DC Online Universe

DC Online Universe Free to Play – Early Impressions (PS3)

I may not be the biggest comicbook or MMO guy in the world. However i do recognize a good deal when i see one. That sweet deal being the F2P version of DC Online Universe.  WBIE are the developers and Sony Online Entertainment are the publishers to this DC Comics inspired MMORPG. DC Online Universe originally released way back on January of this year for the PC and Playstation 3. As the title says i decided to play through DC Online Universe via the Playstation 3 for the fact i am in the process of playing a few PC MMOS at the moment. I also wanted to see how the controls are since i almost always playing MMOS on my PC.

You start the game by choosing which world you want to play in  PVE or PVP. Your then treated to an epic CGI presentation showing many DC heroes fighting against evil. Now its time to pick my body type, mentor, power, weapons, gear, movement and name. Each category for creating your male or female hero are deeply layered. After about a good fifteen or twenty minutes you’re shown a comicbook style cutscene with voiced narrating introducing you to Brainiac and his plan of world domination involving Exobytes.

The controls were probably the most intrigueing aspect that made me want to play this on the console. The Duel Shock 3 controls: X-jump/dive-up, Start- PDA, L1-Lock-on, Select-fast chat, D-pad-quick actions/talk, Square-melee, L2-role shift, Triangle-range attack, L3-fast movement, R2-wildcard shift, R1-block, O-interact. The controls were surprisingly decent. It felt like i was just playing a hack n slash game with RPG elements. The only complicated aspect of the controls were accessing the in-game HUD and flipping through pages.

Gameplay in DC Online Universe centers around completing missions and leveling up. XP is earned overtime in which you can earn Power Points which are used to strengthen your protagonist. Immolation, Ignition, Iconic Powers each have separate upgradable trees that you can assign Power Points to. You can also earn Skill Points over time which will boost a Trait of your liking making your character even stronger. The tutorial helps you understand the latter in more detail as well combat techniques. For the most part the tutorial involves your character breaking out of one of Brainiac’s ships.

You will fight robots, Overseers and a Ship Guardian. After sabotaging some of the ship’s armies and circumventing the ship you then meet up with the mentor you choose. My mentor is Superman and you do some combat together before escaping Brainiac’s ship. Your then welcomed to the hud of DC Online Universe which is a Metropolis Police Station. You see all of the other players partaking in missions or acting silly. You can upgrade youir character and much more in DC Online Universe’s hub.

For the most part as far as early missions go in DC Online Universe they are pretty easy. Its mostly “go here destroy group of enemy” type deal. I dare say however its kinda fun playing this game. Sure the visuals aren’t any good and the sound design at times can be cheesy but the game does have a little fun factor involved in it. Thanks for reading.