Let's make this clear right off the bat, I am a newb. I own up to that title completely. This is the first MMORPG I have played. I do not own a computer powerful enough to run even WoW with any degree of smoothness and as an avid console player I was excited to hear that DC Universe was now free-to-play on PS3. I prefer solo gaming or co-op gaming and the vast wasteland of multiplayer interaction, pvp, pve, etc was honestly a little intimidating to me but I could resist fulfilling a long time dream of creating my own superpowered heroes and villains (I've drawn comics for years). This is where the game shines. Even with the beginning dress and body options I was able to create a large variety of character (I have 12 currently) that each feel unique and real (in the surreal comic book sense). They seem like characters that you would find on collectible shelves. As you spend your grind time you unlock new costuming options based on the mission types u choose (broken into three categories: magic, tech and meta under three heroic mentors - Wonder Woman (magic), Batman (tech) and Superman (meta) or villains - Circe (magic), Joker (tech), or Lex Luthor (meta). Once you equip new gear you "collect" its visual aesthetic and gain its stat bonus or penalties, but can, at any point, go under your style tab and change your appearance in any of several categories. The writer/artist/geek in me loves the creation aspect and watching your character level up and dominating the playing field with power and skill upgrades. But that is pretty much the majority of the good. Missions themselves are completely tedious with every mini story-arc consisting of "go to zone A (zones are usually wide-open lackluster environments set in city hot spots), do these minor tasks (kill, collect, destroy) many, many times, then go to Zone B for a new set of tedious tasks, watch out for collectibles, then to zone C, rinse and repeat" until eventually you come to essentially a dungeon which you battle through many more generic enemy types until at last you come face to face with the stories boss, be it superhero or villain depending on the morality you chose when birthing your character. As a long time comic fan I've always found DC's roster lackluster minus some of the more recognizable names (Supes, Bats, Joker and most of Batman's villains) so many of these boss encounters did little to excite my inner nerd. The one interesting aspect is playing the same story arc from a polar morality prospective and taking down the hero your other character had assisted. Not being able to switch up and betray your allies might have been more interesting but since I'm not a designer I have no real idea of what a massive undertaking allowing morality shifts mid-game might incur. Alert Instances in which up to four players co-op morality-stripped missions bringing heroes and villains together to fight against the forces of the over-stories archvillain Braniac. Powers are interesting and varied and tend to allow you to fall into the basic roles I've always read so much about (healer, tank, etc) and the each of the games three super-human movement styles (flight, acrobatics and super-speed a la Flash) are implemented incredibly well and make exploring the well rendered maps of Metropolis, Gotham and Central City (if you buy the DLC) a blast. Combat is fun early on as you unlock new moves and combos and powers, but the game is so mired in tedium that it grows old fast. To close, I've logged so many hours into this game because I have a personal attachment to the characters I create, but that same affection does not extend to the story or universe of the game itself. Even seeing what unique personaes others have created is a blast and will leave you dying to reach level 30 and unlock the utterly awesome superarmors. If you don't mind the grind, it's fun to play dress-up, but if stylized and fast-paced action in exciting environments or top-shelf writing is your thing, look elsewhere.
I just hit level 30 which is the level cap last night and it was very fun and fast. You don't have to grind to level up just keep doing the next mission or quest that pop up and you be fine. I solo the entire time as ... Read Full Review
DCUO is a pretty game, with vast cities to play in, though many parts of the areas are completely empty, while others are swarming with enemies where you wont have enough space to breath. These parts are simply chaotic, ... Read Full Review
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