Review

The story in City of Villains takes place in the Rogue Isles, In the beginning of the game you find your self in a prison from which you will have to break out of, thanks to the assistance of troops loyal to Lord Recluse, the new bad guy who has taken control of the Rogue Isles and a sworn enemy of Statesman, the leader of Paragon City’s heroes. Lord Recluse is always on the look out for heartless villains to pull off his diabolical plans. He’s giving you a chance to prove that the trust he placed in you when he helped you out of jail wasn’t a wrong decision.

 The Rogue Isles can be viewed as a huge free for all arena, where everyone is trying to advance in rank and fame in any way possible. If that means that you have to kill the guy next to you, so be it… you’ll probably be commended for your initiative. Nobody will tolerate mistakes and don’t expect a warm welcome from the people you’re going to work with. Everybody will be a jerk during the initial phases of the game, but as you progress and gain levels, they’re attitude towards you will change.

Gruesome, psychotic or scary faces, leather masks, human skulls, spikes, chains, masks and the list goes on and on. With all these options at your fingertips you can create the perfect villain with Cryptic Studios which has managed to improve the already awesome character creation tool from City of Heroes , adding even more customization options. Oddly enough, besides the costume and the attitude everyone else has towards you, there’s very little in the game to actually make you feel like a super-villain. You can’t beat up people walking around the streets, you can’t destroy or damage anything, and you can’t blow anything up or cause utter mayhem. So after a while it seem like you are doing the same thing over and over.

City of Villains' graphics are necessarily much like those of City of Heroes. Player models aren't terribly detailed, but they have enough comic book charm to be appealing--you'll find yourself stopping often in midfight to admire a villain's particularly well-designed costume. The Rogue Isle environments are spacious and well designed, with plenty of nooks and crannies, low-lying buildings, and impossibly tall skyscrapers. Many of these environments are designed with a decrepit feel of urban decay that adds a sense of foreboding to the game--an effective twist from the typically bright and cheerful environments of Paragon City.