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Sunday 10 February, 2008
GAMEPLAY
As I mentioned in my last entry, the customability of this game is one of my favorite aspects. As I leveled up my character I was able to choose from various powers between my power pool. I like this, because it allows the player to flesh out their character the way they want. "Alternate" power pools become available with classic super hero skills like super speed, super jump, flight, and teleportation. It's fun to play around with these powers, my favorite of which is super jump. Jumping from roof top to roof top is a fun way to get from one place to another as opposed to the traditional running or horse-like mounts found in most MMORPGs.
Further adding to the character building aspect is the ability to add slots for enhancements as I level up. These can be filled with enhancements such as damage and accuracy bonuses that can be dropped by enemies, bought in stores, or created using the crafting system. I enjoy being able to feel my powers get stronger as I level up and trying to figure out the best combination of enhancements.
The thing I like least about this game is the same thing that plagues many MMORPGs: repetition. All of the missions consist of going into a warehouse/club/enemy base and killing all of the enemies in order to defeat a boss, rescue a hostage, or find an item. Although these may sound different, they are essentially all set up in the same way and consist of beating up groups of enemies to get to the final point and complete the objective. It can become boring, especially when soloing.
DESIGN
Although it consists of a lot of the same MMORPG gameplay elements, what sets City of Heroes apart is the way it executes them. For example, most MMORPGs allow the player to customize the look of their character. City of Heroes takes this a step further by going all out and letting the player customize almost every aspect of what their character looks like. Hats, helmets, glasses, sunglasses, horns, wings, capes, beards, hair, and other articles of clothing are abundant, with many options available in each.
Like other MMORPGs, players ultimate goal is to level up and make their character stronger. City of Heroes escapes the "cookie cutter" problem that many class based games have by allowing the player to tailor their character almost perfectly to their play style. Few heroes will be identical, even if they are the same archetype with the same power pools. This is due to alternate power pools, enhancement slots, and the ability to choose which powers are received upon level up instead of receiving a set ability or group of abilities.
The combat is well designed as well, making the player feel as though they are actually playing a hero with things like knock back, rag doll physics, pretty graphics for ice/fire/energy/dark, "super" travel powers. Even if enemies are higher level than a hero, most are easily dispatchable. This allows the game to spawn many enemies and create the feeling that the character is in fact a superhero who can take on multiple "simple" enemies at once.
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