Former MMORPG.com Editor Dana Massey pens this hands on preview report from his recent trip to SOE Austin where they are making DC Universe
MMOs are supposed to be about escapism. The good ones allow players to forget their troubles and just enjoy some time in a land that is equal parts video game and imagination. Yet, as MMOs evolved and became more complex, this simplistic joy was filed down. Escapism isn’t about robust character creation or talking in Old English. It’s when players are allowed to enjoy a world in their own way.
If an early version of DC Universe Online represents what is to come, then this is something SOE has definitely gotten out of the way and let players enjoy themselves. Recently, they were kind enough to show me the game at SOE’s Austin studio. It is early and clearly there are miles to go before this is a full game, but the core experience is already there. Characters can run around at sonic speeds, beat the crap out of each other and take part in some archetypical missions. SOE definitely understood that less can be more and through a some simple, but important design decisions, have a game where players will truly be able to lose themselves.
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