April 28, 2004: The day the world changed

Nearly six years ago, the game industry was ramped up to a higher standard. Gamers and non gamers alike, from all over the globe, were given the opportunity to truly live in a virtual comic book of their imagination, where their ideas for a better world could be expressed in a confederation of masks, capes, aerial assaults, fast feet, and numerous pummelings.

The 'Nuff Saids and the Up, Up, and Aways were completely floored by the ordeal. Where the Nuff Saids kicked up a fuss, the Up, Up, and Aways had an initial Don't Ask, Don't Tell attitude about people living as their favorite character. Meanwhile, they were busy trying to find a way to cash in on the explosive idea.

As for the rest of us... We got the chance to do what most dreamed of doing ever since we read comic books under the covers with a flashlight. Instead of marveling at the exploits of our favorite spandex clad heroes, we could become the hero of our own story and save the day.

An unintentional side effect of this was acutely felt by those of us who are physically challenged. Instead of being confined, we could stand tall, and knock the sense out of ignorant and morally challenged 'people'.

Of course, there were some conceptual challenges. Things that people wanted to do but couldn't, due to the limitations of the programming or the powers that be didn't conceive of in the beginning. However, more often than not most those challenges were overcome one by one, and are still being offered and added as time goes by.

I'm not sure if folks can remember what it was like just waiting for this to come into being. Checking daily for reports on this extremely innovative idea. It has been a rather long time ago.

Naysayers and grumpy people love to bash on this that or another. I've been guilty of that as well from time to time. However, no one can say that they wished this never existed.

This game was a stroke of genius and a flash of brilliance that continues to outshine the rest of the industry, and I just wanted to let the powers that be know simply how much I've appreciated all of their hard work.

Here's to the future!

Nice post , I have played almost a year now and am enjoying playing my toons and interacting with other "heroes" in this world . I cannot wait to see what new developements are in store and hope that those who have played this game from the start will continue to do so and with GR coming , be able to relive again the feeling they first had when they started playing this game .

i would have to agree,this is an awesome game. it is one of the only MMOs i enjoy. other MMOs are way too much grinding or are all open world, or have no means of travel other than simply walking there.

i could have played WoW, but i had seen it many other times before i started on this game and i really did not like how it was set up.

i have tried other MMOs, but every one of them all involve too much grinding. one MMO i tried has no quest content after lvl 40 (lvl cap in that game is 85 i think) and at lvl 59 in the game, 1 mil xp is like .02% of a lvl.

this game has everything i like and more

-tons of content
-very little open world quests (i prefer instanced maps)
-no need to grind through street hunting (always have the trusty newspaper or police scanner)
-plenty of replayability
-can have both heros and villains on same server (i know there are MMOs out there that will only let you play one side or other on a server)
-enhancement system (i like how you dont have limted slots like armor and it doesnt effect how your toon looks AND how it doesnt have a durability to worry about, except outleveling it of course)
-very nice and easy to use character creator (most MMOs i know are insanely limited on this)

and im sure there are other things, but i cant think of them off the top of my head.

this is my first, and prolly only MMO that i will play as long as its out there and running

I remember the days when this was just an idea, and I was really excited about the possibilities in it. Some things may have turned out bad, some great, but in the end, this game did break some new ground. Just with so many character customization options, and with sidekicking, I think CoH definately set a new MMO standard.

I've had fun.

Good post, Dolphin!

You are completely right. This game was a life-changer for me, because it allowed me to use my rather powerful imagination. I got this game when I was twelve years old, and my brother was actually seven! Five (almost six!) years later and we're still playing, with the newest additions being my eight, seven, and six year old brothers.

This game is one in a million.

For me it was July 17, 2004. I had never heard of this game until PvP Online wrote cartoons about it. A group of friends and I decided to try it and nothing has been the same since.

After I logged into COH I said goodbye to Everquest, which I had played happily for 2 1/2 years, without ever logging in again.

Five and a half years on and I'm still gleeful to be here. Details in the game and my knowledge of it has changed, but that joy hasn't. I hope it never does.

My life is separated into two different eras: Before CoH, and since CoH. I'm not going to say that the game single-handedly changed my life, but it did come along at a time where everything was changing for me. Maybe this is why I have such a deep love for the game, since it marked a change in the foundation of my life, and the nostalgia factor is overwhelming. Personally, I think it's more because it's a really great game that allows me to have the super powers I've wanted for the last 29 or so years.

And the first thing that comes to mind when I saw that title...

I came into this game just about 3 years ago. I still absolutely love it.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Good post Dolphin.

I wish NCSoft marketing shared your enthusiasm for the game.

Click for Hot Sun Splitter Action

Makes me look back....

I was single & living in a basement apartment when I first got involved with this game almost 6 years ago, I'm now married with two kids & living in a house that we own and yet I'm still here playing (though not nearly as much as I'd like...lack of free time and all )

I guess I'm a bit spoiled since this game is the first MMO I ever tried. I was home from work sick and looking for something to occupy my time. Man, did I find it.

Tried one other MMO and it lost me at the tutorial, which wasn't at all user-friendly.

As I told my friends and family, it's the next best thing to having actual super powers. And since I don't expect to be bitten by a radioactive spider or given a dying alien's power ring, I stay.

I have a passing curiosity about other games, but so far have not even been tempted to try them. After 13 months, I'm still quite happy with this one.

I remember that I was playing Everquest and Star Wars Galaxies and at the time these were the only MMOs that I felt were worth my time, and then I saw an ad for City of Heroes in a comicbook. Upon seeing the ad I knew that this was the MMO for me. So far I've enjoyed my time here, and don't see myself stopping anytime soon.

When i was a kid i loved going to the arcade and playing Ms Pacman, asteriods, galaxia, etc. However, i always wanted something more. I would tell my friends that i wanted to be the character, a human character, that looked REAL, and would go on adventures. So after Dragons Liar came out and when i first saw it i was amazed, i thought they had read my mind. Then i realized it was just, right right sword forward sword sword left = win. I loved the graphics but was so disappointed with the gameplay. Many years went by and i loved my Tomb Raider, Diablo II, etc., but still longed for what i had imagined. There were many hopeful disappointments Doom, Thief, etc. Then came Freedom Force which looked and sounded like i liked, but was so cheesy in parts and limited in what you could do, the storyline was static. Then i started playing city of heroes. I had never heard of CoH and had just bought a new computer. I went to the store to buy WoW. I had WoW in my hand (i had played it at a friends) and i saw CoH, i was going to buy both and i thought to myself "i should just get one, so i really get into one and not keeping switching games every other day". Well that was 40 months ago. I still haven't gone and bought WoW.

CoH is the first game that has ever fulfilled what i imagined i wanted a game to be as a child. It has actually surpassed it. The world is beautiful. The power animations are awesome. The storylines and long and interesting. City of Heroes is the soccer of MMORPGs. "The Beautiful Game"

This game still stands head and shoulders above every other MMO I've tried

Sad to think that it arrived as the popularity of comic books dipped to an all time low. It might have had 11 million subscribers had it debuted in the 1965 - 1979 Silver/Bronze age period when comics were breaking new ground in quality and popularity. Shame that history and technology didn't mesh at all for that

and D_R, your Reichsman costume is still millions of times better than the in-game one

I first heard of this game when it was announced and promptly forgot about. Back then was different for Anasthesia and I, and we both said playing superheroes sounded like fun, but we'd never ever pay a subscription fee to play a game.

But I was reading back issues of Angst Technology, and there was a City reference. Then someone said I should read PvP and there, again, was a City reference.

So, 6 years later, we both play City and DDO. She also plays WoW and I jump back and forth between LotRO and WAR.

But the City always has a way of calling me back, even when I get the new shiny single player game.

Characters I had made for the tabletop RPGs Heroes Unlimited, Champions, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, and Silver Age Sentinels now live and breathe in City of Heroes and the Rogue Isles.