Keeping in mind that I've only played CoH for few weeks during the beta. Since X has the full game, he can probably go into a little more detail.

My impressions is that the game is very much streamlined. The whole Character Creation process is probably the most complicated part of the game, and the most fun. I kept making new characters just so I could mess around with new costumes. When they tell you there's millions of possibilities, they ain't lying. I never saw anyone with the same costume during the beta (except for two people who created MaryKate and Ashley Olsen in game). I wish they'd restricted some appearance choices to certain Origins though. A Magical hero that looks like a robot is just a little weird. Also wish you could customize some powers either. Everyone having the same gun, same sword, same power color is a minor annoyance.

Once in game, things pick up rather quickly. You're really never at a loss for what to do, and since they upped spawns, there's always a thug around every corner that needs foiling. Hopefully the bug with cops and SWAT cowering as they're being mugged is fixed. Honestly, why are these guys cops if they run away at the first sign of trouble?

Missions at the beginning are pretty simple. Arrest this many thugs, clear out these hoodlums from an offics, etc. As you go higher up though, they start getting a little more interesting. Hostage rescues, disarming bombs, stuff like that.

Lots of variety with enemies as well, although my most hated are the damn Vahziloks, or zombies. Frigging zombie vomit...

I only reached level 15 before the beta ended, so I never got to see a lot of the higher level creatures. I do know that the variety keeps going even at higher end levels.

Each zone in Paragon City are distinct as well. Atlas Park is bright and shining metropolis, King's Row is a down in the dumps industrial sector. Steel Canyon is a criss-cross of elevated highways.

There's no looting, no crafting in the game, so the only thing you have to worry about is punching thugs.

There's no environmental damage at all, which is a shame. I would love to see trees toppling or mailboxes go flying when you toss someone against it. I don't mean permanent of course, temporary fadeing damage would be nice. And riding ontop of cars and trucks would be really nice.

KillStealing is still factor in this game, but it's something you could probably never eliminate completely.

Still, I have to wonder about the longetivity of CoH. While the lack of complexity is a good thing, allowing practically anyone to jump in and play, I wonder if it'll be enough to hold people long. The City of Villains expansion is slated to arrive next year, so we'll see.

Posted by The Lazarus at May 13, 2004 12:29 PM