20 Great Moments in PC Gaming
FEATURE
Creating a hero in
City of Heroes
ByRichardCobbett
Rest in peace, City of Heroes, the first and still
one of the only MMOs that had the courage to
make everyone awesome at Level 1. Whether
a Blaster or a Controller or whatever else, you
enteredtheworld feeling like a living god. Leaping
structuresin a single bound. Towering over the citizens.
Dispensingjustice against street-thugs.
Ofcourse, over time that Level 1 power would
skyrocketuntil you were ready to take on super villains,
andgiantblob monsters, and everything else you’d expect
fromanMMO. Take a step out of your level range and
you’dbepunched right into the nearest hospital. Ah, but it
didn’tmatter. Within those starting areas you were a
livinggod.It wasn’t just about power. While City of
Heroeshadits archetypes, it offered unprecedented
freedomtocreate the hero you wanted, with just about
everycostume piece available up-front for you to play and
experimentwith. Pick your power. Create a look. Then
realizethatthe name you wanted was taken and go back
tothedrawing board. It was almost more fun roleplaying
yourheroicalter-ego than biffing and bashing baddies.
CityofHeroes wasn’t the last superhero MMO, but neither
ChampionsOnline nor DC Universe Online really nailed
thatfunand freedom. We still miss it.18
Oneofthemostfrustratingmisconceptions
inadventuregamingis thatif youwantto
makethenextMonkeyIsland, youshould
basicallymakeMonkeyIsland. Infact,
MonkeyIslandwasa gamerootedininventivenessand
ambition.Justlookattheinsultswordfighting,a
conceptsogenius,nobodyhaseverquitematchedit.
Theinsultsarelegendaryingaming.Youfightlikea
dairy farmer! How appropriate, you fight like a cow!
I’ve spoken with apes more polite than you! I’m glad to
hear you attended your family reunion!
It’s not just that it spared us a hideous minigame
like those you might have gotten in Sierra adventures
of the time. It’s that it’s a perfect fusion between the
cerebral nature of the adventure and the excitement of
a classic film duel. While replaying it can get a touch
tedious when you know all the responses, it’s still hard
not to enjoy the goofiness and the lack of any real
stakes – even defeated, the worst that happens is a “Be
off with you, then...”
The wonderful addition of Carla the Sword Master
having her own unique insults, too brutal for a regular
pirate to wield, but answerable with your existing
responses, only cements it as a perfect little piece of
design that justifiably went down in adventure and
broader gaming history.Insult sword-fighting in
Monkey Island
By Richard Cobbett
19 The Guardian speaks in
Ultima 7 ByRichardCobbett
“AVATAR! Know that
Britannia has entered into
a new age of
enlightenment. Know
thatthetime has finally come for the
one true Lord of Britannia to take His
place at the head of His people!
Under my guidance, Britannia will
flourish. And all the people shall
rejoice and pay homage to their new...
Guardian! Know that you, too, shall
kneel before me, Avatar. You too will
soon acknowledge my authority. For I
shall be your companion. Your...
provider. And your master!”
Games didn’t usually talk in 1992.
Villains certainly didn’t literally try to
stick their head through your screen
to shout at you. But the Guardian ofUltima VII was no ordinary villain.
Sitting in the last level and waiting
for an ass-whooping? Not for him.
He was a constant presence in
your adventure, initially pretending
(albeit not very convincingly) to be
your friend, and later screaming in
your ear as you slowly dismantled his
scheme. The result, in this usually
voiceless time, was an enemy that
you could believe was watching you
play, chortling as he made you jump
with his regular interruptions. An
enemy against whom you were
playing a glorified chess match. A
worthy foe for an Avatar who had
saved the world at least six times.
Bit of a pity that in retrospect, he
does look a bit like a Muppet.20