The mighty and virtuous were summoned to assist Paragon Studios this month with the Beta test of the new City of Heroes expansion pack: Going Rogue, which challenges players to battle for publishing rights to Sarah Palin’s next book.
Okay, despite the poor choice of name, Going Rogue actually takes place in a mirror universe that is ruled by an evil tyrant seeking total world domination. No, I’m still not talking about Sarah Palin!
The tyrant, Emperor Cole, is a fascist version of Statesman, Earth’s greatest defender of freedom in our universe. Players can start with any villain or hero archetype and circumvent the traditional Good VS Evil mentality, and… well… go rogue with their moral views. In a new set of missions and maps for levels 1-20, characters can choose to join the Loyalists (Loyal to Emperor Cole) or Resistance factions, and can switch alignment back and forth as their story progresses.
This is the first commercial expansion pack to be released for City of Heroes since City of Villains in 2005, although a whopping 17 free expansions have come out since the game was first released in 2004. A free 18th update called Shades of Gray will be available to coincide with the release of Going Rogue, adding features for players who do not choose to go rogue.
A select group of heroes are currently beta testing the new materials. If you didn’t receive an invitation yet, it’s not because your heart isn’t pure or your cause isn’t just. It’s because you didn’t have your account active during the “Loyalty Rewards” program last year and haven’t pre-ordered the expansion.
Going Rogue will be available in Mid-August as will the Shades of Gray update. Retailers and download services are offering a variety of pre-order trinkets and in-game bonuses.
