DC Universe Online Previews

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Written by Brother None on September 9th, 2010

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After poking around the city and indulging in a race, we had the chance to start a quest chain that paid particular attention to the city's simian problem. As is usually the case with super-powered simian monarchs who hate mankind, Gorilla Grodd is on a tear and the city is in peril. To make matters worse, The Flash has gone missing. What's an aspiring hero to do? If you answered "Stomp every ape you find and look for clues!" then you're on the mark. The first chunk of the quest was very focused on stomping a modest quota of ape soldiers causing trouble at a nearby pier. We were then offered a side quest by another character on the scene; switching between the quests was simple and worth the minor detour for the sweet loot we got for our troubles. In terms of ape-stomping we had a good amount of options: first and foremost, our own abilities. At the start of the game you only have a single power and slowly gain more as you earn experience--standard stuff. You have three branches to your powers and abilities, tied to the type of weapon you choose, the power you choose and the movement mode you choose. Your weapons are tied to your melee attacks, which can be specialized along different branches.

Interestingly, your powers break down into three different power pools, two of which are specific to your character, and one that's drawn from a pool of powers that all players can choose from. The communal powers are exactly what you'd expect, letting you pick from classic DC abilities such as Superman's heat vision and Green Lantern's power ring. The different variations of powers and how you can combine them lend themselves to specific play styles. The game also allows you to set up different ability load outs so you to keep your role fluid in combat, which key for group play. Choosing powers and skills will be tied to leveling up and the points you earn. The game also ties your ability to choose powers and skills to skill points and power points that you earn upon leveling--during our demo we found we could earn one set of points at alternating levels which kept progression even. We also found that with our fire-based character, we had the option to choose very specific offensive abilities from the start, such as a direct fire blast. However, as you upgrade this ability you begin to set foes on fire, which is a perfect lead-in to a more passive ability that simply causes an explosive damage boost to enemies on fire. In addition to our natural talents, we also had the option of picking objects up and hurling them at our enemies. The presence of explosive barrels made this an especially fun thing to try.

But SOE is marketing this more specifically as an action game with the scale and persistence of an MMO. It's built to be the kind of game that should be able to stretch out its tendrils to hit a mainstream market of gamer; the sort of gamer that likes DC and likes action RPGs and doesn't detest the company of other players.

You'll begin by designing your character and choosing their city of origin, from a list of places that range from Metropolis to Gotham City, with other areas to be announced in the future. But the focus of the game is in the interaction between players and NPCs. As a hero or villain you'll be assisting either the Justice League or Legion of Doom through a series of battles and cases, with the first case being between Superman and Lex Luthor to either defeat or capture Doomsday.

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