Wow, I love this game! Wow, I hate this game! So many things are so right with DC Universe Online. Sadly, when it misses, it misses big. Read on to see the highs and lows.
Graphics are underrated. I grant you that gameplay must come first. Without a quality design, the shiniest game will still suck copious quantities of vacuum. But graphics must be a close second. Photo realism is not required. But a conscientious effort at a discernible design and its intentional execution is. Any real chance at immersion is out the window without a convincing and compelling world to look at and operate within.
Although the graphics in DC Universe Online seem to be designed with console hardware in mind, (read: low draw distances,) when they do finally draw in, they are gorgeous. Textures are crisp and the overall art direction is a skillful mix of realism and traditional comic book sensibility. I love to look at my character. Even at low level, the costumes and gear have been nerd wood worthy.
SOE, in a burst of brilliance, included the ability to cosmetically equip any piece of gear you have previously equipped. Few games have included this fashion forward necessity. There is nothing more frustrating to me than running a max level toon that looks like Ronald McDonald after a week long bender. In DCUO I feel super and I look super. Super.
Power animations are convincing, but lack the customization available in other Super themed MMOs. Your power animation color is based on your base skill set. If you are a dual wielding pistoleer with psionic abilities, your .45 caliber man stoppers fire in a terrifying blaze of mauve colored death.
DCUO is a smashemup. It's a button masher with a dimly illuminated stat pool behind the scenes. It feels great to pummel the enemies of your chosen faction with furious fists of flame. The power pools seem on the surface to be quite flexible, but every time I have deviated from proscribed builds, I felt immediately gimped.
Right around level 20, of 30 possible, gear becomes ultra important. Up to that point, I could be wearing taffeta and lace and do just as well as the next guy. Once I hit 20, I began to visit the respawn hub with alarming frequency. This sent me running for the Auction House. Shortly after arriving, I found myself running from the Auction House. At least on my server, prices are out of hand. At level 19 I was wondering what I would ever do with the $10k fortune I had amassed. At level 20, I realized that $10,000 is good for exactly one hat and a ham sandwich.
Missions are great. They are fast paced, and well voiced by professorial actors of name. Mark Hamill, Wil Wheaton and Adam Baldwin to name just a few. Mission Hubs are sensibly placed and make sense within the narrative. They provide great XP and you can blaze through an entire arc in roughly an hour, without feeling cheated out of content. I have found no shortage in the content department so far. The mission rewards tend to be sub par with the occasional powerfully featured piece.
Got to go for now...check back later.
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