Huzzah, turned the big 21 on Sunday. Lived it up by playing a continuous <bug-mired, yet enjoyable> 18 hour marathon of the City of Villains Beta - Stress Test. All this while drinking the only thing that was in the house at the time... Michellob Genuine Draft... <bleach> (where is my sweet sweet vodka when I needed you). Yes, I know that was one sad day.

Eh well, my impressions on CoV were great, can't wait until it releases on Halloween. Strong points I've seen thus far are the graphical upgrades since City of Heroes. There is more than just 4 stale textures <w00t!>, instead of enemies either falling on their backs or keeling over when defeated it has Half-Life 2-esque Ragdoll physics (just imagine someone on a rooftop and you shoot him down Old West style, satisfying to say the least as he tumbles off and crumples at your feet), also new is the great renditions and newcomer "archetypes" (i.e classes). I literally spent 45 minutes creating a unique character with CoH/CoV character creation editor, so many possibilities it makes the mind spin... much better than the 10 odd choices on WoW characters.

For those interested City of Heroes can usually be purchased around 20(US$), and if you have CoH, City of Villains the expansion is either free or has a one-time fee of 20-50(US$). Either way the monthly fee of CoH= 15.99, with CoV its CoH+CoV=15.99. So two great games for a nice price IMHO better gameplay and multiplayer experience than WoW.

Following is for those knowlegable of CoH: (www.cityofheroes.com respectively www.cityofvillains.com)

The Archetypes include Brutes, Stalkers, Masterminds, Dominators, and Corruptors:

Brutes: are like the Tankers from CoH with a scrapper twist, but rather than focusing on defense Brutes are offensive (think the brutes from Halo 2) more they take damage the more they dish it out... as they say 'the best defense is a good offense' and the Brutes exemplify this.

Stalkers: are the equivalent of Scrappers from CoH, biggest differences are that they are marketed as assassins and masters of CQB (close-quarters). To make this true their first secondary power is "Hide" which is complete invisibility (you can dance in front of your enemies and they wouldnt know it) 3 benefits of Hide: 1. Allows you to slip by high level enemies in order to get to unreachable areas otherwise; 2. When you attack you have a larger chance to land a critical strike.; 3. Each 'type' (martial arts, claws, ninja blade, spines, etc.) has a signature 'assassin strike' that is able to kill an enemy of equal level (or lower) or even a level higher outright... with the proper Enhancements.

Masterminds: are the new archetype, if you like to command an entourage and have your minions (whether they be: robots, soldiers, ninjas, or zombies) do your dirty work. Whats fun is that this class can solo the easiest as they have 1-3 (depending on level) pseudo-tanks, also amusing is you can have your 'pets' use various emotes (ex: have your robot give you a high five, which <graphically only> stuns you, or have it dance to disco).

Dominators: are closely related to controllers of CoH. 2 differences separate it from CoH: 1. It has a new power 'Plant Control', which gives you powers like entangling vine and such; 2. As you deal damage your "Domination" meter will rise, once its full you will be able to recover health and endurance (mana) at a quicker rate as well as dish out considerably more damage, plus your powers will recharge faster.

Corruptors: finally are blasters with limited healing secondary powers. Apparently having a dedicated healer is viewed as a weakness if you are a villain... can't say much on Corruptors though, since I haven't met nor tried them.

<END_NOTE: If you want to catch me I'm on GUARDIAN as Adryanna Shades.>