City Of...

[psais]

I play City of Heroes and City of Villains.
A lot.
The character creation is so detailed and so much fun, and it takes you forever to create just one costume at a time.
When you hit lvl 20, you get a cape and a second costume, at 30 you get an aura and a third costume, and at 40 you get the fourth and final costume. You also get epic powers starting at lvl 41. At 50 you've reached top end, but then you have the option of creating an alien character--Peacebringer or Warshade.
The setting is very comic book, and it's a little too boring for some people because you go 'arrest' group A, recover item B, and rescue hostage group C. You don't get to see the items you use all the time, they just appear when you're using them. There are still people who kill steal, and in CoH/CoV if they land some hits they get part of the final xp.
But for those who don't mind all of that, it's good fun. There are supergroups, which is bascially their version of guilds, and there are supergroup bases as well. There are coalitions, and there are designated PVP zones where you not only have to worry about other villains or heroes, but also the NPC nasties.
It's a change from high fantasy, drastic change, but it's still a good game.

[Lothnar]

One of my old roomates came back to Ft Huachuca recently and has me playing City of Villains as my other MMOG to suck away my spare time.
You are correct in stating it's a preaty basic game compared to most. But it's still fun. I get lost for hours just making char's and their background story. I then play them up to lvl 5 and distroy them a week later to make a new char. Your only alowed 8 char a server and there are only what 8 servers?
My main guy that I don't distroy is lvl 16 now and on the sever Virtue. His name is 'Doc Edward Savage'. He's based off of an old book series I read when I was a kid. I dressed him up in SAS desert Camo gave him a cigar and red beret. I get a lot of people laughing at him for being a strait up Military build saying I've no originality. Then they read my discription and give me kodos for the background story.
Also I've built him as a Combat Medic (Ed would be proud), so people gain respect for me preaty quick, when I lay down my Triage beacon and give them a HP boost in the midst of fighting. And I still have my gun and Traps for range attacks and croud control. Oh here is 'Doc's' rundown. He's a Tech Corruptor Guns primary with Traps secondary. I've picked up Heal Other and Super Jump at additional powerpools.
All in all, it's a layed-back game and alot of fun when looking for a relaxed change of pace from normal MMOGs.

[Spuga]

The thing I like about CoH/CoV is the sidekick/exemplar system. Makes it easier to play your toons with lower lvl friends, or use your low lvl with a power group. LOVE the costume generation, and with Issue 8 coming out you can get wings, trenchcoats, etc. If anyone else plays, I have characters on Pinnacle, Freedom, and Virtue

[psais]

If you have both City of Heroes and Villains, there are a few more toon slots per server. 10 servers, lots of people.
Aside from that, if you have both games you have access to the supergroup bases.
With I8 coming out, not only can you get wings (you have to have something like 15 active months of playing time though) but you can get kilts, trenchcoats, samurai armor, etc.
In the villains side of things I have toons on Victory, Virtue, Infinity, and Freedom, with a fledgling toon on Champion. All under 20. My heroes are centered on Virtue, with a few on Infinity and Freedom. My main is on victory, Psais, lvl 38 emp/ill controller. Look me up sometime, or drop me an in-game email. It's where I spend my time when I find no motivation to play WoW.