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This could be the best take on the MMORPG genre in years, with a unique fighting system and tons of different ways to make your character your own.

Unless you have been living under a rock, or just not an MMORPG fan, no doubt you have heard about this supposedly ground breaking new MMORPG. I recently got some time in the beta, so I am here to preview the game for you and let you know if what you heard about this game is actually true.

First and foremost, this game does what no other game in recent years has. It broke the MMORPG mold in its making, giving you a unique experience different from any other MMORPG out today. I am not talking just the Super Hero part, I am talking almost everything about the game. Granted, you are still playing a game where the entire point is to level up, but they give you plenty to do to get it done.

Unlike many of the recent MMORPG’s, this game gives you a good reason to join up in a group. Sometimes things just get too difficult for you to go it alone, and sometimes you should group with others to make sure you find those rarer spawning bad guys. Then there is the Sidekick thing that I have never seen before in any other game. A character higher than 10 can sidekick another player, any level under 10 and a 5 level difference if the other player is over 10, and set their fighting level at close to the leader’s level.

A very nice edition, I must say, and it is something that is very useful. I was taken under the wing of some other players a few times, and each time the boost it gave me in my level was always helpful.

The graphics in this game run incredibly smoothly, even on a somewhat lower end modern card like mine. The default settings were cranked to the max when I installed (I am assuming it detects how good your computer is when it installs and sets things accordingly.) and it ran just beautifully. We are talking some very well done graphical coding here, better than any other MMORPG out right now that I have seen.

This is not to say the graphics are the most beautiful, because they are not, but they are way up there on the ladder. I encountered slowdown only when there was a large number of things going on very close to my screen. But besides those, it ran absolutely perfectly.

The fighting system is also a point on the card for this game. The real time combat system brings a beautiful new game to the genre, where instead of hitting the attack button and watching you guy go at it, occasionally using a special move, you pick each move your character does and actively participate in the battle. You pick the wrong move at the wrong time, you can die. Quickly, depending on the enemy.

That brings up a downside during my playtime. Enemies with Dark powers seemed insanely overpowered, and could kill me without too much trouble it seemed. I am sure this is something that will be fixed before release, but during the beta it is hard to complete a mission solo when the boss kills you without breaking a sweat.

The sound effects in the game are, for the most part, well done. There is the occasional sound which will grate in your ears every time it plays, and some abilities have a horrible, repeating sound effect. Besides those, though, everything is very, very well done I thought. Your punches sound like punches, and so on.

All in all, this is a game you should definitely watch out for when it comes out. With its unique features, and well done almost everything, this game seems like it will break the staleness this genre has been experiencing of late. If you want to be a super hero, or want something new for your MMORPG pleasures, then by all means pick this game up as soon as you can. If you aren’t a fan of MMORPG’s, this just might be the game you want to start with.


Preview by Chris Williams.