Just a reminder that NCsoft Europe will be at the London Film & Comic Con this weekend. Pop along and join us for fun, games and the chance to win some exclusive prizes - including statues of both Lord Reclise and his nemesis, Statesman!

You’ll also be able to chat to both Rockjaw, myself and members of the community teams for Guild Wars and Auto Assault, try out our latest and upcoming games on eight shiny PCs, get your photo taken with the spooky Ghost Widow, grab some free swag, and meet your fellow heroes and villains.

Tickets for are available on the door on both Saturday and Sunday, so come along and say hello. For full details and information about the rest of the show - including the impressive list of famous guests who’ll be wandering about - see the London Film & Comic Con website.

This year’s Player’s Choice Awards in the US saw the American City of Heroes and City of Villains community vote Legion of Valour as the best Supergroup and Fallen Legion as best Villain Group. Amazingly, both SGs were set up and run by the same player, Tony Ellerd, who has now been interviewed by GameDaily.

For more information, see the City of Heroes site.

No, Doctor Vahzilok hasn’t run out of cadavers - GameDaily and GameZone have published new bits for their Casual PvP Guide and Spirals of Fate story, respectively.

The third part of the Casual PvP Guide from GameDaily takes a close look at each of the Archetypes in City of Heroes and City of Villains, discussing their strengths and weaknesses in player versus player combat. You can hone your skills by clicking here.

Meanwhile, the first part of Chapter 2 of Spirals of Fate, the serialised work of fiction set in the world of City of Heroes and City of Villains can be found on GameZone by clicking here.

If you’re based in the north of the UK, or just fancy a trip to Scotland, start making plans to head over to Glasgow on Saturday 5 August, where Quilla and several others are organising a get-together for players of City of Heroes and Villains.

For more information - and to let everyone know you’ll be coming - check the Glasgow Meet thread on the official message boards, where the plans are being made.

Not content with just news, previews and reviews of City of Heroes and City of Villains, Michael Lafferty and Matthew Eberle of GameZone have been so inspired by the world of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles that they’re writing a work of serial fiction set there.

The Arachnos Propaganda Department is pleased to note that the first three episodes of Spirals of Fate revolve around characters who have been cruelly misunderstood and poorly treated by the so-called ‘heroes’ of Paragon City, as have so many of our ‘villainous’ brethren here in the Rogue Isles.

The first three episodes of Spirals of Fate, which make up the first chapter of the story, are available now, and you can read them all over at GameZone:

Spirals of Fate: Chapter One - Part One
Spirals of Fate: Chapter One - Part Two
Spirals of Fate: Chapter One - Part Three

The first two parts of a new City of Heroes and Villains Casual PvP Guide are available now from GameDaily. Arachnos expects all Destined Ones to be able to defend themselves against the unprovoked aggression of Statesman and his fellow ‘heroes’ - not to mention the threat posed by rival villains with conflicting interests’, and as such we strongly recommend that you check the full story on the City of Heroes site.

If you’ve ever wanted to give City of Villains a try - or have any friends that you’d like to introduce to the wonderful world of super-villainy - head on over to Eurogamer right now for the chance to grab a 14-day Free Trial code.

The loyal minions of Lord Recluse at Eurogamer have no less than 3,000 trial codes to give away - all you have to do is enter your name and email address on the form on this page. On 29 June, the first 3,000 entrants will be sent their 14-day Free Trial code. The finest minds of the Arachnos Propaganda Department couldn’t make it any simpler (even after we tried ‘encouraging’ them with random beatings and torture sessions).

For full details, head on over to the competition page at Eurogamer. 

In Split Infinity Radio’s first award ceremony for its new Wasabi Awards, City of Heroes and Villains came out on top in no less than eight categories. See the official City of Heroes site for more details.

The Arachnos Propaganda Department is pleased to report that the minions of Gamespy have revisited City of Villains in the wake of Issue #7. The technicians in charge of the mind-control experiments were somewhat miffed, however, when Gamespy was so impressed that their carefully planned ‘reeducation session’ was not required:

Issue 7: Destiny Manifest marks the end of a stunning evolutionary period for City of Heroes and City of Villains. The game I’ve been playing like a madman for the last week simply can’t be compared to the fun but shallow experience I had when I first loaded up City of Heroes in 2004. Over the last few years, this game has metamorphosed into a deep and satisfying MMO. If you haven’t experienced City of Heroes/Villains before, this is a good time to get on board. If you have, this is an even better time to come back.

You can read the full article over at Gamespy.

Feel like taking advantage of the weather to get together with your in-game friends and burn meat in a villainous fashion? Then head over to Kettering this Saturday, 17 June, where P14273059 and some others are organising a CoX BBQ from around 4pm.

For full details, see this thread on the official message boards - and don’t forget the potato salad.

Feel like a break after a tough week of evil scheming and world domination? The Legion Supreme Supergroup is hosting an evening of fun, games and dancing in Pocket D on the Defiant server this Friday (9 June), from 7PM BST.

There’ll be no less than three costume competitions, live coverage and tunes from Evolution Radio, and plenty of opportunities to put aside your differences, kick back and relax with both your fellow villains and heroes.

For more details, check out the flyer and the thread on the Defiant - Heroes board, and get the weekend off to a suitably funky start.

That’s right, as explained in yesterday’s Issue #7 release announcement, we’ve reactivated all inactivate City of Heroes and Villains accounts for five days, completely free of charge.

If you haven’t played City of Heroes or Villains for a while, and fancy taking a look at Issue #7: Destiny Manifest for yourself, you’ll be able to login to the game any time between now and 5am on Sunday 11 June and try it out. Your previous characters will be ready and waiting for you.

We have sent notifications to all our inactive players who have chosen to accept emails from NCsoft on their PlayNC Master Account, but make sure you tell any former players you may know about this exclusive offer - and encourage them to sign-up to our emails to take advantage of any future offers (see the full Issue #7 announcement for details of how to do this).

We hope you all enjoy your return to the world of City of Heroes and City of Villains!

To celebrate the launch of Issue #7: Destiny Manifest, Prima Games and NCsoft have decided to make the Issue #7 Update for their City of Heroes and City of Villains Strategy Guides available to our players as a free download!

Written in conjunction with Jack ‘Statesman’ Emmert and the rest of the Cryptic Studios team, the new update is packed with inside information on all aspects of Issue #7, from details of the many new powers to the secrets of Mayhem Missions and more.

Click here to download the guide completely free from Prima Games!

It’s been a long time coming, but your patience has been rewarded, my villainous brethren. We’re very pleased to announce that Issue #7: Destiny Manifest has been released to the Live servers and is available now. Full release notes are available on the Official Message Boards and in our Game Patches section.

The latest free update to City of Heroes and City of Villains, Issue #7 adds many new features for villains, including two new zones, new Power Sets, Level 40-50 content featuring over 300 new missions, Patrons, Mayhem Missions and more. For an overview of this massive new Issue, see our Issue #7 Feature Update.

For more details, take a look at the previous Issue #7 Feature Updates on Grandville, Missions, Base Features, Patron Powers, New Power Sets, Mayhem Missions and Costumes.

If you’re a former player of City of Heroes or Villains who is not currently subscribed to the games, there’s more good news! your account has been reactivated - read on for more details…

Riding high on the wave of a recent spate of Destiny Manifest news leaks, the Arachnos Propaganda Department once again strikes fear into the heart of Paragon City. The latest sting of information comes as a result of a series of heinous mind-control experiments, manipulating the psyche of the press into delivering Lord Recluse’s simple message. Victory is upon us…