The Buzz

What if you had superhuman powers, but did not know if you should use them for good or evil? Cryptic Studios is giving you a chance to find out if you will walk the line of good, the line of evil, or draw your own path in between.

Title: City of Heroes: Going Rogue

Official Trailer: Going Rogue Trailer

Developer: Cryptic Studios

Publisher: NC Soft

US Release: August 17, 2010

Platforms: PC, Mac

ESRB: Teen

A Whole New World

It’s time to dawn your tights, mask, and cape once again. This second expansion to the #1 superhero-themed MMO will soon introduce you to the world of Praetoria. Like with the City of Villains expansion, this expansion will introduce players to a new, parallel world that is linked to Paragon City (City of Heroes) and the Rogue Islands (City of Villains). Praetoria features a host of new zones, enemies and allies that will test your survival skills and moral beliefs. There are even PVP zones available for players to fight for territory against players on the Heroes and Villains sides.

Moral Alignment

When players wanted to be able to live the life of a villain, City of Villains was created. Players who want to have the ability to switch between hero and villain have gotten their wish in this expansion. Two new character alignments will be available for players. Based on decisions made during the game, Praetorians will become Rogues or Vigilantes. Rogues can eventually become Villains and Vigilantes can eventually become Heroes….or not. The player have the power to make moral decisions that will place them as a good guy, a bad guy, or a superhuman fighting for his or herself. This is the most interesting aspect of this game.

New Power Sets

Four new power sets have been added to the fray. Players can now wield dual pistols, summon demons, use kinetic melee, or control electricity. Players, both seasoned and new, will put many hours into mastering these new power sets. The Dual Pistol power set has some awesome animations and pack lots of power. The demon summoning power set allows players to summon demons that have various elemental attributes and look scary as hell. Demon summoners use whips as weapons! Kinetic melee is great for players who like to tank and sap endurance and HP at the same time. Electricity control will have various AOE effects and has a high potential to deal damage.

New Costume Sets

The developers have again placed lots of attention on character customization. They have fine tuned many of the current costume sets and have even included a few more costumes for players to wear. I still feel that most other MMOs give better the facial customizations. The fact that you can change the colors of your weapons and powers makes up for the facial issues. Imagine having the ability to shoot red electricity from your hands or purple beams out of your hands or eyes.

Battle System

The battle system is the same as the previous versions of the game. Players choose what powers they want to have and use them once the ability has cooled down and there is enough endurance to do so. Airborne players can still attack from the from the safety of the sky and have the opportunity to change the colors of their powers. Enemy NPCs wills till attack you if you are within their range of sight, but they are still a bit stupid though.

Graphics and Sound

I am guessing that the graphics and sound of this expansions will be pretty much the same as the other two versions. The graphics are a bit choppy at times when compared to games like WoW. The new power sets will have their own special effects and sounds. The new monsters and characters will have their own as well.

Replay Value

Like any other MMO, the City of Heroes series has unlimited replay value. There are 12 different servers to choose from, each offering you the ability to create over 10 different caped criminals, heroes, or Praetorians. That is at least 360 characters, all with different powers, looks, and gameplay styles. Along with that, there are thousands of possible missions that can be completed. The inclusion of the Mission Architect system gives layers the opportunity to create their own missions from scratch and share with the community.

Final Thought

City of Heroes has been out for over 6 years and it still has a great following. The developers listen to players and make frequent updates to make the gaming experience much better. Free updates are made every few months to indtroduce new abilities and fix issues with the games. If you like super powers and don’t mind shelling out $15 a month, this is the game for you. For more information on City of Heroes: Going Rogue, please visit the official website athttp://goingrogue.na.cityofheroes.com/en/

So I thought I begin a web based mini series of my MMO adventures.

In this series I will give you the run down on what its like to play a certain MMO.

In this web series I will cover games such as this.

I hope that by giving some of you a brief glimpse into the world of massively multiplayer

online role playing games that you might be persuaded to give them a try.  Stay tuned for

the first entry into this adventure’s journal.