NCSoft's City of Heroes has garnered a lot of attention since its release last year. Allowing players to create the superheroes of their dreams, the game has been a combat-intensive online struggle between good and evil. Now, Cryptic Studios, who developed City of Heroes, is going to let players taste the dark side of comic books. Featuring the celebrated character creation system of the first game, City of Villains will let players construct a villain of their choice and go up against the do-gooders of Paragon City.

Cryptic Studios told RPGFan that the new game will include base-building, allowing players to construct their own lairs. In keeping with this, players will also be able to compete in base raids, pitting a maximum of 75 versus 75 player characters. The new villainous areas are called the Rogue Isles, controlled by Lord Wreckler and recognised by the UN, which makes it difficult for Paragon City's heroes to simply move in and fix things. Players will be able to work their way up in the villainous ranks, to even become one of Lord Wreckler's favourites and challenge familiar faces from City of Heroes in battle. Veterans of City of Heroes can expect cameos from characters like Positron and even the Statesman himself.

Environments will feature interesting effects like bump-mapped water, destructible items and a new particle effect system using the Agea physics engine. In keeping with the game's graphic flair, player bases can be customised with a wide variety of textures, lighting choices, and numerous rooms, halls, and other structures. Players will also be able to equip their bases with a wide variety of items and NPCs which offer various services, including first aid.