City of Heroes Getting 'Ultra Mode' Graphics in April

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A visual update to NCsoft's 2004 PC MMO City of Heroes will be available when the game's "Issue 17 - Dark Mirror" update arrives in April, the publisher has announced.

Dubbed "Ultra Mode," the optional enhancements are said to deliver "a superior graphics rendering process...that will give City of Heroes a new look and feel with a heightened level of detail in lighting, reflections, shadows and water effects."

Other tweaks coming in Issue 17--"the last major update to City of Heroes before the highly anticipated Going Rogue expansion," says NCsoft--are as follows:

  • New badges, new missions and new player emotes
  • Epic Archetypes now available at level 20
  • Improvements and additions to Mission Architect
  • Enhancements to UI and game systems
  • And dozens more

It was also noted that those who pre-order the upcoming $29.99 "Going Rogue" expansion will get early access to two power sets--"the Dual Pistols power set" beginning March 2, and "the Demon Summoning power set" at some point in April.

Meanwhile, a forthcoming $39.99 retail release that bundles City of Heroes, City of Villains and City of Heroes: Going Rogue will likewise offer some bonus goodies:

  • Alpha- and Omega-themed auras
  • Alpha and Omega themed costumed sets
  • Four stance emotes
  • The Shadowy Presence invisibility power

Initially developed by Cryptic Studios, City of Heroes is now entirely in the hands of publisher NCsoft, with the now Atari-owned Cryptic having recently released both a new super-powered MMO (Champions Online) and Star Trek Online.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • Ziz legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    February 10, 2010 12:52 PM

    Almost makes me wish i still played it.

    • reply
      February 10, 2010 2:10 PM

      I'll give it another run through. I love it and if they had a Lifetime sub, I'd be all over it. I honestly like it better than Champions Online. ::shrug::

      • reply
        February 10, 2010 7:56 PM

        If you wind up playing on Pinnacle let me know. There's still a Giant Communist Robot SG & base there I'm in charge of. Although a busier server would probably be better to play on.

        • reply
          February 11, 2010 4:52 AM

          I'd have to remember what server that is. The majority of my alts are on Triumph right now. I really need to look back into things. I should give Champions Online another good old college try, but I just had more fun with CoH. ::shrug::

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