City of Villains has all the strengths of City of Heroes plus much more.
The graphics in City of Villains are exactly the same as they are in City of Heroes, so there is not much more to say about them that wasn't already said in the City of Heroes review. The only real difference in graphics is the darkness and evil of everything has just been enhanced to the point that Mercy Island looks like it's just one floor above Hell itself. There are no civilians, there are gang members, diseased people with guns, policemen, and homeless people (who you cannot attack).
The gameplay is also pretty much the same as City of Heroes, but with a much darker and more sinister layer on top of it. The missions are basically the same objectives as the ones in Atlas Park but with different surroundings and different bad guys. These subtle changes, however, did make a difference for me and I ended up liking Villains much more than Heroes.
The game's creativity, once again, mostly comes out of the character creation. The super powers and costumes are all pretty much the same, but it is still one of the best parts of the game. Other than that there is nothing to say that hasn't already been said.
City of Villains was a better attempt at what they were going for in Heroes and the teamplay aspect of the game still plays a huge role. It's still the same game at heart but for me the subtle differences were enough to make me like it more than Heroes. Once again, I do not recommend this game to people who like to do everything by themselves or to avid World of Warcraft players.