DC Universe Online
Ok for starters this game is the first MMORPG that’s a
real time action online game. DC can be played on the Ps3 interactive and PC
only. The game also requires a credit card to play because it costs $14.99 for
a monthly subscription. The game’s sneak
peek debuted at E3 2010. Talks of the game had people buzzing for a while, and
the potential of the game was evident. The intro CG trailer, was very
impressive and flavorful –But of course CG animations for video games always exaggerate
the gameplay. The intro trailer is without a doubt very mesmerizing, it
definitely gives you a sense of comic geek duty as you watch your favorite
villains and heroes collide in a very well thought out story compilation.
The story features a 3 vs. 3 heroes vs. villains’ story conglomerate. You have Superman, Batman, and Wonder woman on the heroes’ team of course and Lex Luthor, The Joker, and Circe being their respective counterparts in villainy. Apparently Brainiac has been using nanites to steal the greatest superpowers to create an army to take over the world. You being one of the infected humans have gained super abilities and must choose a faction to side with in the battle to determine the world’s fate. Sounds geeky enough to be good right? I thought so as well.
The story features a 3 vs. 3 heroes vs. villains’ story conglomerate. You have Superman, Batman, and Wonder woman on the heroes’ team of course and Lex Luthor, The Joker, and Circe being their respective counterparts in villainy. Apparently Brainiac has been using nanites to steal the greatest superpowers to create an army to take over the world. You being one of the infected humans have gained super abilities and must choose a faction to side with in the battle to determine the world’s fate. Sounds geeky enough to be good right? I thought so as well.
Details
One of this game’s greatest assets is actually not the
action itself, but its overall customization system. The choices you are given
to create your super hero or villain are quite breathtaking. You have your
standard gender and height, but then you move on to the more complex movement,
faction leader, powers, skin, eyes, hair, makeup etc. You also have the actual
costume. If you just want to jump right into the action, you are given quite a
few very familiar costume presets, but if you’re looking to get more in depth in
creating the super-alternate version of yourself, you have the ability to start
from scratch. Once you get passed the customization and the intro instance,
you’re pushed into the world of a 35 year old man who is still living in his
mother’s basement, with 2 major cities being the centerfold of attention,
Metropolis and Gotham City. The actual detail that the game designers put into
the making of this game is phenomenal. Whether you’re flying over Gotham City’s
dark skyline or super speed running on the bridge in Metropolis, the landscapes
are mind-blowing.
Gameplay
The game consists of a two button combination combat layout. One short range attack and one long range attack button. As you progress through the game and build your characters level, you branch out the attack combo skill tree giving you more options, this being your primary use of combat interaction in the early stages of gameplay.
The super powers you choose early on changes the flow of combat. Fire and ice giving the characteristics of “tanking,” “nature” and “sorcery healing” attributes lastly, “mental and gadgets” giving the “control role.” Unfortunately, your roles are only useful while in a party. The game’s level cap is set at 30 and you probably won’t need to party up until about level 26, which almost renders your roles redundant. Seeing as this game is called DC Universe “Online” I shouldn’t need to be almost at the brink of the end of game before I need social gameplay, oh by the way, NO ONE talks in this game-No wait, I distinctively remember someone shouting “Damn I stomped my toe on my desk!” in Metropolis once. Once you finally achieve level 30 there are quite a few end game content that may be worth looking into, but by then I was kind of tired of the repetitive gameplay and solitary gameplay. The game is fairly easy and doesn’t really hold any real difficulty to master, so people of all ages can play-I suppose this was the intent; however I don’t see this game becoming the newest addictive life-ruining, World of Warcraft replacement. So if you’re looking for a good game to divert your attention for a while, or maybe something to do while you’re waiting for your mom to finish baking those delicious chocolate chips cookies, this could be the game to play.
Other key problems that I came across while playing, were that as you punch and smash your way to the top of Metropolis’s skyscrapers you’ll start to notice a lot of glitches and bugs. Your character lags in between passive and attack stances. The sound effects tend to arbitrarily mute while playing, so in addition to the social solitude that one may be confined to while rummaging through a city full of people, the actual in game sound also runs away from you and then you hear absolutely nothing, it’s like being diagnosed mentally unstable and being sent to the Arkham Asylum where you have no link to the outside world as the silence drives you insane! Overall the game is not so bad, but it is much need of some fine tuning.
Verdict: 7/10
+Great environments, landscapes, and overall visuals
+Great comic animations and CG graphics
+Great voiceovers
- Bugs and combat defects
- Socially awkward
- Repetitive gameplay
Gameplay
The game consists of a two button combination combat layout. One short range attack and one long range attack button. As you progress through the game and build your characters level, you branch out the attack combo skill tree giving you more options, this being your primary use of combat interaction in the early stages of gameplay.
The super powers you choose early on changes the flow of combat. Fire and ice giving the characteristics of “tanking,” “nature” and “sorcery healing” attributes lastly, “mental and gadgets” giving the “control role.” Unfortunately, your roles are only useful while in a party. The game’s level cap is set at 30 and you probably won’t need to party up until about level 26, which almost renders your roles redundant. Seeing as this game is called DC Universe “Online” I shouldn’t need to be almost at the brink of the end of game before I need social gameplay, oh by the way, NO ONE talks in this game-No wait, I distinctively remember someone shouting “Damn I stomped my toe on my desk!” in Metropolis once. Once you finally achieve level 30 there are quite a few end game content that may be worth looking into, but by then I was kind of tired of the repetitive gameplay and solitary gameplay. The game is fairly easy and doesn’t really hold any real difficulty to master, so people of all ages can play-I suppose this was the intent; however I don’t see this game becoming the newest addictive life-ruining, World of Warcraft replacement. So if you’re looking for a good game to divert your attention for a while, or maybe something to do while you’re waiting for your mom to finish baking those delicious chocolate chips cookies, this could be the game to play.
Other key problems that I came across while playing, were that as you punch and smash your way to the top of Metropolis’s skyscrapers you’ll start to notice a lot of glitches and bugs. Your character lags in between passive and attack stances. The sound effects tend to arbitrarily mute while playing, so in addition to the social solitude that one may be confined to while rummaging through a city full of people, the actual in game sound also runs away from you and then you hear absolutely nothing, it’s like being diagnosed mentally unstable and being sent to the Arkham Asylum where you have no link to the outside world as the silence drives you insane! Overall the game is not so bad, but it is much need of some fine tuning.
Verdict: 7/10
+Great environments, landscapes, and overall visuals
+Great comic animations and CG graphics
+Great voiceovers
- Bugs and combat defects
- Socially awkward
- Repetitive gameplay
