I always love playing around with games and seeing if they have any real value. Many a times due financial reasons I generally try to find free trials or go for the free to play games. While for the most part this does limit me to the amount of games per say, i do tend to get around. Recently after having a falling out with one free 2 play mmo's gm staff I began to look for something else to play, and while surfing mmorpg.com's site and ad for Dc universe popped up. Now I had tracked this game before it came out. The idea of playing a hero or villain in a super hero world while not original to say the least was rather enjoyable for the fact it took place in a universe I was introduced to as a kid, when my father bought me a green lantern comic following a childhood surgery. However at the time I was in the process of working and moving as well as dealing with other games to actually take the time to check out this gem.
 

So first off what I knew before ever playing. The game is cross platform being able to be played on both the pc and the ps3 but the servers are separate as to not get the controller v mouse debate found in most first person shooter games. Combat was not the traditional tab target kill of most games and that the game was more of a hybrid of action games and traditional mmo games. And the fact you get to fight against and with some of the all time great characters of the DC Universe. All this was rather thrilling to me.

My first day of play I spent some time designing my character thinking of what I wanted to look like and going through all the fashion options making the traditional looking comic character with high boots,cape, and face mask. Then I got to power-sets. Here came the trick. There are basically 4 types of characters. Tank,Healer,Damage,and Controller. While the names are different the ideas are the same as with most mmo's Tanks hold agro, Healers heal, Damage does damage like dps, and Controllers use abilities to control single or multiple targets. However I soon discovered that players could actually be multiple roles at once. A player could in one aspect be a tank holding agro and be a dps at the same time. Healers could heal and do crowd control. The fact is it allowed for some rather awesome power configurations as every power set has two trees per say to choose from and a third tree that opens up that allows you to pick from some iconic hero powers. So you could throw batmans batorang then use supermans heat vision and use a flame healing wave that does damage and heals you at the same time. The options are very massive.

When it came to weapons I was rather lacking in this. Little did I know that each weapon set had certain attacks I could train that were activated depending on certain aspect of my mouse. For instance tap left mouse button 5 times and hold right 1 time. Luckily there was a tap 10 times skill available thus I was able to do some damage while I learned all my attack combo's. Now each weapon has some basic str and weaknesses depending on how you want to play...Pistols,guns,bow, hand blasters, are generally the route you want to go for a more ranged attack idea. Where weapons like one handed, dual weapons, martial arts, staff, brawling, are more for those who want to be up close and personal. Little tip all weapons have a range attack ability, just may not be as strong as weapons that are range specific, and the same can be said for melee weapons as well.

So now I have my power set I have my weapons lets play the game. Well previous to character creation they give the back story of the universe your about to play in. Now I will not ruin this for you if you have not played as the story and the animation of all this is rather spectacular to say the least, but know its really does help fill in any plot loop holes that most comic zealots would surely bring up. Then after all the character creation there is another cut scene that helps lay more of the ground work of why you are where you at. Now I was kinda sad to not start with a single skill however you have your basic attacks which helps enforce the use and need of these attacks, however at level 1 your really don't have any special attacks associated with these however that doesn't really matter as much in the beginning, but becomes hugely important later on. The first area acts in many ways as a limited tutorial how to play the game however does not go into an in depth play by play leaving the player to have to figure a lot out on there own, Luckily there is a rather helpful and active forum base for both pc and ps3 players to help you with most of these issues.

After the tutorial stage you will be sent to a a major location depending on which iconic figure you have selected as your mentor, So if you chose the Joker or Batman you end up in Gotham, if you select Lex Luther or Superman you will end up in Metropolis. And yes central city is there as well for all you Flash fans. Each area has a great amount of quests and zone specific safe houses. Most quest are part of chains that will lead you to a solo instance, and with these better gear and money. These instances are both challenging and fun, And when you win you get a little character bio cut scene depending on who you beat or who you work with in the instance. I quickly discovered that each one had a different style in order to beat, not mention more then one boss to have to fight. I mean Having to fight Clayface,Bane,and the Penguin in one instance was rather taxing as each one required a different style to beat. Though to be honest getting to fight the original flash and the new flash at the same time was pretty awesome, not to mention fighting the teen titans and unleashing a inter dimensional demon was very fun.

Now like most players these days something that really matters to me is Pvp. What can I say beating up on people makes me happy. Now at level 8 you get access to legends pvp as well as arena pvp. In Legends Pvp you get to play as one of several iconic Dc heroes and villains. You get one free depending on your morality. Heroes get Robin, Villains get Harley Quinn. You can get several more by just playing legend and arena pvp matches, a lot. Or you can spend station cash and buy some special ones, Like future batman and future Harley Quinn. And on a side note the cash shop ones are pretty decent to fight against but knowing the basics and some rather crafty skill combos both on your power bar and action mouse commands can in turn spell doom for almost any character in there and thus balance the characters out very nicely. Now Arena pvp is not much different with the exception of your gear actually matters, for this I really recommend you wait till 30 and collect a full set of t1 pvp set which you can get easily by doing the Legends Pvp, cause there is only one stat difference between pvp and pve. Defense affects your damage resistance when it comes to pve and Toughness does the same but only in pvp. Most of the gear you will pick up in the game from killing mobs has little to know toughness, so a set of pvp gear is needed.

With all these things at hand I was rather enjoying the game. On top of all this greatness something dawned on me that both made me thrilled and overjoyed. All these things; Arena pvp, Legends pvp, Duo instances, Raids, Events, Alerts all have que systems that generally leave you waiting no more then 10 minutes max. In many cases the moment I select the one I want to do Im already in it. And if this wasn't cool enough at lvl 30 there is a que all in a specific category that speeds this up even more.

All of these great things in one single game made this title really stand out to me. I have played many games and have found so many faults with them. To laggy, combat is boring, No challenge, crappy pvp, boring endgame, same old same old, I never found any of these faults in this title. So I began to wonder why did this title go f2p? While comic books are great sellers for movies and games in general there were already 2 other super hero, comic based games on the market, One of which predated wow and had a rather steady and loyal fan base, and the other was a more generic comic inspired game that was forced into f2p and to be honest was a cheap knock off of an established franchise. These two titles probably weighed heavy on possible players wanting to at least try this title out. I mean pay 50 bucks for a game and then 15 a month just to see if its any good. Now that the title has gone free 2 play it is enjoying a rather robust success. There is almost always a constant player base online ready to play and support others. I cant even tell you how many times I put out a call to do a bounty mission and have 6 people show up to help me, AND IM A VILLAIN. In no game I have played have I ever seen such supportive players, Fluid game play on even low spec systems, Challenging game play, fun pvp, versatile character customization, and an ever evolving play style.

I wanted to write so much more on this game describing every aspect of this game, in great detail. Give you every glimpse of wonderment I have found in this game. However as I wrote this I just couldn't do it. Part of the great appeal of something is discovering it on your own. Its kinda like Christmas morning and opening up your presents and to be surprised and awe struck. For me I always found my presents thus there was no surprise, and for this game to make me feel like that kid I always saw on tv, and not the jade bastard most know me as was something special. Who knows maybe, just maybe, DC Universe Online will be that special to you, so check it out.

Just a quick note for you or anyone else who wants to play cause of this review. Your starting gear only lasts about 5 levels so its not that important except what you want to look like later in game might resemble it with new items. You can change you color scheme in-game at anytime, so just pick what you like and get to unerstanding the game more.

There is so much to do it is awsome. Exploring is just as important as anything else.There are many things you get from discovering that you don't get from anything else. So you don't really have to rush through if you want to enjoy the storyline and world. I would suggest rushing to level 10 so you can travel around easier and really become part of the world.

Although I made a new account on the PS3 version and went to hero spawn spot at lvl 3 and was killing lvl 6's pretty easy! It's pretty simple to find your way around if you are familiar with the DC Genre (i.e. follow the bat sign to the police station, Look for Wayne Enterprise, Find the Metropolis News building ect.) I hope you guys enjoy it and at least give it a try. "Could be a WoW Killer" < Sarcasm.

This is one of the best games I have played in awhile, but I would say it is mostly because of the change of scenery. Considering your not playing a troll or an elf, and your not stuck in some mid-evil land like most other mmo's. I have noticed there are a lot of unsavory people roaming around. It is a Combat based MMO and it is to be expected though. They have an ignore feature for a reason. Talking in Shout you can get alot of support from fellow Heroes/Villains. It definitly has it's own market and should not be thrown aside. I see a long and enjoying life for this MMO!

I love it after I now played for days! Never get tired!

• It's free to download and play. Sure it takes hours to download (PS3), but hey!
• Graphics beats WoW and it's new clone SWTOR by 1 billion miles!
• Open world. NO stupid walls or railroads like in so many games. You can travle all over the city! ..well you might get killed by high lvl mobs on the way. But it's open! Freedom in MMORPG is the best!
• Laggy? Not that much, I can speedrun to an area full of mobs, cars and other objects. BAAM! It's there!
• Very nice looking weapons and armor. Yes in this game the player do look cool. No longer do you need to watch the NPC with cool looking armor etc. So many games miss this.
• Change from PvE to PvP by just a short loading screen! How nice isn't that?!? No longer do you need to fear the max level players ganking you.
• Or you can stay in PvP even at low level and fight people at your level, in an OPEN WORLD!!! Awesome!
• Fighting mobs and someone else take your mission object? No problem, in this one you get it anyway. You doing the hard work, so why not! ...I think it workes like this anyway.
• PvP from start! Do some mission and then you can PvP! And it's fast and fun!
• Side mission!
• Movies! Some very nice intro and also some nice short movies from time to time when doing special missions. I like it, gives me a better feeling doing that quest.
• Action is fun! Punch a guy away! Burn them up! Explotions! Gas! Animals! You name it!

the pc version is awful. You wait forever for alerts and when the people come I can do it without them anyway. They should just set this all to duo now or solo. The games so did since swtor came out and it seems like i'm the only one not playing that game.

Originally posted by Chivalry1978

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Minor comments --

Technically, this is not a cross-platform game -- it is multi-platform.  Cross-platform means that ps3 and pc gamers could play together, which is not correct.  They have seperate servers.

DCUO went f2p largely because it had a ridiculously fast leveling track and it lacked content...for a subscription based game.  People could burn through the content and, while re-rolling is an option, it's basically the same content all over again, with possibly a different contact giving you the mission.  The PC side also suffered from a terrible UI that was not conducive to teaming.  And, then SOE had also promised monthly content updates, which it then failed to deliver in a timely fashion.  Also, consider that the Playstation network hack probably killed any possible momentum because people simply couldn't play for an extended period of time, likely moving on.  Finally, throw in the announcement that City of Heroes was going to a hybrid model and SOE saw the writing on the wall.

I'm very glad you're enjoying the game -- I was a very harsh critic of it before launch and up until it went F2P simply because of the bad design/production decisions that went into it.  The game value simply didn't justify the cost of a subscription back then.

I have to agree with OP the game is a lot of fun. While Champions Online is my main game,  this game made a great complement. After getting some SC during the 3x offer, I am planning to get the dlc's. The only sad part is that I was playing on Europe servers since I wanted to play with some friends but there weren't too much people. US servers are more populated so I restarted recently with a nature healer, but I am not sure if Light and Electricity are better sets, so a bit on doubt about rerolling.