City of Heros (CoH) is a Massive Multi-player On-line Role Playing Game (MMORPG), like Elfquest and World of Warcraft. However, it is based in the world of comic book heroes, rather than sword-n-sorcery fantasy. Players create a character with one of the best character and costume creators available. Don't like being a hero? City of Villains (CoV) is a stand-alone game that is also an expansion to CoH. You can play either game or both for the same monthly price of $15.
The character can be one of five arch-types (AT's) based upon five origins, and then the player gets to choose a primary and secondary power set from among four to seven choices each. At higher levels (beginning at level 41), the character gets to choose one more power set from four options. There are also up to four power pools from about 12 choices, which are sets of powers available to all characters. These include travel powers: Fly, Superspeed, Super Jump and Teleport. There is no shortage of variety in the City! Your character gains powers and enhancement of those powers as he or she gains levels by defeating enemies and accomplishing missions. There are 50 levels. The graphics and detail of the complex city and other environments is amazing.
You can play solo, or join on a team of up to eight other players from anywhere in the world. The story lines and background history of the City is very rich and complex. You can choose to simply hunt enemies on the streets of the many zones, or you can obtain missions from contacts, who will often send you on a series of related missions that combine into an overall story thread.
The difficulty of the game can be set by contacting certain characters, and adjusting your character's "reputation." Unlike other MMORPGs, the economy of the City is a minor part of the game. Instead of being focused on acquiring just the right types of items or money to purchase the items needed, the main focus is on building experience to improve your powers.
There are also areas where you can go up against other players in Player versus Player (PvP) zones. Most of these zones feature battles between Heroes and Villains, but the Arenas allow players of the same type battle each other.
If you were ever a fan of Comic Books, or comic book movies, CoH and CoV are highly recommended.
