CoH - Review @ GameSlave

GameSlave awards City of Heroes/Villains a princely 8.5/10.

Hitting the streets is immediately satisfying. The busy world of Paragon City is densely populated with NPC lawbreakers and victims, meaning that if there are not a lot of people online on your server, you can always find something to do. Your powers (which you select at the start of the game and add to as you progress through the levels) allow you to beat up baddies to your hearts desire and, later in the game, to do fancy stuff like flying about. In fact, knowing the fun that is to be had, the developers allow you to fly pretty early on in the game. In the city itself, everywhere you turn, people are smashing up cars, stealing handbags or beating up innocents. It doesn't feel like work; it feels like you're saving the day. Of course, what you're really doing is gaining experience points - it's just you barely notice as it's so much less of a bore than it often is with other MMOs. But, while the game is quite solo-friendly, the real rewards lie in the team-based missions. Lots of experience is there for the taking, whether it be by thwarting bank robberies, rescuing hostages, defusing bombs, or just good ol' beating up thugs.