Perhaps the minions working at Gamespy believe they will be granted some sort of immunity on the day that all games websites - indeed, the whole internet - is subjugated to Lord Recluse’s will? No matter, whatever their motivation, Gamespy granted City of Villains the ‘Best MMO Game of Show’ award, the show in question being E3 2005.

Several opinions are mentioned within the piece, but it is good to see that Gamespy already has its villainous motivations in place:

... City of Villains looks like an awesome game in its own right, separate from the chance to take on players from City of Heroes. In all honesty, though, who are we kidding? We all know why we want this game - to pound the bejesus out of those meddling Superfriends (or whatever group of annoying do-gooders you’d care to name)!

Our influence is spreading. Read further opinions in the entire article.

As it suited his purposes, the mighty Lord Recluse himself allowed some of the minions of Gamespot a glimpse of City of Villains at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo. They were, of course, suitably impressed when he explained some of his goals:

According to NCSoft designer (and Dungeons & Dragons emeritus) Dave “Zeb” Cook, the studio has four primary goals for the game: to make players feel like bonafide villains; to encourage players to engage in generalized player-versus-player battles; to engage supergroups with all-new base-building gameplay; and to add new graphical features, like light blooming and enhanced particle effects.

If you wish to be ready for what is to come, you should read the full article.

Within these pages you will find the latest information on City of Villains, with brand new screenshots, an incredible trailer or two, and even some Frequently Asked Questions that we have deigned to answer.

Enjoy what we have to offer. We will return when you least expect it....

In an interview published last month, Jack Emmert told IGN some of what to expect from City of Villains, including details on how it will interact with City of Heroes. Here is a sample:

IGN: How can City of Villains be both a stand-alone product and still work with City of Heroes?

Jack Emmert: If a customer doesn’t own City of Heroes, yet buys City of Villains, he’ll be able to be a bad guy and play all the villain content, but he won’t be able to go to Paragon City (or at least parts of it). If a player owns City of Heroes and doesn’t buy City of Villains, he’ll still be able to enjoy City of Heroes, but he won’t be able to fight against villains or travel to the City of Villains. If a player owns both - he can do everything!

Read the entire interview online here.

How? By reading all the available information out there, that’s how. They even admit their methods:

To be blunt, very little has been “officially” released about CoV. According to information from several different interviews with Dave “Zeb” Cook (senior designer for CoV) and Shane Hensley (senior writer for CoV), combined with their Official CoH Forums posts, it clear that nothing is set in stone.

So that’s how they managed it. Read more of their discoveries online here.