Today's Filter includes an update trailer for City of Heroes, a developer walkthrough of a Star Wars: The Old Republic instance, a teaser trailer for Cabela's Survival: Shadows of Katmai, a Comic-Con trailer for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, a gameplay trailer for Bodycount, and two new trailers for F1 2011.

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City of Heroes is going free-to-play later this year, with an update dubbed City of Heroes Freedom. The Freedom version will launch alongside Issue 21: Convergence later this year. Current subscribers will automatically be updated to a "VIP" account, which promises exclusive content.

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Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter features media for Dragon Age 2, Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy, E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy, The Next Big Thing, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 2, Naruto Shippuden: Shinobi Rumble, Rift, Hyperdimension Neptunia, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Samurai Warriors: Chronicles, Overgrowth, and City of Heroes. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter kicks off with an online features video for WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011, Pro Guitar in Rock Band 3, City of Heroes, and more zombies in Red Dead Redemption. Then we've got video and screens for Zombie Driver, along with screens from Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition, The Undergarden, and WW2: Time of Wrath. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

In today's Filter, we're featuring the Halo: Reach "Extended Cut" of the live-action "Deliver Hope" trailer. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today on the Filter we have a teaser trailer for Thor: The Video Game, go "behind-the-scenes" with City of Heroes, check out the "Assassin's Scouting report" for the upcoming XBLA-exclusive Monday Night Combat and showcase the "debut trailer" for Men of War: Assault Squad.

We also have gameplay trailers for Lost in Shadow and Club Penguin Game Day! along with videos for Pangya, World of Tanks, Nail'd and Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush.

For you screenshot addicts, we've got new stills for Monster Jam: Path of Destruction, Faery: Legends of Avalon and Nuclear Dawn.

Read more: Daily Filter »

A visual update to NCsoft's 2004 PC MMO City of Heroes will be available when the game's "Issue 17 - Dark Mirror" update arrives in April, the publisher has announced.

Dubbed "Ultra Mode," the optional enhancements are said to deliver "a superior graphics rendering process...that will give City of Heroes a new look and feel with a heightened level of detail in lighting, reflections, shadows and water effects." Read more »

The second expansion to City of Heroes, "Going Rogue," was announced today by developer NCsoft.

The update will add the world of "Praetoria," a parallel universe where players can switch the alignment of their characters. As players complete "clearly marked missions," a new alignment system will track a hero or villain's morality, which will eventually change the character's moral status.

"For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain," said Paragon Studios general manager Brian Clayton. "Now we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges." Read more »

To celebrate City of Heroes' fifth anniversary, NCSoft has reactivated all expired retail and trial City of Heroes and City of Villains accounts for free until 11:59pm EST Sunday.

Retired heroes and villains have five days to uphold/crush justice in Paragon City and check out all the updates they've missed--first and foremost a swanky mission editor. Read more »

Expanding Steam's catalog of massively multiplayer online games, publisher NCsoft has announced that its various MMOs will soon hit Valve's digital distribution platform.

NCsoft's City of Heroes, Guild Wars and Lineage series are now available through Steam, with NCsoft's next MMO, Aion: The Tower of Eternity, due on it this fall. Read more »

Cryptic Studios has confirmed that it recruited players for the now-underway Champions Online closed beta from super-powered rival City of Heroes and other PC MMOs.

Rumors of such practices emerged via Massively earlier this week, after the official City of Heroes website warned players and forum-goers of solicitations from "another game company trying to lure you to their competing product." Read more »

In a post celebrating the four year anniversary of the game, City of Heroes community manager Lighthouse has announced a new feature that will "very soon" have players creating their own storylines within the superhero MMO.

"Similar in concept to our character creator, [the new feature] allows you, the players, to create missions and story arcs for your characters and others to participate in," said NCSoft's Lighthouse. "You'll be able to pick the map, villain group, and objectives, as well as write the dialog and any clues needed for the missions." Read more »

MMO developer NCsoft today announced a new partnership with Double Fusion to supply in-game advertising for City of Heroes, releasing several images of the game world before and after ad integration.

The companies say that the real world ads will lend a sense of realism to the super-powered world of City of Heroes, with players able to opt out of the advertising if they so choose. Additionally, NCsoft plans to make use of the technology to display player-created content within the game. Read more »

MMO publisher NCsoft has obtained complete ownership of the City of Heroes intellectual property for an undisclosed sum and is opening a new development studio staffed by members of the game's original team in Mountain View, CA. The company's plans for the superhero PC MMO include new expansions and sequels. NCsoft claims it acquired "key members" of the City of Heroes team--including lead designer Matt Miller, lead engineer Aaron Brady, and lead artist Ken Morse--from Cryptic Studios, which originally developed the game and previously split ownership of the IP with NCsoft. All members of the City of Heroes team have been offered jobs at NCsoft, according to Cryptic's FAQ on the sale. "We're happy to announce that NCsoft has acquired full ownership of the City of Heroes IP," said NCsoft executive producer and new studio manager Brian Clayton. "Our plans are clear. We are now in a position to make a major reinvestment in the City of Heroes product line." The new office represents the second studio NCsoft has formally announced in less than a month. It officially unveiled Carbine Studios in early October, which is staffed by numerous industry and genre veterans and promises to "break new ground in massively multiplayer gaming." Earlier this year, NCsoft--which also publishes and controls the Lineage and Guild Wars franchises along with the recently launched Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa--partnered with Sony to develop for the PlayStation 3 and PSP. "With our existing Cryptic and NCsoft team as the core," Clayton continued, "we will be able to run our current service without any interruption to our players, expand our studio to deliver triple-A content, and take City of Heroes to new heights." "City of Heroes and City of Villains players should be assured that Cryptic Studios will be working closely with NCsoft to ensure a smooth, seamless transition," noted Cryptic pesident and co-founder Michael Lewis. "The decision to sell the franchise allows us to focus resources on our soon to be announced first-party projects." The next effort from Cryptic is another superhero MMO, this one set in the Marvel universe and planned for both PC and Xbox 360. "All parties involved want whatÂ’s best for the franchise," Clayton wrote in response to the news.

A City of Heroes / Villains community Q&A can be found at WarCry. Art director Jay Doherty answers reader questions about costumes in the game.