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DC Universe Online
Sony Online Entertainment
Playstation 3 and PC

DC Universe Online is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) set in the crazy mixed-up world of DC Comics — the publishers of Batman, Superman, and the Justice League. There’s a fundamental issue plaguing MMOs set in an established fictional milieu: Everybody wants to be the famous dudes. There would be millions of Flashes, Wonder Women, and Green Lanterns buzzing around, with maybe only three B’wana Beasts, if limits weren’t set. Any semblance of a coherent game-world would be impossible, but as Nightwing has proven, there’s little fun in brutalizing Gotham hoods without wearing a ridiculous bat costume. Microsoft scuttled a similar MMO based on Marvel Comics for this very reason.

Would-be Bruce Waynes might be disappointed to hear that no genuine DC characters are playable in DC Universe Online. Players will make their own heroes or villains from scratch. Any crimes busted or perpetrated by comic characters will be controlled by the computer. This might make the game less immediately exciting, but it’s the only sensible decision.

With that taken care of, the biggest pratfall will be insuring that the customization tools are robust enough to keep people from inadvertently making the same character. The only thing worse than several thousand Booster Golds would be several thousand identical nobodies. No character creation mode was on display at the New York Comic Con, but Sony’s playable demo did show off a dozen or so pre-made characters designed in-game, and they were all significantly different in terms of appearance and abilities. The designers claim there will be enough options to prevent unintentional duplicates, but that remains to be seen.

The demo was pre-alpha, meaning the game’s nowhere near being finished, and the playable area was limited to a small portion of Metropolis. It was still a wide swath of real estate, so the entire city should be huge, far bigger than the Manhattan found in the most recent Spider-Man game, Web of Shadows. Heroes and villains were brawling in Metropolis due to a convoluted storyline involving Lex Luthor, Doomsday, STAR Labs and Superman. I played as Kid Frostbite, a gadget-using villain working for Luthor’s squad. I wore a jetpack, but couldn’t fly. Maybe one day, if Kid Frostbite dreams hard enough, he, too, can soar into the sky, but for now all he can do is jump about 50 stories high.

Action clearly trumped narrative in this demo, and despite being a very early build, it gave a good sense of where the controls are headed. It was particularly adept at demonstrating how superpowers will be implemented. Four categories define a power-set, and players will pick from multiple options per category in the character editor. The first is the basic nature of the power, such as ice, electricity, prehensile facial hair, etc. Then there’s the power source, or way of manifesting and directing that power, like a staff or ring. There are three types of super-powered movements available, including flight, super-speed and inhuman gymnastics. Sony was vague about the fourth and final aspect, which it called abilities, but it apparently covers non-motion and non-charged-based powers such as super-strength.

Some powers are regulated by an energy meter that depletes when used, and slowly refills when left alone, whereas others momentarily lock out after each usage. Players can use either superpowers or good ol’ American fisticuffs in combat situations, switching between normal and powered modes with the press of a button. Standard melee attacks don’t use up any energy, but do a fraction of the damage; powers are more powerful, but need to be deployed strategically. It’s a straightforward, completely serviceable set-up.

Kid Frostbite easily dropped cop after cop, and stronger STAR Labs security officers didn’t pose much more of a threat. Taking down superheroes was a challenge, not just because they were more powerful, but because real live humans were controlling them elsewhere in the Sony booth. Based on the demo, the game feels like a button-mashing beat-em-up with light strategy involved in knowing when to use superpowers. Sony plans to incorporate traditional role-playing game elements in the final product, though, including a leveling-up system.

The game’s narrative intentions are intriguing, especially for comic fans. Players randomly roam about various fictional DC cities, fighting or committing minor crimes as necessary. At specific times and locations they’ll be able to join up with recognizable heroes or villains from the comics and embark on a pre-scripted instance. Instances will be more challenging, but offer greater rewards, beyond even the thrill of fighting alongside your favorite Justice Leaguer.

Some notable comic luminaries are working closely with Sony to create these scenarios, including current hot-shot writer Geoff Johns and former prominent DCU architect Marv Wolfman. At a DCU Online panel Johns, Wolfman, and artist Jim Lee swore their involvement would guarantee the game remained respectful of the source material. Famous heroes will remain in character and DC canon won’t be violated. If you know comic fans, you realize that the only thing more vital to them than preserving continuity is not tearing any of the pages, so this should be a relief to many.

Sony wouldn’t commit to any release schedule, but a source sounded hopeful that it’d be out for the PC and PS3 by mid-2010, at the latest. Sony also hasn’t announced any information about the pricing arrangement, or whether the game will be subscription-based or not. If the price is sensible, and development remains this promising, then DC Universe Online could be huge with gamers and comic fans alike.

(Photo courtesy Sony)

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Tags: DC Universe Online, Games & Tech, New York Comic Con, player's club, Sony, video game.