If you’ve been pondering a career in villainy but haven’t seen the inside of the Ziggurat yet, perhaps a chance to perform a beatdown on Paragon City’s heroes will entice you.

Visit our Media section to catch a new movie of villains vs heroes, showcasing player vs player combat in City of Villains.

Gamespy have been following the progress of our Lord Recluse most carefully, and only now have chosen to pledge their allegiance - not a moment too soon, some might say. In this three page review, Gamespy repeatedly attempts to ingratiate itself in our Lord’s good graces:

City of Villains builds greatly on City of Heroes gameplay, and is arguably the most fun “new” MMO we’ve played this year.

And so it continues, with praise for the varied villain costumes:

City of Heroes was justly praised for the incredible depth of its avatar customization system. City of Villains does it better. Not only does it include the body-shaping elements added to the system in a recent patch, but the variety of costume pieces that can be mixed and matched simply outdoes its predecessor in every way.

In summing up, Gamespy focuses on an aspect of City of Villains’ existence that we do not always like to acknowledge… but understand must continue for Arachnos to thrive:

Sure, City of Villains can be purchased as a standalone product, and it’ll still be fun. Like Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Moriarty or He-Man and Skeletor, though, City of Heroes and City of Villains need each other in order to be complete. Having the whole package makes the City of… games what they were always meant to be—one of the best massively multiplayer online games available today.

Read the full review online.

Bit-Tech.net, most noted for its reviews of the innards of PCs, also has a sideline in gaming coverage - and they have plenty to say about City of Villains, in a seven page review - complete with new screenshots - that ends up with CoV being officially recommended.

The review also picks up on one of the unique benefits of having two games available for one subscription fee:

City of Villains offers something to the MMO world that - so far - no other game has managed, which is to introduce longevity into an estabilished system whilst giving people who are new to the game an incentive to join. Buy City of Villains now, play through as a few Villains and then start all over again as a Hero, playing all the content available in City of Heroes. All this time of course, they are also updating both games with new episodic content.

And in closing, Bit-Tech’s final recommendation is thus:

All in all, this is an absolutely cracking game which will please hardened Heroes and virginal Villains alike. Go and buy this game, then lose your life to it and prepare to adopt a villain-esque mannerism.

Read the full review online.

Stephen ‘Gaming Steve’ Glicker, of GamingSteve.com, got to sit down with Jack ‘Statesman’ Emmert of Cryptic Studios at a recent New York city press event, and he’s put the resulting interview into his regular podcast.

Tune in to hear Statesman talk about the future of both City of Heroes and City of Villains, Jack’s favourite comic books and plenty more in over 20 minutes of chat. Click here for the blog entry, or click here to download the podcast MP3 directly (37.7Mb).

The followers of Arachnos are amassing day by day, with more and more reviews telling the world that City of Villains is a must-buy. Read on for more details, and prepare your passport; your one-way ticket to the Rogue Isles is waiting....

Full details of the latest update can be found in the Game Patches section.

Two copes of City of Villains are available to anyone able to answer several, simple questions upon visiting gaming portal, Monkehs.com.

Those who cannot provide the answers should look deep within themselves, and question whether they are truly ready to experience life in the Rogue Isles - and whether they will be worthy of serving at the right hand of Lord Recluse.

Enter the competition here.

The Guardian, one of Britain’s biggest-selling newspapers, has awarded City of Villains 5 out of 5 in a review today. In the half-page review, City of Villains is called “enchanting” and “atmospheric” among other plaudits. To quote the review:

Players who subscribe to City of Heroes can also play City of Villains once they buy the box, allowing them to skip between virtuous paragons and vile nemeses on a whim. City of Villains improves the game’s quality, by being funnier and better written and constructed, but also adds content, allowing heroes and villains to do what they were made to do - fight spectacularly.

One of the first major reviews for City of Villains has arrived from European gaming site, Eurogamer, and Lord Recluse is most pleased with their opinions. Awarding City of Villains an overall score of 9/10, the review has many complimentary things to say, with the following conclusion:

City of Villains is an exquisitely constructed expansion pack for anyone who liked City of Heroes, which also acts as a new entrance point into the world for the uninitiated.

And the uninitiated really should, as it remains one of the finest online multiplayer games in existence.

Read the full review at Eurogamer.

Under the guise of a ‘comic convention’, Arachnos will be recruiting for suitably villainous types at the upcoming Comic Expo, happening in Brighton on the 19th and 20th of November, at the Hilton Metropole Hotel.

Our spies have brought us details on the activities at this gathering - visit the official City of Heroes website for more information.

Full details of the latest update can be found in the Game Patches section.

Details of today’s patch can be found in the Game Patches section.

Fellows of Arachnos, welcome. After many long hours and many expended employees, we are proud to bring you our new pinnacle of web-based villainy: the official City of Villains web site for Europe.

As well as the latest news and information on City of Villains, we are looking for the greatest amongst you to step forward and present yourself as Most Wanted. Mock the heroes of Paragon City by displaying yourself for all to see - you are too powerful for their petty laws. In addition, if you have glimpsed an incredible sight in the Rogue Isles, our Fear Files would benefit from your sharp eye. Finally, we are looking for Acolytes of Arachnos - those whose allegiance to our Lord Recluse stretches farther than others.

We will leave you now to peruse our new surroundings. However a word of caution; we would strongly advise you keep a close eye on our heroic counterparts in Paragon City. They seem to grow stronger with each passing day.