DC Universe Online Review

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I've been playing a lot of DC Universe Online the past week. There's two reasons or this: The first reason is that I really love the DC Universe of characters. Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, Joker, etc. are some of my favorite comic book characters, and it's so awesome for someone like me to play a game with them in it (especially when Batman and Joker are voiced by the two people who I think are the best at those characters: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill). The second reason is because of our very own Walkerxes. Who doesn't love playing with Walker?

I thought it would be a good idea to give some others the chance to see what the game is all about, and since I usually do the game reviews it seemed fitting that I'd squeeze it in (I also didn't have any other games to write about). DCUO, like the last few games I reviewed, is free. The game has a few extra paid versions as well. Paying for the premium accounts will grant you extra character slots (you only have 2 with a free account) and can grant you some other in-game items as well. However, I just want to discuss the game play and some of the pros and cons of the free game, so I won't be going too deep into the paid stuff.

When you start the game, you'll get the chance to create your own Hero or Villain, depending on what you want to be. As I said earlier, the game gives you two player slots so you can make one of each if you'd like. From here, you can select presets based on characters in the comics, which will automatically set you up with everything based on the person you're trying to mimic. You can also create an entirely custom character as well. Here you choose the costume, Mentor, Power, Movement Type, Weapon Style, Personality, and a bunch of other things.

Most of the choices you make here won't mean much to your character, aside from giving them the look and feel that you want. However, Power is the thing that really makes the character who they are and what they do. There are a lot of different types of Powers for you to choose from. You have your typical elemental Powers (Ice,Fire, Earth, etc.) as well as Mental Powers (Illusions and Telekinesis), Nature (Healing and Shape shifting), Sorcery (Summoning and Destiny) , or Gadgets (Tricks and Traps). This all will determine the types of skills you'll get, and ultimately decide how your character's plan of attack will go.

The weapon style that you choose for your character is fairly important as well. This will give your character a proficiency in said weapon. However, you can swap out what weapon you use at any time; the skill tree for all weapons open up to you after a few levels. So if you start off with guns but want to move to a staff, then you can easily do so. With that said though, you only have one primary weapon, so odds are you'll stick with whatever you choose when you create your character. There's also Respec machines in both the Watchtower (good guys' main building) and the Hall of Doom (bad guys' main building). Here you can remove all points and redo them however you'd like.

When you start the actual playing of the game, it runs much like many of the MMO type games you've seen. Each weapon has two types of attacks, short range and long range. The player uses a combo of these to fight enemies while also using any powers the player has unlocked (numbers 1-8).

Depending on the class you choose (and if you're playing with people), the powers you pick will vary. For instance, the two characters that I've made are both primarily Controller class. This class is basically your support class. My goal for the team is to keep enemies pinned down (through stun attacks and knock backs) so that the stronger Tank players can do lots of damage to them, and to make sure my teammates have enough Power to cast spells and use their abilities. So a lot of the powers I picked for this character I picked because they would support the role I played.

Picking your mentor will open up different quests; choosing Batman will give you more Gotham related quests and Superman will be quests from Metropolis (obviously). There are a lot of quests that are all-around similar to ones you'd get from another mentor, but they vary enough to give a fresh game. If you team up with a partner or a group of friends you get to experience their quests as well that they got from other mentors. There are also a lot of "side" quests from various people from various places so you won't be restricted to Gotham-only quests if you pick Batman.

Lastly, I thought I'd mention the Premium account. It's only $5. No fees, no tricks, just a onetime payment of $5. Something that, if you enjoy the game, would be a good investment. This will grant you extra stuff like player slots and not having to wait in the queue to get into the game if the server is full. It also give you a boost in in game cash. The Free account caps your in game cash at around $1000 while the $5 will gain you an extra $1000 to the cap. The rest of your money will sit in Escrow, which you can only get access to by paying real money. I've yet to pay for it, but I know I will in the coming days. I know Walker has paid the $5 price tag, and is so far very happy with it. By no means do you have to pay the money to enjoy the game, but it will give you a better experience in the long run.

Recommendation: Play it.