DC Universe Online has become something of a wishing well for DC and MMO fans alike. The project itself feels so large and it carries with it so much burden and responsibility. This is the classic DC Universe Sony’s messing with; it’s a slew of characters and personalities that fans have spent decades of their lives getting to know. And now, with DCU being an MMO, players and fans are going to be working alongside the likes of Supes and Bats or the Joker and Lex Luthor. And Sony’s approached that entitled sense of “DC-ness” that so many of the fans clutch to with such a great attitude. They’ve got Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, the support of Wildstorm, DC and a bunch of writers and artists from the company lending their talents to the ambitious title.
Needless to say, this project brings a lot of potential to the table whenever it’s mentioned in conversation. DCU Online will let players make their own super heroes to live and fight in the world of DC. No, you will not be playing The Flash or Nightwing, you are who you make. And just like any other MMORPG, you’ll level up, collect drops and participate in PvP.
The heroes and villains are not always mixed together. The idea of keeping everyone in the same area was shot down by the developers as they figured it would be too hectic, too much PvP and not enough playing through the game itself.
So players will work their way up from vigilante or menace all the way to working with the best of their breed. You’ll eventually be invited to work with the JLA, if you’re a hero of course.
As for continuity, this title takes place in the classical DC setting. Batman is Bruce Wayne, there is no secret formula out there capable of destroying all forms of known life. However, they do plan on trying to relive some of DC’s more classic moments. Perhaps the death of Superman, or the crippling of Barbara Gordon would be plausible plots. These are things that so easily defined the DCU when they happened that the devs are looking at ways for players to experience that in a completely different light.
The combat in the title works less like and MMORPG and more like a 3-d beat em’ up. You’re laying down combos or using abilities by pressing buttons, not rapidly clicking. There’s also a targeting system so that you can switch between enemies when taking on a group. You don’t have to simply fight one at a time, you can rotate.
I will admit that, for me, the fighting looked a little stale. I’m starting to get tired of the button mash play that so many beat em’ ups are seemingly forced to include in their mechanics. It’s a function that I’m growing more and more tired of every time I see it. It’s an old gripe that I didn’t really find myself prescribing to too often before now, but recently it’s something I can’t stand. With that said, this is certainly leaps and bounds better than point and rapid click fighting.
Costume drops are handled interestingly as well. Players spend all this time looking to make their characters look badass. They’ll match colors, themes and concepts for the suit of their hero or villain. But what about drops? Drops might look different when compared to your character’s style. Well, drops are set to match the color scheme of the character wearing them. Or, for helmets or capes or whatever, drops can be turned completely transparent. Don’t like how your new belt fits? Make it invisible and keep its effects. I thought this was a great way to handle the risk of losing a great uniform at the expense of gaining +2 Strength.
In the demo we saw, the player was working with some villains in order to deal with some laboratory tech. He fought alongside villains like Bizarro and Joker against a lab full of recently turned mutants. Items in the environment are destructible. They react to your presence, and as you smash a stack of metal crates into bent ruins, it has that powerful effect that I think WoW sometimes lacks.
Working with famous heroes and villains seems just fun. You’ll see them throw down on enemies right there next to you. It’s a rewarding experience, and I think it’s one that will capture an initial sense of awe from fans. Will that feeling last? That all depends on the support for the game. One of the press standing there with me during the demo asked if there were any plans for future continuity events to be played within the DCU. The dev simply said that the team would love to take action on any offers from DC to bring story content to the game. This might be a facet that will keep a steady stream of appeal alive for those playing this game.
As an interesting note for the show room floor; DCU Online was running on both PC and PS3 together. That means that, if the folks working on the title can keep this going, PC players and PS3 players will be able to play together on the same servers and in the same instances. This isn’t something that the developers are committing to, but they are trying to make it happen.
I liked what I saw of DCU Online. I will admit that the MMORPG genre isn’t something that I dabble in too often, but this is one experience that had the comic nerd in me pretty excited. The project is floating well for me simply on the basis of who is involved. Is that enough?
