Today I'm going to talk a little bit about DC Universe Online and hopefully shed some light on what players can expect from this increasingly popular title. Still fairly new to the world of online role-playing, DCUO allows players to create they're very own super hero's or super villains based off legends such as Superman, Batman, or even The Joker, depending on which faction you prefer. This will not be a full review as I am only a casual gamer and have not experienced the games full content as of yet, but my hope is to relay my personal playing experience and help show new players an honest review of DCUO. That being said, let's get into it!
A subscription based game, DCUO was released in January 2011 and charged $14.99 monthly. Since November 1st, DCUO has become free to play and, for obvious reasons, has become more popular over the past couple weeks. It now allows players to upgrade they're account to either premium (at least $5 spent on the game), and Legendary, which are ongoing subscribers. I personally haven't found the need to pay a subscription fee to enjoy this game, but if your one of those hardcore players that has to have everything then, by all means.
DCUO is set, where else? The DC world. The story goes that Lex Luthor has finally defeated Superman as well as his allies, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc. Upon they're defeat, Brainiac, who apparently has no love for Lex or his plans for world domination, returns to earth and begins taking over and assimilating humans into his army. Unable to contend with his power, Lex travels back in time to confront Superman and his allies at the Watchtower orbiting Earth. Hoping to join forces and bring down Brainiac, Lex Luthor reveals that he has stolen Brainiac's technology from the future in the form of "Exobytes" which, upon contact, imbue humans with they're very own superpowers. This is where you come in!
DCUO's character customization is similar to that of City of Hero's in the sense that you customize your powers, costume, movement modes, and even personality. Choosing a mentor at the beginning will determine where you start your adventure and who you will be earning reputation with. Mentor's include Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman for hero's; Lex Luthor, The Joker, and Circe for villains. Powers come in the form of Fire, Ice, Mental, Nature, Sorcery, Gadgets, and Light. Each power has two skill tree's which determine your role within a group; tank, healer, or damaging. At later levels, iconic powers can be taken which include Superman's heat vision, Wonder Woman's lasso, Batman's batarang, and many others regardless of what powers you chose. Weapons also play a part in your hero/villain's arsenal and can vary from bare handed pounding's, smashing enemies with a two-hander, or blasting foes with energy in your hands from afar. Each weapon has it's very own skill tree where you can learn new or passive bonuses. Don't worry about only be able to choose one weapon; reaching level 10 reveals that other weapons can also be mastered along side your main. Movement modes consist of flight, acrobatics, and super speed. Anyone who's played City of Hero's will know what I'm talking about. However, unlike CoH, each mode has it's own skill tree as well and can be upgraded in various ways, from different attacks, to simply moving at faster speeds. Character personality also plays a part in your customization, although from my experience, I haven't found it to impact anything you do while playing. Choose as you will.
Game-play consists of what I believe is a cross between World of Warcraft and City of Hero's/Villians mixed with a unique weapon combo system where, instead of mindlessly clicking on enemies to beat them down, you can perform specific move sets with the right clicks of the mouse. I find this a very refreshing way of keeping the player involved in combat, rather then just auto-attacking enemies to they're demise. Questing however can be, like in many MMORPG's, a very dull grind. DCUO will have you doing run-of-the-mill quests such as, fetching items, killing certain enemies, and a lot of seemingly needless running around. Some quests can be very difficult to complete because your constantly competing with other players to fulfill your objectives. This is very apparent in the beginning of your adventure, but tapers somewhat as you continue. This may be annoying for some, but that's what online gaming is all about, COMPETITION!
While this is just a short review, I believe DC Universe Online is a very creative, fun, and highly customizable game, but very similar to other titles. I would rate it a 7 out of 10 only because I would recommend other great MMO titles before this one. However, DCUO is now free to play so why not give it a shot? You may like what you see!
