RPG Vault, the hub of gaming and entertainment network IGN.com‘s MMORPG sites, has announced its 2004 Awards in two parts, and both City of Heroes and NCsoft have made the grade.

In Part 1 of the awards, City of Heroes earned honourable mentions in the Game of the Year and Online World of the Year categories as well as picking up the Debut Game of the Year Award:

With its superhero theme, City of Heroes felt like the proverbial breath of fresh air in the persistent world category. However, its success is based on much more. The Cryptic team crafted a fun, combat-centric game that begins with enormous scope in terms of customizing player characters to look the way you’d like.

NCsoft, meanwhile, won the Developer/Publisher of the Year Award:

In the face of quite a few doubters, NCsoft launched two online worlds in North America on the same day, Cryptic’s City of Heroes and its own Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle both came to market smoothly, demonstrating great expertise in this regard.

As if that weren’t enough, in Part 2 of the awards, City of Heroes also earned an honourable mention in the Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Award.