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City of Heroes launched in 2004, offering gamers the opportunity to indulge their super hero fantasies in an unprecedented way. Paragon City is chock full of opportunities to fight evil in various forms. Players are asked to complete numerous missions, rescuing kidnapped citizens, defeating super-powered villains, and forming task forces with other players to take on challenges no lone hero could accomplish.
Available powers run the gamut from mutation-granted super reflexes to technologically-induced fire control. Heroes can wield assault rifles, samurai swords, lightning, and even the dark miasma of the underworld. The sheer multitude of available powers ensures that every gamer can successfully fulfill their comic book dreams in exactly the way they wish, be it as an ice-slinging teenager or a mutant who regenerates health with metal claws.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of City of Heroes is the character creation system. The unbelievable number of options ensures that no two heroes ever look alike. The system is ridiculously robust, with enough options to allow gamers to faithfully create likenesses of their favorite characters or fully realize their own vision for their hero. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world of MMOs.
The City of Villains expansion released in 2005 gives those with less charitable intentions the chance to indulge their comic book fantasies as well. The character creator is just as robust, but the missions offer a bit more variety with kidnappings, bank robberies, and mayhem missions.
