July 2004, p.75]
One of the few games of its type you can actually play for an hour, take on one of its missions, and have a meaningful unit of experience. Staight in. Straight out. Gamer satisfied. [Sept 2004, p.105]
The versatile character-creation system will, at the very least, allow you to end up with something reasonably close to what you had in mind. The problem is that your looks pretty much have no bearing on how your character will play.
with a powerful character creator and a wealth of well written (if slightly repetitive) content, City of Heroes truly is a hidden gem of the MMO Genre.
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PC
Big thumbs up to one of the best MMOs nobody every played.
This game includes a lot of features you wish you saw more in games, such as dynamic and settable difficulty, dynamic missions, a crapton of PvE and PvP arena and zones, time traveling pve missions, custom missions designing, heavily upgradable guild bases & associated raids and artifact control, real-time permanent order based auctions... also.. well, you get it.
All this in a well made superheroes city environment, neat in-depth costumes customizations, a load of different superpowers, and generally somewhat good music!
No really. This game is great. The only very big problem is that there's so few people playing it that three quarters of the features are unused, such as pvp arenas, and often the pvp zones... Hopefully you can still find people for some heroic coop action.
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PC
The greatest and most addictive game ever. If you've ever wanted to be part of a hero comic book, if you've ever wanted to fight for truth and justice, or if you've always wanted to be part of a team that is unique and yet the same, then City of Heroes is for you. And if it isn't buy it anyway and give it a try.
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PC
Most MMOs out there deal with "sword and sorcery" and are fantasy based. Meaning they have elves, orcs, dwarves, dragons etc. But this game is most certainly a breath of fresh air for any jaded MMO Fantasy player, or just any MMO player who wants something different, or taking a break from the former. You start off with character customization. And let me tell you, I have yet to see any game out there that can beat the options available for CoH (one could say Champions Online, but it's basically the same type of thing). Create your superhero/supervillain with a magnitude of options. Choose his/her origin, archetype, and powers. You may change the way your avatar looks at any time at the local Tailor/Facemaker when the mood strikes you.There is no "gear" for you to wear in this game. Instead of the clothing and armor pieces to upgrade your character, enhancements take their place. These temporary/permanent boosts to your own abilities make you stronger with a particular power. They are always easily available at any Store or Auction House (known as Wentworth's for Heroes and Black Market for Villains), assuming you have the necessary funds to purchase them. You also gain special Enhancements through completing story arcs, or just picking them up while you fight your way through a mission. There are no "drops" in CoX in the traditional sense. All drops are automatically allocated to each player on the team, or just to you if you play solo. Instead of gold, or cash, currency takes the form in Influence/Infamy. As you progress through missions from your "Contacts" and defeat various enemy groups you gain influence/infamy for each defeat. This may seem slow at first, but let me assure you it adds up rather quickly. Especially when you work with a team. You also have the option of using Inspirations, (temporary boosts to your powers that only last a short time, but can seriously make the difference in a tight situation between dying and living), these are also available for a price but so very much lower than enhancements.Death has a penalty of course, as most MMOs do. It takes the form of experience debt. Seasoned MMO players will be acquainted with this system. It means you will have to continue on playing your missions and hunting villain groups as usual, only that half of the experience you earn will go towards paying off your "debt" until it is settled. Then leveling up will continue on as normal. Fret not though, just like influence/infamy it is paid off quickly enough, especially when on a team.There are many wonderful story arcs to explore throughout the game. You should love almost everyone of them. The bigger story arcs in the game take the form of Task Forces for Heroes, and Strike Forces for Villains. These arcs take hours to complete akin to dungeons from traditional MMOs, and usually require a full team to start. These offer up many chances to earn Influence/Infamy and plenty of experience points. And of course the prestigious badges. Badges are awarded through achieving certain milestones in your character's career as a hero/villain. You get them for defeating a certain amount/type of villains. For defeating titan like monsters that can only be bested by large numbers of characters. Completing Task/Strike Forces, attending special events, logging in during a celebration, exploration, and many others. Badges are not a requirement of the game, but they offer up a chance for something to "go after". Or simply just to one up your friends or show off to the community. There are also certain power boosts and special abilities you can gain from collecting a certain mix of badges. These are referred to as accolades. PvP isn't as strong here as I would like (at least back when I was playing; I've been told it's changed some since then). In my opinion, it's very unbalanced and in drastic need of an overhaul. But there are plenty of people who like it just the way it is. I think mainly because their chosen archetype is more built for PvP and they have the advantage. There are little in the way of rewards for playing PvP anyway. You of course can gain badges, influence/infamy, but no special enhancements to be had. The developers are keen to add new content updates every few months in form of "Issues." These are completely free, and usually offer up more costume creation options, story arcs, new zones to play in, and maybe a few new powers. All in all you will definitely love this game if you're into comics and/or superheroes. Creating your own personal character is very fun, and you will find it is easy to get attached to your favorite avatar. However, in my opinion, it is entirely possible to end up "seeing it all" in this game. Eventually collecting badges becomes boring, the level cap still hasn't been raised since launch, and not enough Task Forces or high end content are added to keep high level players interested. You should have plenty of fun though, but not forever.
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PC
So far this game ****... although i'm sure itll be worth the wait... it has taken me six hours to get it started.
first the installation... it crashes every 10 mins, i had to pray to keep it going the whole way through.
then i had to update the updater (:P) and that took about 4 hours in itsself. after all of that i'm relieved and click the 'play' button, and a popup appears telling me to update my drivers or the game wont play... so now one day of my month of free gameplay is wasted!
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PC
Summary City of Heroes is a super-powered hero based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The game is set in Paragon City, a modern day metropolis full of super powered villains, alien invaders, and underground monsters. Players take on the roles of Paragon City's super-powered defenders. Create your own hero by choosing your powers a...
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Apr 27, 2004
Developer:
- Cryptic Studios
Publisher: NCSOFT
Genres:
