E3 2002City of Heroes impressions

Cryptic Studios, the developer of the upcoming massively multiplayer superhero game City of Heroes, was demonstrating the first pre-beta build of the game that has been shown to media at the 2002 E3. The premise behind City of Heroes is a significant departure from what has been seen in other massively multiplayer role-playing games. The characters in City of Heroes are fairly self-reliant, and they're capable from the start. Instead of leveling and gaining statistics, superheroes gain new powers and enhance those that are selected during the character creation process.

The accumulation of treasure found in most games is swapped for fame, wealth, and experience, which help heroes gain access to more difficult missions, additional powers, and such amenities as an established base and useful equipment. For example, heroes will be able to travel to more dangerous zones when their fame level allows them access, as opposed to the fledgling hero types, who would be at too much risk. Wealth can also pay for important goods that nearly every superhero can make use of, such as iron plating or a even diamond weave for their costume.

We saw the game running and immediately took in the cityscape of Paragon City. A costumed superhero was atop a building, racing toward the edge of the rooftop. Taking a sizable leap, the hero straightened out his stance from a leap into a traditional superhero flight position, at which point he was able to fly around the city's different neighborhoods and soar to a landing at the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers. After taking in the scenery, and after day had shifted into night, the created hero swooped down to the streets below and initiated his super speed ability, where his pace quickened considerably, and he zipped down city blocks in mere seconds.

The hero reached a building that was home to Paragon's superhero command center. Here, the character approached a series of fancy-looking terminals, where he was able to activate a computer interface and browse the game's mission system. In City of Heroes, characters can take on missions as assigned by the city benefactors, which in this example was a request to chase after a fleeing villain who was hiding out in an underground base, conveniently concealed in a tunnel underneath the city park.

After traveling to the park, the hero approached the entrance to the mission area, which in this case was composed of rocky, tunneled-out terrain and high-tech equipment, giving the area the same feel of the secret hideouts of the mad geniuses from James Bond movies. Now in enemy territory, we saw the heroic character charge up a power that materialized a golden electric sword in his hand, showing that some powers in City of Heroes will replicate the familiar melee attack abilities found in other fantasy-oriented role-playing games. The demo superhero was met by small groups of villainous agents, and the game's combat mechanics were put to the test.

As enemies showed their faces, the demonstrator began passing the cursor over them, triggering the onscreen icons that display your character's available superpowers. In this case, the hero shot ice bolts at the enemy agents. While enemies were being targeted, we were shown how shots can be aimed at various parts of an enemy's body. For example, striking the head can stun, while aiming for the hands can immobilize carried weaponry, such as guns. We also noticed that when the death-mask-wearing enemy agents came in close and began attacking with some fairly impressive-looking spin kicks, the hero remained in full active control, and since the game plays from the third-person perspective, we could see him jump away, fly around while dodging, and landing to take a few swipes with his sword. Real-time dodging of attacks and evasion is as much a factor of success in combat as the computerized die-roll in City of Heroes. While you don't quite need the twitch-based skills of a first-person shooter, players will be able to note better results in combat when flying, teleporting, and jumping around in a battle.

Completing single-player and team-based missions in City of Heroes will be the most effective way of gaining wealth, fame, and experience, but players can also venture into the hazard zones, which are essentially sectioned-off parts of the city. After the recent invasion of the alien race known as the Rikti, the people of Paragon City decided it was much safer to simply give up the disputed wasteland areas of the city by walling them off using powerful energy fields. So while Paragon City itself remains a relatively safe place, just a few steps away heroes can encounter an abundance of seedy types and powerful enemy organizations that call these hazard areas their home. The sample hero entered one of these zones, and the difference a few feet of distance made was rather startling. The buildings were nearly demolished--entire sections of walls were blown away, exposing ruins within. Supports were toppled, and in general, the area looked unsavory, not the least bit helped by the band of scavenger types who immediately beset the hero armed with imposing-looking handguns. After a brief melee, the hero flew around the area, showing us that these zones were fairly sizable, with much to explore. While characters don't get a mission bonus for eliminating the enemies in these areas, they will still get any bounty the city has placed on their defeat, as well as the personal fame and experience.

At that point, we were given details regarding the character creation process. There are approximately 150 different superpowers to choose from, including the various subsets. Ice bolts, for example, have a subset of three different skills that can be practised: prowess, range, and damage. Two characters who train their ice control skill can have quite different abilities, based on how their powers are focused. After seeing the flight, enchanted weapons, ranged attacks, and super speed abilities, we were convinced that there would be a fair variety of classic comic-book powers to explore.

We also took a look at the costume customization features, which, according to Cryptic, allow for billions of possible combinations. Each character in the male, female, and gargantuan male templates has a variety of different parts to change on his or her costume, such as the head, chest, arms, logo, and legs. These individual parts can be textured to appear as skin-tight spandex, clothing, loose-fitting mage robes, or even robotic suits. Thus players can create characters based on modern superhero books, a steam-driven robot from science-hero books, an insectoid character similar to those found in live-action Japanese television shows, or a spoof of the wizard Merlin. Each piece can be painted using a palette of 96 colors, with the ability to link colors across all costume pieces to create a uniform look. With each player having individual stats, powers, skills, items, costuming, and profiles, it should be quite unlikely to see the same superhero twice.

City of Heroes will support player vs. player combat through the use of arenas, where heroes can test their strength against each other. Additionally, players will be able to have a direct effect on the game's storyline, as it will be molded alongside the actions of the game's heroes, who can influence the way Paragon City develops. Players will also be able to develop a classic plot device from comic book history--the nemesis. As your character fights one of the enemy organizations, they develop animosity toward your hero and will eventually come after him or her to pay back some of what's been given them.

The build we examined was pre-beta, and we didn't get a chance to play it, but it already looked quite playable. We'll have more on City of Heroes when the game proceeds into the beta cycles of development.