MaximumPC 2004 08

Reviews

City of Heroes

Create your own superhero in this uniquely

entertaining MMORPG

W

e’ve always wanted to be a superhero, the type of do-gooder who

can fly above the clouds, scale tall buildings, and terrify criminals

in dark alleys while our cape flows menacingly behind us. With City

of Heroes, we can finally perform all these feats and more—without any fear

that videos of us pretending to be a superhero will wind up on the Internet.

This comic book–oriented massively multiplayer game is a superhero sim

of sorts. You choose the type of hero you want to be and then set out to fight

crime and vanquish evil in a metropolis called Paragon City. We appreciate

that City of Heroes isn’t complex and that it doesn’t try to be. You simply cre-

ate your crime-fighting alter ego—you can be anyone from a cybernetically

enhanced martial artist to a mutant telepathic healer—outfit him, her, or it

with a variety of accessories, and then enter the city and start putting an

end to the evildoers.

Paragon City is full of life, both law-abiding and crime-loving. A variety

of missions are available for you to choose from. In some, you’ll hunt down

gang members in alleys; in others, you’ll battle super villains in their lairs.

Unfortunately, most of the missions boil down to the same beat-up-the-bad-

guys formula. Don’t get us wrong, we love beating up bad guys. But while

such straightforward action makes City of Heroes more accessible and

entertaining than most massively multiplayer games, a little more complexity

would hold our interest longer.

The controls are extremely intuitive and use the familiar WASD and

space bar combo we love so much. In addition to the standard kick and

punch fighting moves, each superhero has an array of special powers and

access to temporary power-ups called Inspirations. These added abili-

ties can turn the tide in battle by healing you, enhancing your strength, or

recharging your energy.

Unfortunately, as the game

stands now, you can only fight

alongside your human com-

padres, not against them. This

is frustrating—we want to be

able to prove our hero is the

best. We’ve read reports that

City of Villains, the upcoming

add-on to this game, will allow

such head-to-head play.

—E. WILL GREENWALD

City of Heroes is to other MMORPGs what comic books are to

novels. Not nearly as deep, but much easier to dive into.

Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle

An attractive MMORPG cookie that’s cut from the

same dough as most others

W

ith Lineage II, developer NCSoft follows the standard point-and-click,

hack-and-slash formula of other MMORPGs like Everquest and Dark

Age of Camelot so religiously that although the game is hard to fault,

it feels completely uninspiring. In fact, Lineage II’s only glaring flaw is a lack of

innovation. Early on, players find themselves settling into the classic MMORPG

treadmill: fight monsters, get experience, get gold, level up, buy equipment.

Repeat. It’s a tried-and-true formula, but it feels a little long in the tooth.

Persistent players are promised a deeper and richer role-playing experi-

ence, where they can upgrade their class, craft items, form clans, siege

castles, and even raise their own dragon. But when you’re only at level 8 and

you’ve just killed your five-thousandth orc, you’ll wonder if it’s even worth it.

Lineage II includes all of the standard massively multiplayer staples.

Player-vs-player combat is supported, but it’s policed by a “karma” system

that turns excessive player-killers into vulnerable fugitives. Players can trade

items with other players, which creates a simple Everquest -like economy.

Equipment drops are extremely rare, though, and as of this review, the game’s

economy reflected this, with extremely high prices for all but the most basic

items. New players are forced to choose between Fighter and Mystic classes,

but can eventually customize their classes with specialized skills and class-

evolving quests.

The graphics appear colorful, lush, and well beyond our expectations of

an online-only RPG. In keeping with others of the genre, the world is large,

there are many different enemies to fight and items to use, and the sound

effects and music are well-produced.

Lineage II has great potential, and rewards hardcore players who stick

with it long enough to reap the

benefits at higher levels, but

non-fanatics of the genre will

probably have a hard time slog-

ging through it. Hopefully, future

revisions will take this into con-

sideration and make the early

stages more interesting.

—E. WILL GREENWALD

Be your own superhero. Tons of character options.

Huge cityscapes.

BATMAN

AQUAMAN

Lacks the depth of other MMORPGs. You can

only fight the AI. No capes!

$50, http://www.cityofheroes.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9

Great look, solid gameplay, and lots of potential for

hardcore characters.

FIREBALL

MAGIC MISSILE

Tedious treadmill-style play, and limited in lower

levels.

$50, http://www.lineage2.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 7

 MAXIMUMPC AUGUST 2004

Lineage II looks good, but expect the same fights over and

over again.