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It's good to be bad!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: November 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoyed City of Heros you will enjoy City of Villains. New Achetypes and powers, new costumes and new areas to explore all add to the flavor of being a bad guy. Many of the powers are duplicates of the hero's powers, but that shouldn't really be a surprise, what is nice is they are combined in different ways requiring different styles of play to achieve your goals. There are subtle but important differences to playing a villain which bring hours of fun. City of Heros also introduces bases which can be built by the players once they have gained enough influance. Putting your very own torture chamber into the dungeon is hard to beat. Another good point for this game, you only have to pay for one subscription to play City of Heros or City of Villains. So what are you waiting for, release your inner megalomaniac and join the villains in crushing those self rightous do-gooders and make a few bucks on the side.

You have to like " that sort of thing"

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 30 / 53
Date: November 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm a longtime CoH player. I'm also in a non-traditional demographic for the game, so what I enjoy/dislike in the game won't really match with the expectations of NCSoft's target audience. Keep that in mind as you read.

I was both skeptical about and interested in CoV. The Deluxe edition had the nifty packs of HeroClix toys and lots of other stuff. The game on initial trial was buggy, but that's been about par for the whole world. They've patched and fixed and now most things work nicely.

Villians are very cool, very slick and appealing, there's no disputing that. They look fantastic, they have all the hero options and then some (this is not reciprocal for heroes) and there's a certain appeal in playing the bad guy. Lots of the options added into the game are great, although only a few also extend to the Hero side. The remixed villian archtypes offer a lot of fun stuff in new power combinations, new twists on old stuff. The environments were grim, gritty, and very vivid. It really looked good. I loaded it up, dug in, and spent a few dozen hours checking it out from both sides, solo and with friends.

The super bases seemed like a nifty idea and are something I'd hoped for almost since the game's beginning. However, they are almost prohibitively expensive (just wait until your first rent payment is due!). You must chose between being able to upgrade your character or building a base, especially after around level 34. Large supergroups are practically a must -- small groups don't stand much of a chance. Again, the bases are mostly aimed toward PvP so only a few options are really worthwhile for a non PvP supergroup. I'd recommend, unless you really want the "Hey, it's so cool" factor, that you skip it. Play The Sims instead.

I found my biggest objection was purely my distaste for the idea of fighting against other players. CoH originally was a game where cooperation was rewarded, teamwork was a goal, you weren't in competition with other people, and you could just concentrate on having fun, following the storylines, and seeing what developed as the world expanded. The depictions of violence were bloodless and you were "defeated", not killed. They added in the Arena for very restricted PvP (how successful that is, I don't know. People I game with avoid it and, after a few looks, I decided it wasn't worth the irritation). Now, it feels as if the flavor of the game has changed. Many things are available only if you go through the PVP areas. I see PvP as a huge barrier for enjoying the full possibilities of the game.

I finally decided not to play City of Villains because of the Player vs Player built in combat. The new areas are mostly PvP. If you don't want to fight with other players, there's no point in going into them. Hero or villain, you are walking around as a living target for someone else. Winning isn't just everything, it's the ONLY thing, and you win only when someone else loses. If you like the idea of playing for revenge, not being able to trust other players you team with, getting angry at people who see you as a source of points, a big lack of documentation on how the PvP works, wondering why nothing you do is successful -- you'll ADORE this. Absolutely. Dig in and have fun, you'll get your money's worth.

After a year and a half of regular play in CoH, and addicting many of my friends, I'm really considering closing my account and finding something else. I don't think that just ignoring the CoV part will help, as it looms over everything in the game. The world of CoH is now one more step -- a step too far, for me -- closer to the real world.

City of Heroes/Villains

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: June 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I think that I fall in the middle of the previous reviews. I am a veteran MMO player starting with the Ultima Online beta test so many years ago. I haven't played them all, but I've played a lot of them.

The most popular game on the market now is World of Warcraft. Its smooth interface, superb art direction, and easy game play attract many players. But, like any MMO it gets boring after you reach the top and start grinding high end content. Enter City of Heroes/Villains.

City of Heroes/Villains is not quite the polished game that WoW is, but it has some very compelling elements. While the back ground stories and world may not be as rich, they are better than most MMOs on the market. I played CoH when it was released, then went to WoW. When I became bored with WoW I tried other games, but being spoiled by Blizzards production value I found them lack luster. Not so CoH. I can still play this game without feeling the grind too bad.

CoH has a quick mission (quest) system that gets you in the fight quickly. It has a group matching system that quickly easily allows you to find other players to do missions with. In my opinion this is better than WoW. No running around LFG (Looking for Group) to find players to adventure with. The interface makes it quick and easy and people use it.

Most missions are short and can be done quickly. You can usually be in and out in :30 to an hour. There are longer chained missions (called task forces) for those that like longer games and greater challenges.

There are no "Magic Items" to pick up. Rewards come in the form of "Inspirations" (temporary buffs), Enhancements (permanent augmentations for your super powers), and Influence (like money - used to buy alternate costumes and custom augmentations for your super powers).

The power sets are many and compelling. The travel powers are interesting. They are comprised of Super Jump, Flight, Teleport, and Super Speed. All are fun (particularly Super Jump) and get you places fast. Not only that, they are fun to use and explore with.

CoH/CoV has a lot to offer MMO fans. I would consider it the number 2 MMO on the market and I highly recommend it if you need a break from the fantasy genre.

to gamer7

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

my computer had the same video problem when issue 5 was released. on the main CoH screen where u log on there was a message that said my vid card drivers were old and it may not function properly. i have a radeon 9800 pro and i downloaded the 5.1 catalyst drivers and everything worked fine after that :D.

anyways CoV is an awesome game. new maps, cool new missions, powers, archetypes, costumes galore! love it.

WANNA BE REALLY BAD?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: February 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The city of Villains is a stand alone sequel of my favorite game City of Heroes. To be honest I was expecting much more as COH player from the new game and I don't blame all these people who criticize it but there is something that we should take seriously under consideration and this that it is a stand alone game and that is how we must see it. I noticed that all the new players who never played COH just loved this game and this shows that my personal complain as an old player of the old game and my expectations should not be as criterion to judge the City of Villains.
If you see it from this side COV is a very special game. All the heroes you can create are big fun and so unique. I would not advise non experienced players to try the player versus player mode and in general I believe that such options should be avoided from those who create such smart new age games. If you have spend hundreds of hours building your hero around Atlas City I am sure you will not be very impressed with this title but if you did not I strongly recommend you to buy and play this game it is something exceptional.
P.S. check for dr.Kickass allways available to join you for a mish lol

CoV is fun, if all you're looking for is mindless stomping

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: February 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First of all, you can play all the way to max level without taking part in PVP. Im not sure who the dude is that complained about the new zones only being PVP, but they are not. only specific zones are pvp, and they are the ones the heroes get to enter also. (maybe he was talking from a hero standpoint?) whatever the case, there is absolutely nothing forcing you to take part in pvp. There are no quests that force you to go there, no items from there you have to have, absolutely no reason to go there, unless you want to pvp. I actually wish CoV would have had MORE pvp, but I suppose what they do have is ok.

As for the rest, in city of heroes, when you punch a guy so hard he flies through the air, lands on his face, and then disappears.. guess what buddy, you didn't just "Defeat" him. the game may say that, but you just knocked that dude into the river. sorry to burst your fuzzy bunny bubble.

Both games are just two sides of the same coin, and they are very very similar in almost all respects. if you like CoH, you will like CoV, unless you have moral issues with playing a "villain," in which case, please pick up City of Heroes so I have somebody else to stomp in PvP.

I've been playing for months now and have had no problems with anything on the technical side. It seems rock solid to me, though the beta was rough in parts. The graphics are fantastic, if you have the power to turn on all the cool features and you aren't playing on a laptop, which requires a whole lot more technical experience to get to function like a desktop. I am in the Dungeons and Dragons online beta, and I would put the graphics in CoV up against that any time.

Its good to be bad!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: March 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Easy to get into and play. does require a little more PC power to run than City of Heroes does. Overall a great game to get into. Great new content.

CoV is great!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: January 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

CoV is great! Stand-alone or as an add-in to City of Heroes. This is the very best MMORPG on the market - by far!

Quality of Service

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I wanted to take a moment to tell you about *why* I bought this game. I play City of Heroes, and what makes it a good gaming experience is that the path--from taking the shrink-wrap off that box to playing the game--is short and sweet. The way PlayNC runs the company has impressed me again, and here's why:

I purchased this boxed set at 29.99. It costs me no more money than I'm already paying to have a City of Heroes membership, but what's more, there's a free month of gameplay in the box that will go into my account and give me a credit of 14.95. Do the math and I'm only paying about 15 dollars to join.

But I ran into a problem: I didn't set the game's account up right. I meant to "upgrade" an existing game instead of "adding" a new game. I had to call tech support.

Tech support answered on the first ring. Not only did they go out of their way to apologize for the inconvenience, but in 5 minutes I had an e-mail from them setting things up so that my game account could be fixed. Shortly after that, I was up and running.

I'm sure I'll enjoy this game at least as much as City of Heroes, and I'll update this when I've put some hours in. In the meantime, you should know that the company that runs it is the best company I've ever had to deal with, and I couldn't be happier with the quality of service. These people know how to run a business.

UPDATED, 7/20/06: I've logged several hours in City of Villains, and it's quite an impressive package. The game plays a great deal like City of Heroes, but with a few extras tucked away here and there. For example, I created a villain similar to my Hero, but her class of character offers some really interesting ways to play that I can't do with my hero. There are extra gameplay elements added, such as "mayhem missions", but that doesn't make you locked into the kind of mono-minded over-the-top evil that your typical comic-book villain possesses. There's a lot of room in this game to make choices and build your character's particular style of villainy. Having to walk through the "beginner"/tutorial phase again, I can tell you that this game is still one of the easiest MMOs to figure out: it holds your hand, revisits you when it's time to tell you something new, and there's a menu for just about anything you might need to find out about. Often if you're not sure about something, you'll still find a lot of people online who have written you a guide--they even publish guides to their guides, and guides to writing a guide!

I see the price is lowered--if you're even curious, think about the fact that you get a free month (a 14.95 value) with your purchase, then grab a copy.

One year in the City of... World and happy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing on both City of Heroes (CoH) and City of Villians (CoV) for one year now and am still happy with the gameplay. Occassional delays due to updates occur, but they are managable and may result in a few hours of dealing with issues, it is not that serious of an event. These stoppages usually occur briefly after a major update to the game, about every two or three months. A lot of drama over them from some people, but I can handle it. The gameplay is "grinding" in style (go hit, hit, go hit again, etc. not any puzzles or searches etc.) but you rarely feel that way while playing. The graphics are beautiful, and compared to other games, I find them the the most appealing. The main draw is the community of people. You play to find a niche of players similar to you...mature, casual gaming, player versus player core, role-playing, you will find the type of crowd you want to be with. The hundreds of character design options is fantastic (compared to the relatively minute offerings of other online MMORPGs), the character types, and the numerous badges and side missions are set up where you cannot get them all in one shot, you have to branch out in different characters to see all the content. Only a markdown in rating due to graphic and software compatability issues, but the company's customer support is great and very helpful. Last bonus...fairly solid kid safe play environment (my pre-teens play it), profanity filters and a core of mature players keep the field nice for young ones as well.

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