City of Heroes Review
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Taken at face value, the game might seem to support a packaged (family values) socio-political agenda. But then again so does the idea of the superhero protecting the pathetic masses because they can't take care of themselves. The game makes some visual references to the history of the comic book genre, which was big in the 50s and shares some iconography with a conservative worldview. But it also breaks from it in some pleasant ways, and is not heavy-handed at all. Heroes and bad guys come in all different skin colors and hair colors. You can actually be a lot of different things within the genre and within the game, but if you want to succeed, you have to be friendly; you have to take your fellow players seriously and work with them. The (teen) rating is fine. Most kids deserve the benefit of the doubt here, and I didn't see anything that was offensive given the genre or my expectations based on promotions or the box cover. This is a game that can be enjoyed by teenage girls (and women) as well as teenage boys (and men). The lack of truly obsessive repetition, the emphasis on team chemistry, and the rewards for friendliness and good group behavior suggest this is something everyone can enjoy.
