So, I'll set up some backstory for this one. My brother bought this game totally out of the
blue, a game that I have pretty much decided sucked before I saw or
played it. I sat down and tried the first fifteen minutes on his
account, and that combined with the fact another of my buddies had it,
made me impulse buy. So this game that I decided to get after playing
must have been fun, right? It must be a good MMO worth the $50 over
Steam and a recurring monthly fee? Right?
Meet Enduring Freedom, the AK-wielding maniac hero of Gotham City
DCUO (as it shall henceforth be called) is an MMO - barely.
You rarely talk to people, and even when you do, the chat system is
utterly broken and slow. There is NO need to group up with anyone, at
all, to reach the level cap. A level cap (30 if you're interested) that
can be reached in three or four days of pretty casual play. There are
only eight abilities you can use at a time (more on this later), two of
which are fixed and can't be changed. Yeah, this game is definitely not
bringing up a good impression so far. The thing is, when you first start
playing it, none of these problems seem to matter.
Flying is for pussies; real men climb
The
character creator is pretty good - it's no Champions online, or even
City of Heroes, but it doesn't look as cartoony as those games. It
allows for a fair bit of customization and I've seen a lot of cool
looking heroes on my way through the game.
There's voice work; a
lot of voicework, actually. Most of it is cheesy as hell but, I'll say
this, it's just good that it's there. Throughout the game you'll be
working with iconic DC heroes and villains, and they actually have a
fair amount to say. One of the more enjoyable parts of this game is
seeing which famous (or not so famous) comic character will turn up next
as you quest onward for the level cap.
Gotham City - by far the coolest of the two cities in the game
The
gameworld - basically Gotham city (Batman) and Metropolis (Superman) -
is fairly convincing and spacious. It does seem a little deserted,
though, as there are more heroes flying around than civilians or even
cars. Moving around is made pretty enjoyable by the superhero-inspired
movement methods: flying, like Superman, super speed like the Flash, and
my favorite, acrobatics like Batman. These are well realized and look
pretty good, as well as being just fun to use in getting around.
The combat system itself is great. It's a bit, how shall I say, clicky,
but it's fun. It's also pretty original, which is honestly the best I
can say for this game. Fighting in DCUO is done with combos, like a
fighting game, but a lot simpler. Different clicks and directions will
make you perform different attacks, in addition to just pressing numbers
for powers and abilities. As a result PvP is very fast paced and
frantic, but generally enjoyable.
PVP servers: Combat can happen anywhere at any time
Where DCUO breaks down is the fact that, while it's not a bad game per se, you're going to be paying $14.99 a month for:
-One of the poorest chat and game interfaces in a modern MMO
-Leveling with fifty quests that play almost exactly the same (kill x enemies, collect y things, save z people)
-Minimal and highly repetitive endgame content
As
fun as the combat and the initial experience is, this is a simple
multiplayer action game that Sony is charging a monthly fee for. If Sony
had a different payment model, or even a smaller fee, I might be more
forgiving for it's fundamental flaws. But as it stands, this game is fun
for about a month; this also happens to be your initial free month. As
with all MMOs, it'll get improved and developed over time, but at
launch, that's how it stands.
Shortly before I broke into Bruce Wayne's office, punched him in the face, and stole his Batmobile keys
It's
thrilling to make a unique hero, jump or fly around these iconic
cities, and combat enemies with a fun battle system. But underneath all
that is a really shallow game that's ultimately a little deficient. We
can only hope Sony will improve it, because its got potential, but their
track record with MMOs is not so great.
