City of Villains

City of Villains is a massively multiplayer online role-playing computer game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSoft. Released on Halloween, 2005, the game is integrated with their previous release, City of Heroes. The gameplay centers on defeating a variety of computer controlled opponents within a three-dimensional world using various powers and attacks, sometimes with the help of several other players.

Features

An instant-access mission system.
Player vs Player areas for hero vs. villain conflict.
Build your own Super-Villain lair.
Sharper and more detailed graphics, ragdoll physics, and other visual improvements.

Missions

The player's initial tutorial is "Breakout" (the name of which is the inverse of City of Heroes tutorial, "Outbreak") where their character must escape from prison (specifically Zigursky Penitentiary, "The Zig," located in Brickstown) to go to the Rogue Isles, where the majority of the game takes place. After this point, the player gains missions both from the new Newspaper system and from more traditional contacts.

The game has diverse missions which have objectives such as bank robberies and kidnappings, in addition to the mission types currently available in City of Heroes. Players are able to choose between the different types of missions offered by the newspaper. Another type of mission is the Supergroup mission, where your entire Supergroup will be able to take on a difficult challenge. Also, since the release of Issue 7 'Destiny Manifest', players can participate in Mayhem Missions, where villains travel to instanced areas of Paragon City and harass citizens, rob stores, destroy property, and cause general mayhem for a limited amount of time.

Player vs. Player

One major focus of City of Villains is the expansion of Player versus player (PvP) combat. Although PvP was introduced to City of Heroes prior to the release of City of Villains through the Arena combat system, CoV substantially expands the variety and importance of PvP combat.

Three new modes of PvP are included in the expansion:

There are specific PvP zones which both villains and heroes are able to enter in order to fight each other. These zones contain special objects which provide certain benefits to whichever side is in control of the map. Some of these zones allow open PvP, where players can attack any other player, while other zones allow faction-based PvP, where heroes can only attack villains and vice versa.
If a Supergroup's base contains an Item of Power, the lair is open to (scheduled) raids by any other Supergroup. Items of Power confer modest bonuses upon all members of the owning supergroup.
Players may earn gladiators by accumulating gladiator badges. These gladiators act as proxy fighters for the new gladiator mode of Arena combat.

At the moment, there are four PvP zones; Bloody Bay, Sirens Call , Warburg , and Recluse's Victory.

Bases

Players can create bases for their villain groups. These allow the player to meet-up with other players privately and gain access to useful game facilities. From a base, players can travel directly to specific zones, buy Enhancements and Inspirations, or acquire missions, for example.

Additionally you can store collectable "Items of Power" here. These items provide the group with special enhancements, but also opens up the base for raiding (see also "Player vs. Player" above). The bases can be equipped with traps and other countermeasures to help fend off these raids. During scheduled base defense time periods any other supergroup will be able to raid the base and attempt to seize an Item Of Power.

In order to construct a base, the members of the supergroup must acquire in-game currency known as Prestige. Prestige is earned by members of the supergroup when they play their characters in "Supergroup mode." It is then spent to buy rooms, place items, and pay upkeep expenses for a base. Additionally there is a form of crafting using "Salvage" acquired from defeated NPCs. With Salvage and a worktable placed in a base, you can create various items such as more powerful hospitals or turrets. These placed items can make your base less vulnerable to attack, provide additional functionality for your Supergroup, or increase the visual appeal of your base.

Character creation

Creating a character consists of several steps. First the player selects an origin, an archetype and a primary and secondary power set. Next the actual avatar with its costume is created. And finally the player chooses a name and can optionally write a background story to add some flavor to the character.

Enemies

Geography

City of Villains takes place on the Rogue Isles off the coast of Bermuda in the Atlantic ocean, which used to be a French colony and later a pirate haven. The Rogue Isles have acquired United Nations status. The Rogue Isles are under the control of a new and powerful villain group, Arachnos, led by Lord Recluse. Unlike City of Heroes, the zones in City of Villains run in a linear pattern; as your character levels higher, they progress to the next zone.

Pricing

City of Villains currently retails at an MSRP of $29.99 with a DVD Collector's Edition at an MSRP of $39.99.

Subscription Fee

As in other MMORPGs, players must pay the publisher (NCSoft) a monthly fee to continue playing City of Villains. Portions of the subscription costs go to supporting a full-time "live" team, which develops additional content for the game; other portions support the significant server maintenance and bandwidth costs. Coh.ogaming.com has an article on why MMORPGs have recurring fees ^*. In addition to paying subscription fees via credit card, another option is pre-paid cards that are available at video game retailers. Once purchased, the player inputs a code from the card and their account is updated to allow as many months of play as the card is good for.

Both City of Heroes and City of Villains are included in the same monthly fee. It does not increase your monthly fee if you buy the version of the game you are missing.

Payment options

US dollars

1 month for $14.99
3 months for $41.85 ($13.95 per month)
6 months for $77.70 ($12.95 per month)
12 months for $143.40 ($11.95 per month)

Beginning April 5, 2006, NCsoft began adding sales tax to the above subscription charges for customers living in the states of California, Texas, Arizona, and Minnesota, due to having a legal business presence in those states. ^*