There is a reason for the rejoicing in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. It is official - NCsoft has completely merged the two games into one game universe. All current subscribers who only had one of the games (City of Heroes or City of Villains) now have access to the features of both games. Additionally, all City of Heroes and City of Villains games for sale at retail or online will grant access to both games.

In a press release just issued we have today announced a partnership with game advertising provider Double Fusion to implement optional in-game advertising to City of Heroes. Click through for the full press release…

“2007 was to be the year where the City of community got what it wanted”, says Ventura, editor of European Gaming site Boomtown.net, “and [the developers] certainly delivered”.

Issue 11 is a great issue giving veteran players just what they wanted. [...] the new features and power sets easily make Issue 11 one of the best “City of” expansions ever.

What else can we say?

Oh yes… Head over to their site, have a look around and read the full review of Issue #11.

Today our friends at Boomtown published the latest “Ask-a-Dev” instalment with Melissa “War Witch” Bianco’s answers to player’s questions about how the world of City of Heroes / CIty of Villains was designed.

Also have a look at Vince D’Amelio’s introduction. Vince is the Senior programmer for City of Heroes / Villains and responsible for such great inventions as the Rikti Invasion.

Issue #10 has arrived, and with have come the Rikti. While attacks continue across the world, the most vicious and desperate battles are being fought at the site of the Rikti mothership brought down in the first Rikti War - and Gamespot have an exclusive video tour of the new Rikti War Zone that’s one of the major features of the latest free content update for City of Heroes and Villains.

Click here to see the video, narrated by none other than City of Heroes and Villains Lead Designer Matt ‘Positron’ Miller.

Update: The video can now be found on our site as well - Head over to the Media / Movies-page.

To celebrate the continued success of its Heroes/Who Wants to be a Superhero double-bill (every Monday from 10pm), the SCI FI Channel has teamed up with NCsoft Europe to offer a 14-day free trial of City of Heroes and Villains to 5,000 people via the SCI FI Channel website.

To create your own heroes and villains and save - or threaten - the world of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles for 14 days, absolutely free, just head over to the special City of Heroes page on the SCI FI site and click the buttons to download the game client and a free trial code. Remember, there are only 5,000 codes on offer, so be quick!

Oh, and if you haven’t been watching Heroes, you’ve been missing out. Best. Show. Ever.

If you’ve enjoyed the recent spate of super-hero movies, now’s your perfect opportunity to create some brave heroes of your own with the July 2007 issue of DVD Monthly (#92).

As well as all the latest news, previews and reviews of the best in home movie entertainment, you can treat yourself to 14 days of fighting crime on the streets of Paragon City, courtesy of the free trial version of City of Heroes and Villains included on the cover DVD.

Once the trial finishes, you can carry on playing with the same characters simply by picking up a copy of the full game to upgrade your trial to a full version.

The July issue of DVD Monthly is available now from good newsagents across the UK.

The main feature of Issue #9: Breakthrough, the new Inventions system adds a whole new range of customisation options for heroes and villains alike. Now, over at MMORPG.com, you can view an exclusive video introducing this flexible new addition to City of Heroes and Villains. Just the thing if you’re interested in Inventions but aren’t sure how to get started - and even more experienced players can pick up a tip or two…

UPDATE: Versions of the Inventions Tutorial movie are now also available over at Eurogamer and, for our Swedish-speaking players, at FZ.se - enjoy!

Since the release of Issue #9: Breakthrough, the chaps at Boomtown have been inventing up a storm, and the result is the first review of the new free update:

The developers at Cryptic have created a brilliant system that fits on top of the existing game. You don’t need ever to bother with inventions if you don’t want to – you’ll still be just as cool as you used to be, the real difference won’t be felt till later the higher levels anyway. But if you do dig into the system, you’ll get a new flood of options that will make any hero/villain player happy.

You can read the full review over at Boomtown.

As the next free update to City of Heroes and Villains draws closer, interest in Issue #9: Breakthrough and the Inventions system continues to grow. Now, over at Boomtown, you can read the latest from Lead Designer Matt ‘Positron’ Miller:

What made you use the name “Breakthrough” to describe the free expansion?

Several reasons. First, it shows off the invention system by declaring a scientific breakthrough in getting better Enhancements into the hands of Heroes and Villains. Next, we have Hamidon breaking through in another part of the world, and finally we have the Heroes breaking through the Rogue Isle defenses in Statesman’s Task Force.

You can read the full Q&A article at Boomtown now - and don’t forget that you can see our latest Feature Update for an overview of what will be in Issue #9, and discuss the Inventions system on our new message board.

It’s been nearly three years since City of Heroes first brought super powers to the world of online gaming, and AFK Magazine has decided that it’s about time for a return to Paragon City. Issue 2 of the new web-based MMO magazine features a full ‘re-review’ of City of Heroes:

From zone events and Giant Monsters, to holiday themed events or Veteran Rewards, City of Heroes has an amazing amount to offer any new player, and more than enough to entice the more seasoned gamer to stay and play just a little bit longer. Cryptic Studios is definitely on the right track to boosting this MMO’s performance even further and setting the bar higher than ever before.

The positive review is backed up with an equally positive 8.0/10 score. You can read the full article in Issue 2 of AFK Magazine.

The Warcry Network has just revealed the results of its Editor’s Choice Awards for 2006, and we’re pleased to announce the Cryptic Studios, the developer of City of Heroes and City of Villains has been selected as their ‘Studio of the Year’:

In 2006, Cryptic released two new “Issues” for City of Heroes/Villains. These expansions are free to the players and both added a lot of new content to the two games in one.

You can read the full article and see the winners of the other awards over at Warcry now.

With 2006 well and truly over, MMOSite is launching its first annual Reader’s Choice Awards, where MMO players can vote for the favourite games of the last year in eight categories including Favourite Game, Best Graphics, Best PvP, Best Gameplay, Best Storyline, Best Expansion, Most Anticipated and Favourite Company.

The good news is that between them, City of Heroes, City of Villains and Cryptic Studios have been nominated for all but the Most Anticipated award. Voting is open now, so head on over to the MMOSite Reader’s Choice Awards page and pick your favourite games. We know you’ll make the right decision…

Joining Boomtown in celebrating the release of the Good vs. Evil Combined Edition and Issue #8: To Protect and Serve, two more sites have 14-day free trials of City of Heroes and Villains up for grabs.

TotalVideogames.com has 3,000 free trial codes to give away. Just go to the front page of the site and click on the ‘3,000 Serial Key Giveaway!!!’ button to the left of the main image.

Meanwhile, at IGN UK there are another 5,000 trail codes ready and waiting. Click here for more details.

We look forward to seeing you in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles soon!

One of the main features of Issue #8: To Protect and Serve is the introduction of the Veteran Rewards program for players of City of Heroes and City of Villains. MMORPG.com has an overview of the system and a Dev Journal from Positron, where he discusses the design of the system:

Coming up with the Veteran Rewards was one of the coolest things I’ve done as Lead Designer on the “City of” games so far. It was really a challenge to come up with cool rewards that players have been asking for while at the same time making sure that nothing became the “end-all-be-all” reward that every character MUST have. In addition, I wanted to throw in some cool rewards that players hadn’t asked for, but that I knew would be useful for them and make the veteran players’ lives a little easier.

Head over to MMORPG.com to read their Veteran Rewards overview and the full Dev Journal from Positron.