NCsoft Corporation announces today that Lineage II and City of Heroes have both shipped to retail and have gone live online for North America as of today.  As you may know, both are massively multiplayer online role-playing games, but whereas Lineage II takes place in a traditional fantasy setting (albeit with anime-inspired visuals), City of Heroes plunges players into a more contemporary setting as nothing less than super-powered heroes.

"Lineage II, which takes place in the medieval fantasy world of Aden, offers a dynamic 3-D setting drawn in exquisite detail. Players explore and quest through beautifully rendered 3-D environments crafted with a modified version of the Unreal engine. Backgrounds and characters have a nearly perfect, life-like appearance, giving Lineage II a look and feel that separates it from its predecessor -- and all other MMORPGs."

"City of Heroes is a true departure from the MMORPG market, which is primarily filled with medieval fantasy-based titles. The game enables players to realize their comic book dreams. Heroes protect the fine citizens of Paragon City in a colorful 3-D world where the victims of crimes not only thank players for their help, but they even compliment players on their costumes!

City of Heroes also links with a monthly comic book, which is sent to North American subscribers as part of their monthly service, and which will be available for newsstand purchase wherever comic books are sold. Rick Dakan and Blue King Studios publish the comic book of the same name. Rick Dakan is one of the original visionaries behind City of Heroes and wrote much of the game's fictional backstory. The comic also includes fan fiction, fan art, interviews with the developers and tips on playing City of Heroes."