City of Cool

Much like Syp, and his much talked about anticipation for Champions Online, I also crave all things super-hero. I grew up on Marvel comics, and superhero antics. My particular penchant was for the 2099 series before they got axed, right around the time that the Age of Apocalypse event happened. If any of you readers know what I’m talking about, nerd cred to you. In any matter, I’m sure many (one) will remember that I wrote some reviews a month or so back about some other games I was trying out, and one of which was City of Heroes. My attempt to try fresh with the game failed miserably, despite my best efforts.

But all this has changed my friends, yes, nVidia has released new drivers, so I thought I’d give the still-installed game a test run into the login in screen to see if all my woes had been corrected. So a short download later, I found much to my giddy delight, that yes, things seemed to be working as intended. I ran my fingers over the keyboard as quick as a bunny, and spun up my old account. The dilemma I now faced was this: who do I want to play?

Do I scream my way through the game on my Sonic/Sonic Corrupter, Wilem Mach. A former pilot who’s mutation tore his home, and his family with it, to shreds, and now finds himself in the criminal underworld? Perhaps with Therin, a Katana/Regen scrapper, from a race of winged, sometimes angelic, sometimes demonic people, who is here to help stave off a greater assault on a world he has watched for centuries. Or should I go with his villain counter-point, Promulgate, a Dual Blade/Fire brute? Maybe Miguel, an Energy/Energy blaster, who was formerly a spec-ops agent for Delta, but his body was torn asunder at a site that was rigged to explode, disintegrating his body, and requiring a containment suit to keep him corporeal. Later on, his powers will amplify, and he will be able to create a physical body for himself of flesh and bone by using the inherent energy for creation (I swear to all that’s holy, I created this idea a long time before I read the Watchmen comic). Or lastly, should I bring stealthy death to my foes with Anyone, my Ninja Blade/Ninjitsu stalker. Clad all in black, this assassin never reveals his identity, and is taking jobs from the highest bidder for whatever skills he might be able to make available.

I’m a nerd, I know it. I love these games and all the thought you can put into each one. Sure, your story isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things, and I’ve never gotten a character over level 27, but this game is just fun. It’s great to get in there and just instantly start destroying stuff, the action is fast, and the payoff is quick. There’s a lot of new things in the game that I still have to get a hold of, such as combining inspirations, merit system, and I vaguely recall the crafting system, but not much more than that. We’ll see how it all goes, but I had a damn good time last night.

The art, in case anyone is wondering, is from my favorite of comic artists, Chris Bachalo. I’ve been enjoying his work ever since he first drew Generation X. Bar-none, his style makes me miss collecting comics more than any other. If you haven’t seen his work, google his name and look at the images that result. You won’t be disappointed.