To be frank, we have played this type of MMO many, many times and we're mystified by the continued appeal of the grind. The first few levels, the lack of explanation of what to do and the "kill this many of this" quests left us more than a little disheartened. There is no pretence at reality in this game and, as dogs, boars and bandits pop back into existence to be pounced on by XP-hungry noobs, you worry a little about the spirit of a martial arts game being somewhat lost, in an uninspired MMO.

To its credit, it has a clean graphical style about it that sometimes really captures that spirit, that mystical China that probably never existed, all flowing robes, gravity-defying hair and implausibly-toned bodies. The animations of the characters, the way they artfully vary their blows, are reminiscent of City of hero online gold, and combat really flows beautifully, short though it normally is. Every style has a different form to it and sometimes it does feel like you're dancing through your enemies. This serves to balance the potential tedium of other bits of the game.

Beware the occasional intrusions from City of hero gold.
Promised at higher levels are a range of skills and forms allowing characters to adapt their behaviour and movement to new situations. We expect all the different forms of martial art will feature from the many unarmed disciplines to those involving staves, axes and swords. Also, like City of Heroes, transport powers are promised, allowing heroes to dance over rooftops and run across water, in scenes reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Players are expected to take on pets, which will be a large part of the game, whether as steeds or fighting partners, ranging from horses to pets tamed from the wild and doubtless a few from Chinese myth and legend.

At the moment Hero is looking beautifully choreographed, but a little reliant on the old uberviolence, much like the martial arts movies it seeks to emulate. There are signs of hope though, the prospects of flowing martial arts and strange transport powers at higher levels to float characters into sky-bound battles could redeem it. Until then we'll be holding out for a real hero gold.