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It's a 3rd person "over the shoulder" view 3D game (1st person view is possible, but clumsy). When an opponent gets knocked down, the body motion physics and animation are calculated on the spot. In other popular MMORPGs players in the same class tend to look alike. Multiple costumes become available for every character, allowing interesting role-playing for those who are into it. - every power/ability can be "tuned" (through purchased or constructed or found enhancements) to emphasize different aspects of the power/ability. player) and cooperative zone, where heroes and villains can battle it out or cooperate fighting a greater common threat.First, the negative aspects of the game: - story lines are shallow, - graphics and visuals are getting old: the game was published in 2004 and while it has been gradually updated and improved, the engine's age is showing- insufficient high level content.
this is compensate by the appeal of creating and playing new characters of radically different buildsThe positive aspects of the game: - a large number of "archetypes" ("professions" for the lack of better description) to play, different ones on the heroes and villains sides- each archetype has a choice of a large number of power sets (abilities). - every power set combination creates a different game experience. CoH/CoV are two games in one. In CoH/CoV costumes range from human to animal to robotic android to demonic to angelic to an average office worker to a medieval knight and so on, mixed which ever way the player wants to mix them, with highly customizable faces, sizes, masks, color patterns, wing designs (for those who want wings), capes, horns, beards, glasses, chains, auras, etc.The over-all look and feel of the game is realistic and gritty. And the target reaction animation adds realism to the game. So the combat doesn't look like the same motion over and over and the opponent's reaction to the attack is more viscerally satisfying than only seeing a string of numbers whiff up into the air.Yet another aspect of the game that sets it far apart from other MMORGPs is the highly customizable look players can get from very beginning. NPC "chatter", both by enemy factions and by "innocent civilians", creates an interesting ambiance.CoH/CoV (or CoX as it's sometimes referred to) occupies a previously empty niche in the MMO games: the super-powered heroes and villains of the American-style comic books.
Every power's animation sequence looks different. The two gaming worlds, the "heroes" and the "villains", are mostly separate, but intersect in a handful of "PvP" (player vs. All level 35 night elf hunters in World of Warcraft look more or less the same. - depending on the choice of initial and subsequent "contacts", who assign "missions" to be completed in various story arcs and unrelated random missions, different story lines can be explored.All this makes for a good variety and good replayability.Another very positive aspect of the game is the visual and audio effects accompanying the use of different powers. The audio effects are well timed. The slight tweaks to their armor or color of their pants or hair braiding are insignificant. And it's highly enjoyable.
I purchased this game just to try out.On the box it says it includes 30 days of game time, but it only gave me 14 trial days.Am I doing something wrong.The game itself is fun enough for an adult like me, but it takes lots of time just to create your character.If you liked dressing your Barbie doll as a kid, this might be a good one for you.
COH has the most amazingly flexible character creator of any MMO. COH invented the "Sidekick" system (that has since been copied by some other games) that allows a higher level character to mentor a low level player so they can both enjoy the game together even if one has far outleveled the other. This aspect of the game, while not literally part of the software, is priceless.A last technical note: When City of Villains was first released it was as optional expansion you had to buy separately. One of the huge strenghts of COH is their friendly, mature, and open community. COH is going on 5 years old as I write this review. Well, if you're an experienced WoW player you may be disappointed that there's not a ton of epic raids when you hit the level cap in COH.
But don't let the rich possibilities of the character creator intimidate you: if you just want to jump in and play you can press a Random Costume button and start right off. The crafting isn't as deep as it is in some other games. At this stage many games start to get stagnant. In COH some players tweak their costumes for hours because there are literally thousands of costume pieces to choose from. Weak spots.
You can create the exact look you want, and you won't see virtually identical clones of your character everywhere. So if you're considering a first MMO, this is a good one. If you check out most games' forums, you see lots of immature and combative responses to questions ("lern2play n00b."). It's also suitable to both those wanting to team and those wanting to solo, unlike some MMOs that pretty much force teaming on you if you want to do anything. In this game it's not about rushing to the level cap, it's about enjoying getting there. Do you have a friend that plays a lot more than you do. This "Good vs Evil Edition" of City of Heroes INCLUDES the City of Villains expansion. The latest example is the Mission Architect.
City of Heroes (COH) is a very innovative MMO, yet it's easy to jump in and start playing. PVP is present but not terribly popular. If you've read this far, I strongly recommend you check out the game's forums at boards.cityofheroes.com. If you have questions even before you buy the game, just post on the forums and you'll get dozens of helpful replies. This will allow players to create their own story arcs with multiple linked missions (or "quests" as some other MMOs call them) for other players to try play through. You can still find some old games listed on Amazon that are the old-style separate products or pricey bundles. In most MMOs, beginning characters of the same class/race look basically the same, with minor differences like hair color. Don't buy them.
But amazingly, in 2008 the game publisher dramatically *increased* the staff working on COH, so we're going to see even more dramatic improvements to the game moving forward. This brings user created content to MMOs for the first time. But now it's all officially one game. Buy this edition.
Quite simply the best MMO available. When my wife got her laptop, we got an account for her and we play together all the time. With WoW, I was bored after a couple of months and completley burned out after six. I played WoW for about 6 months. I don't think I'll ever stop. I stumbled across CoH in a Best Buy and picked it up (Love Super Heroes). I know, WoW players will scream at me for saying that, but it's true. My sons play as well.
I've been addicted ever since. I'm coming up on four years of playing, and it's still just as exciting and fun as it was then. I'll be playing CoH/CoV for as long as I can imagine. Great game, buy it and see.
I write this mainly to say that I don't think the server will allow you to use a previously used CD key no matter how "lightly used". This Game shares the flaw of most MMORPGs: it gets repetitive. Still, I found it fun. I am not 100% certain of this, but to be safe you may want to stay away from used copies. This is generally true for all online games.
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