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DC Universe Online Review: The Official Review - Edit
8
| Pros |
 Deep character customization Excellent storylines & content Exceptional physics-based combat Feats as alternate advancement Superb presentation of the DC Universe |
| Cons |
 Lack of information on powers & skills Many annoying little bugs Stunted Social & League UI Terrible chat interface |
Since the game’s launch, I’ve spent a fair amount of time tooling around Metropolis and Gotham in DC Universe Online. Sony Online Entertainment’s most recent entry into the MMO genre, DCUO is a highly action-oriented romp through the mythological streets of comics’ most famous cities. As of this review I have one level 30 Villain character in DC Universe Online. With that character I’ve completed several Duos, a few Hard Mode Alerts, and participated in one pick-up group’s Raid to get a taste for how those go. I’ve relentlessly participated in Legends PvP to earn my Bane, and done plenty of Arenas to work toward my PvP armor set. I’ve done all of this in roughly fifty hours of playtime since the game came out on January 11th. It’s a title that can and will divide gamers. It’s also a title that will need to rely heavily on promised monthly content to keep players flying around in tights. But ultimately, it is this gamer’s opinion that DC Universe Online is one of the most entertaining releases in recent memory, despite what flaws it may have. Read on to find out why.
Boy is it Purdy
There’s an obvious benefit that comes from having Jim Lee (Batman: HUSH, Uncanny X-Men) serve as your game’s Executive Creative Director: it looks phenomenal. The only negative things I can say about the visuals is that textures can’t yet be turned to high, anti-aliasing is missing, and the vertical sync option is locked at 30 frames per second instead of the customary 60. Really, the visuals are like the game as a whole: extremely pleasing but not without nagging hiccoughs that keep it from the true greatness of a 9 or a 10.
Still, Metropolis and Gotham are rendered to incredible detail, using the IP to its full extent: Big Belly Burger, the STAR Labs building, Stryker Island, ACE Chemicals, Arkham Asylum, and Wayne Tower. And it’s something of a nerd dream to not only fly around both doing good and evil, but also to see characters like Batman and Green Lantern loitering in unexpected places. I was in the middle of a race (which we’ll get to later) when I ran smack dab into Deathstroke and freaked as he spoke a few words and flew off. The power effects for the most part are appropriately “powerful” looking, and the animations for the weapon combos are extremely well done. The architecture and atmosphere of every location throughout the game is inspiring and makes you certainly feel a part of the DC Universe. In short SOE has taken the reigns of the Unreal Engine 3 and used it masterfully.
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Louder than a Locomotive
SOE has spared no expense when it comes to the presentation of their latest effort. DCUO sports a cast of voice actors from Mark Hamill to Wil Wheaton, James Marsters to Gina Torres. Some are voices that made characters for my childhood, and others are voices that I know from some of recent nerdom’s most exalted television shows. The only voice-work that I found a little off was that of Gina Torres’ Wonder Woman and Michelle Forbes’ Circe. It’s not that they were particularly bad, but rather that the lines they were forced to read sounded too hammy, even for DC comics. The music isn’t particularly memorable, but it does fit the theme of the game and its many different settings and moments well. The sound effects are spot on also and blend into the action seamlessly, helping you to feel every punch you land or every explosion you cause.
The downside, and frankly something that shouldn’t be an issue in a live game, is that the heavy use of sound effects and voiceover can cause a skipping problem where the voice playback will loop the same fraction of a second over and over until you zone and sometimes until you log out. On top of this, while the game has built-in voice chat, its functionality is spotty at best and getting PC users to actually make use of it is a whole other story. It wouldn’t be a problem were the chat interface better but let’s save that discussion for later on.
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Building Your Super
The character creation and customization in DCUO is probably one area that seems most contentious. When looking directly at games like City of Heroes or Champions Online, it seems at first glance that these older titles have more in the way of customization. Indeed they do have more straight-up power sets, but the skills and travel powers of DCUO round out the depth of customization. For instance, while there are six basic power sets, each one has two distinct paths of progression with different methods of play. There are also the “Iconic” powers which are sampled from some of DC’s most famous characters (Batarangs, Venom Injection, Heat Vision, etc.), and the travel powers themselves each have their own trees of additional powers and skills. Sure it would be wonderful to have more power sets to choose from, and I’m sure they’ll come in time, but the six available at launch, when combined with the travel powers, iconics, and multitude of different weapon sets make for a very diverse set of combinations.
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Initially when creating my characters, I felt a little down on the fact that I there seemed less style choices than I was used to. I mean there are still a great many costume pieces, but after previous hero games it seemed underwhelming. The thing is it was designed this way. The first costume pieces are your character’s starting point. As you play the game and grow you get brand new styles, and by the time you hit the level cap you’ll wind up having a slew more choices that you never would have had at the outset. There are certainly a great deal of ways to make your character look unique, or even like your favorite hero if you so choose. The only real downfall in style comes in the form of body shapes and size, and character faces, of which there are few. Still, as one of the game’s better innovations, as you progress with your character you’ll gain more and more styles to choose from in your “style tab” allowing you to change the look of your character on a whim from a catalog of your collected items without changing your stats from the gear you actually have equipped. It’s a feature that more games would do well to emulate in the future.
Very good Bill. Touched on a little bit of everything, and ended with a decent score.
A good review. But I would have scored it a 7 tho. When you look at the Cons, they really do weight rather heavy on the Pro's.
For a company like SOE who brought us EQ2, there is simply no excuse for the current UI and Chat interface they deployed in DCUO for PC users. No excuse AT ALL!
And so far there has been ZERO communication from SOE if they ever gonna address it nor when they gonna address it.
The current sorry state of the whole chat interface makes PC users just not willing to team up nor making Alerts any fun excersise at all! As people do not communicate nor play their role. Everyone just does their own thing solo, even in Alerts.
It really hurts the community and community feel overall ingame.
And sadly, it's already showing, as it wasn't even 2 weeks after launch and the 2 EU servers that were queue'ing and always full during primetime are already down to Medium during primetime.
SOE really need to get their heads out of their arses and communicate and tell us they gonna fix the horrid UI and Chat interface for PC users! Or this game is gonna bomb fast and not many will be around anymore after the first month is up.
nice read, lots of valid points both good and bad, fair score
The character customization was shallow I thought...
After playing CoH and CO even games like SWG and EQ2 it was just really poor. I couldn't design the character I wanted and I couldn't even change their face which is really weird, so we all have the same face.
I tried the game on a buddy key from my roommate, played to lvl 20 in 4 days....that right there bugged me, WAY to fast to get to lvl cap ( i know I didnt hit cap but I could have QUITE easily within the 10 days fo the buddy trial) the leveling curve needs some serious fine tuning, which at the same time will require alot of content additions to accomodate. To me they cattered far to much towards the console segment of the game, and the PC release was an afterthought. I play on both pc's and consoles, but I like MMOs because they are USUALY designed to take some time to "beat" as it where. I dont want to hit lvl cap and have donme all the available end game dungeon type content in less than a month...thats not satisfying...
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/305936/My-Temporary-Hiatus-From-PvP-Videos-Included.html
Youtube is littered with hack and exploit pvp videos. Somehow, if the game is in this current state (the one in which you reviewed it in) - then I hardly say that the game ranks an 8. Probably a low 7 and worth a revisit about 6 months from now to see how far they have come along in fixing things.
You hit the cap alright, but you dont have all the feats, there's lot in unlocking all the feats maxing out your char.
I thought one of the reasons getting to 30 was intentional to be faster to appeal more of the alt-crowd which is not so small. Also to get to end game I think, but that again would require a bit more variation and vastness to the end game :)
Seems to me, given alot of the language in the review, this isn't an "8", it's an "8, IF..."
IF they fix social
IF they provide plenty of montly content.
IF, IF, IF...
After all, an MMO that lacks most of the traditional MMO offerings should have added SOMETHING in their absence. When I played in beta, I didn't see such things.
I'll give the author credit... at least he didn't use the word, "potential".
But I don't buy an 8 for a second, and I think, in a few months, the author will come around to my way of thinking. In terms of overrating, IMO this is the Champions Online review all over again.
Based on your own cons this game is not great. It garners a score of like 6.5 to 7 at best. But an 8 and you guys call it great? Really? ::sigh::
Actually the last paragraph explains why he gave the game an 8... he says despite its flaws it's the most fun he's had in years. It's an opinion folks, treat it as such.
Wise words that people need to heed more often. The score of the reviewer is his own opinion on the game, and if people disagree that's fine, but don't attack someone else for their thoughts. Instead share your own input.
That being said, Bill scoring it an 8 based mostly on the fun factor would seem warranted. People tend to forget that these are games, which are made for enjoyment. Not every game is going to be a masterful work of art that alone stands on high in the pantheon of utter perfection. However, if a game is fun enough, people can look past flaws.
However, the chat system should be addressed asap. If anyone knows their mmo history, Asheron's Call 2 was plagued with many issues, but the game was fun for many. When the GUN servers would go down for hours to days at a time, and no one could chat with one another, well that's when people started to leave in droves. Turbine was able to fix the chat issue, (scrapped that stupid GUN server crap that MS had them use), but it was too late.
If basic communication is still a problem in DCUO for more than a couple of months, you'll probably start to see people become too frustrated for the fun factor to outweigh. It would be a shame if SOE let DCUO not realize its true potential because they couldn't get chat right.
Oh, I think he's sincere in that opinion, don't get me wrong. I just don't think he'll see that number 8 a few months from now. Without crafting and other downtime activities, something has to take its place, or else your investment in that world will start to float away. I'd agree with his first statement about it being "all about the monthly content". But I'd wager it's not gonna be enough to justify a $15 sub.
Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games, and it is loads of fun. There are tons of easter eggs to find, and plenty of replayability. It's a 9 as a game, in my book. But you know what? I'm not playing it right now. I played it for about 2-3 months, and I moved on. And if I had to pay $15 bucks a month to play it? I wouldn't have played it THAT long.
And honestly I would have to agree with that opinion 100%...I've never had so much fun on a Game that is admittedly flawed...There is a lot I would like to see improved (UI, another toolbar, Chat, TARGETING!!!...lol), and it's crystal clear this Game was mostly Developed with the PS3 in mind...Still it's a freaking blast...Especially when you learn your Combo's and get into the bigger fights...it's just REALLY fun...Not sure how long it will last...But right now it's a blast...
This is one of the games in my vast library on Steam I enjoy a lot. That itself warrents a high score. I don't care if chat is broken or the UI sucks. If I have fun then I am getting my money's worth. They're video games not video jobs.
But that wouldn't change the amount of fun you had in the game, and you can always go back and play it later monthly fee notwithstanding.
People seem to think that an MMO has to be based on a scale of playing it for a number of years at a certain number of hours a week for these games to be worthy of any kind of merit. That isn't so, and that is equally why so many games end up doing poorly as they constantly add "downtime" activities to compensate for poor mechanics, or a similar underlying system borrowed from other games.
Other genres don't worry about this so much, and games get rated on how much fun they are as well as overall lasting content, and sometimes even the extra cost of that content when comparing DLCs.
MMOs have become largely stagnant, and DCUO shakes it up just enough that it deserves the accolade. I don't have to play DCUO for years for the game to be worthy of a good score, I just have to play it long enough that I feel I get my moneys worth. I feel many out there don't need this game to be a second job for them to be satisfied with what it is, and I think the review exemplifies that point of view in others as well as with myself.
::edited for clarification and random editing::
I Play as well, and I think it's great also, sure it has anooyances, but still overall it's friggin fun
I hear they are adding well rendered squirrels in a couple months, that will be the icing on the cake
It's not a traditional mmo, I've had very little downtime due to the nature of the world and play time. You point out all the IF's, then you predict he'll regret the score in a few months, he can only judge the game as it stands and on his experience. If he had given a lower score listing one of the cons being "no crafting and a few months from now I'll be bored in the down time" would you have critisized that?
Personally, I love the game, I would probably score it a 7 but any score is subjective. My reasons would that no game is a 10 (at least not yet) and I would knock off 2 points due to the poor world pvp incentives and over promotion of instanced pvp, the game for me lives or dies on it's comabt why stiffle it by sticking it in a box? (and a loss for the chat, but tbh I play on ts with guildies so that doesn't bother me too much).
You should update your xfire to reflect your DCUO playing time, especially if you played EVE for 13 hours last week...I'd love to see what you logged on DCUO!
I think it's a good score. In fact, I'd probably give it a bit higher score because it's tough to overshadow fun-factor. If a game has flaws but the fun-factor is where it shines, then it deserves a really good score. There are no cons that can outweigh high fun-factor because if they did, then it wouldn't be fun in the first place. Sounds to me like it's a game that's only going to get better.
You know, I don't have an issue with a person having an opinion. What annoys me most about people that get paid to actually write reviews is that when you are not completely honest and upfront with your scoring(and many do not read reviews they just see a number that is posted) compared to your words you wrote about a games short comings...that is a form of dishonesty. It misleads players to think they are getting a "great" game!
Did any of you play AC2? It's chat servers were flacky. In the end after months of this it helped kill AC2. This game not only has chat issues it seems, but it's UI is unresponsive and there are many bugs(reviewers own words), and yet he tosses all these issues(some sound more than just annoyances - they actually sound really bad) and says...game is fun so I give it an 8.
If that is the case a game like CoH should have scored a 10! It had none of these issues. It launched almost flawlessly. It had not chat issues, or UI issues, and had as I recall but maybe, maybe half a dozen bugs...none game breaking. Yet MMORPG gave it an 8.3 back in the day. Funny that.
See I have no issue with peoples opinions. If the guy wants to give it an 8. Give it an 8, but back that 8 up with more than it is just it's fun. I find Rift fun, but I would not call it great. I use to find WoW fun, but I would ahve never called it great.
I guess my other issue is, it seems some people just don't give a crap about quality any more. If a game like DCUO can garner an 8 with all it's problems it sends a message to developers that - "Hey...look at the score MMORPG.com gave us! An 8! We did a banging job. Well done boys and girls. Time for a vacation. " Not!
This also means other game designers will see this and go. Awesome. We can deliver our own game replete with bad game design, faulty chat, and UI's and gamers will not care.
Yep....good job. Thanks for the review.
It has flaws, but most of them can be overcome by Vent and a regular group to run with. Since release, I have nearly 200 hours logged (I know, I know), because I just can't get enough of it. True, I come from a heavy comic book background, having owned my own shop for awhile, etc., but it's so engaging that unless you play it (and find that you can handle the combat style) you really have no idea. Downtime? There really isn't any, unless you choose to have some. People looking for crafting, etc., need to realign their sensibilities. In this game, crafting is called "Investigations", for example. It doesn't have the same result, but it fills the same aim. Something to do when you don't want to quest or run instances. In that regard, there are plenty of "downtime" activities.
The sheer joy of the combat, and the opportunity to bump into iconic heroes and villains is what does it for me. I think I'll live in this world for a long time... it's totally sapped any interest I had in Rift, for example.
I would love to see the demographics of male vs female gamers in DCUO. :)
I think you're looking too far into this. In the end games are meant to entertain, and MMOs in particular MMOs entertain in-spite-of. For example, WoW may entertain in spite of its community which many people say hampers their enjoyment. The levels of which can change the outcome of someones opinion immensely.
Poor UI and Chat issues could easily have attributed to the 8.0 score just as well as a great UI and Chat system - along with the fun factor- could have yielded a 9.0 - 9.5 or possibly higher.
No game will be perfect, but being able to entertain in the face of many issues should garner some sort of badge of accomplishment from those that enjoy the game.
There are plenty of games that have come out prior to this, and I'm sure plenty more that will come out after that will have the same bugs, if not worse in some cases, and lack that same ability to entertain the reviewer in the same way and reflect that in the score. Its apparent that some bugs are terrible enough that you can't look past them to enjoy the game, and others can be bypassed easily so you can happily enjoy yourself.
Reading over the review and then looking at the score I think its clear that the writers enjoyment surpassed the hindrance of the bugs enough for the score dictated here.
When it comes to the overall score, and having a 30th level character, I think I would at very least be asking myself, "do I see myself continuing to grind feats for the next 3 months? Will that be worth 15 bucks a month?". And I think I can play a game enough in 3 weeks to know the answer to that question.
Honestly, I SPECULATE he scored it an 8 because 7.5 and below are considered "average", and he doesn't consider it an average game.
Completely agree. I find a score of 8 to be overly generous. Compared to half of the true MMORPGs out there, DCUO is just a DC version of Champions Online/CoH. Boring, no persistent world and again..boring. I personally didn't find it fun at all.
Can I ask what you think it is? My guess would be heavily male dominated based on the lack of certain things and the heavy action/combat/PvP focus along with my own experiences with games like CoD where killing is the main goal. You must have some idea (feeling) with that comment - would you share it?
I would say the reasons to resub are there for those that enjoy the system. People consistently still play games like Halo, and buy DLC and Map packs even though the core game play doesn't change. Some would likely pay monthly if there was a fee required (as most do - actually - pay monthly as xbox live isn't free).
While you require something different to keep you playing, not everyone does, and while there are things like races, investigations, feats, and of course the combat and combat related content to keep players interested, its not meant to appeal to everyone.
In my eyes, a good score for a game that is fun transcends the amount of time played across an undetermined amount of time. What it really boils down to is that your satisfaction of the game outweighs the costs you are paying for it. For you, it may not, while others it apparently does.
The idea of longevity, or the games survival, that has no bearing on what the game is right now, and what players would experience when logging in right now. I have every reason to believe that many players that start up the client and log in will find enjoyment in this game, and while it may not be lasting enjoyment of 6 months, I think it may be enjoyment enough to revisit the game multiple times per year. If DCUO accomplishes bringing players back just a few times a year, I think they'll accomplish more than most games released over the past 6 years.
I agree with the score, but the main thing to me is the promised monthly content.
I have a feeling though that this promised content will not be grand, but perhaps "updates" to the game, that they will claim is "monthly content".
Like an auction house or what not.
An 8 for this shallow game? I will be laughing when this game fails due to lack of content in 3-4 months and mmorpg.com gives it such high ratings.
DC Universe is a weird one for me. Pretty much everything about the game is sub-par when compared to other MMOGs but for some reason I am still enjoying the game a whole lot. The only two things about the game that I would say excel beyond other games does not even affect actual game-play. Having equipment styles go into a fashion menu so you can use that look even without having the item anymore is pretty cool and I like getting new story lines for DC characters.
Other than those two things I can not think of any part of the game that is on par or superior to other MMOGs but I still keep logging in everyday and having fun.
Because, like you, I think that it's probably a very male oriented thing. As you said, with the action combat and emphasis on PvP, it appears to be a given.
My husband loves the idea of DCUO though he's not into MMOs. If he ever did play one, this would be it. He's totally the superhero type, grew up reading DC and Marvel comics, collects figurines, etc.
Me? While I played in the beta and liked it well enough, but it just wasn't my thing. Super heroes don't do much for me. I liked Archie comics. :P I dutifully go to all the Batman and Spiderman movies and indulge my guy with his superhero thing but I draw the line at my gaming life, I guess.
I'd just be curious to see the ratio of males to females. I'd guess 80-20. Of course, that -does- fit the overall demographic for online gaming (excluding social gaming, of course) so it's all good. :)
Well written review, even the parts I didn't agree with. But it's a sound review for sure.
I can see your point in that. I also see in that same point why social features are weak/broken/non-existent. If people are playing 1 month out of every 3-6, a stable community is gonna be pretty unlikely even with 100% functional social tools.
I've had suspicions ever since beta that they built this game to go F2P once they've gotten all the sub and box revenue they could get. Starting to think more and more confidently that that's the plan. That isn't a bad thing, IMO; I love LotRO and the switch to F2P brought mostly positive things, as I've seen it. But almost everything about it, from the short levelling process to the "energy drinks"... it's got me seeing a roadmap for a very swift conversion.
I just want to point out that when we hand a writer an assignment of a review it is completely up to them how they will score and write about this game. Part of their job is not to look up scores of past reviews to make sure things "par" up. Jon I am sure reads them over to make sure there are not any glaring issues...but for the most part you end up with one persons take on the game. We don't have a big "review machine" that generates these so one done 4 years ago or even 4 months ago by another writer will not really line up side by side.
I tried DCUO and personally did not really take to it, I know that many of the team have been playing it since early beta and love it to death. To each is own and while a reviewer will try their best to be objective - I think their personal feelings about a game will always shine through to a degree. I see this reading reviews anywhere online.
Thanks for the feedback Teala - as a semi-frequent reader of your blog I respect your opinions ;-)
I'm playing and enjoying the game. That said, without major updates and PvP exploit fixes, I'll burn through it quickly and be back to other games.
I think the review was spot on.
I've been playing since launch, have three characters at the level cap, and I'm still having a blast.
With the exception of exploits used in PvP and the gawdawful chat system, most of the hiccups I've encountered barely qualify as irritating, much less game-breaking. And I'm hard pressed to imagine most (if not all) won't be addressed and corrected toot sweet.
One big caveat: if you're looking for EQ, UO, or pre-whatever SWG, keep looking. This ain't it, and for some of us, that's precisely why it shines.
If you can see into the future, and know that he does not think it is an 8-game anymore in two months, does this mean that the chat and auction house is still not working properly in 2 months? Or missing some other fixes? I'd like to know, if you truly have this info! (no pun, just curious) *raises both eyebrows*
I agree. But there is so much ego and red tape in the mmorpg industry that a desire for profits > an innate drive toward rational common sense. Yet, they lose profits by ignoring common sense and like most companies have made the most crucial initial mistake a company can make:
Cause their customers to lose faith due to a lack of communication. Bugs are tough - and we as players are willing to work through them. But if Sony is on a Vanguard Saga of Heroes - SWG time frame - then we are all going to suffer. And oh look - is that Rifts on the horizon?
Good wording. I have played many MMO's and have found most of them (even the AAA titles) garbage. I got board of WoW, I hated Aion, Lineage 2 was one of the worse games I've played. I've been waiting for a game that shattered the mold and this seems like a good start.
I haven't played the game mself yet, but I am interested in trying it. There are other games coming out that also look very good. I'll wait a couple months and see if the shine is still on this game before I try it though.
/sigh
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/01/26/dc-universe-online-review/ gave it 88% an said much the same as mmorp.com .Games fun .Havent loged in yet an had a poor session.But i dont play it like Eq1 or other mmos i play either.Their spot on the negatives.As well as the positive.Yes it deserves a 8ish score.Whats keeping it from geting higher is the social /chat an some bugs.
Maybe if it had stolen its name from a ip it be great then?Or attacked wow?It is what it is. If its not for you thats fine .But the bugs are not near as bad as say CO launch .Only one i seen so far is a map one that doesnt show loc of next mission you have in que.
I see your /sigh an raise you a /shrug :)
Exactly. $OE needs to prioritize the issues to be tackled and communicate with the players. I know that the horribler UI was my major issue with DCUO when I beta tested. Not having an Auction House or working chat in game at launch was really not acceptable either. Now it sounds like bugs and exploits are taking their toll. If an MMO will be staying in the shallow end of the MMORPG pool , then it should have been released in much better shape. 'Fun' combat can only carry the very real problems for so long.
If this is indeed an opinion piece, then it should be declared as such. This is an 'official' mmorpg.com review that should be focused much more on the 'facts' of the game than allowing the subjective views (fun) determine a final rating, especially subjective views from a writer who has already wrtten multiple positive 'opinions' on the very same game for quite some time. While I can understand the imporatnace of an over all impression, maybe a more distanced, objective staff writer may have been a better choice to do a formal DCUO review? Just asking.
ahhh for some reason it didnt take ANY of what I wrote on my last post, stupid website...
ANYWAY, alts aside (and I think thats a POOR reason for a game to be developed with a static leveling curve) the game just feels WAY too much like a single player concole game, I cant count the times I grouped getting to 20 on one hand, and I think that hand would only need one finger...and Im pretty sure the grouping was more of a social thing, not required to complete content...
Im sorry, but this game was a total and complete waste of money. I have never felt so robbed by a game developer as I did by my decision to buy DCUO.
Your review was more than generaous and your rating is so incredibly unfound that it only leads me to believe this review was paid for by SOE.
Maybe its time you guys stop being so obvious about who you really work for and go back to working for the gamers with the original format of fair, impartial, and unbiased reviews.
If you did this game would be lucky to pull a 5 as it sits.
Well, since I'm a very social gamer, the issues with chat and grouping would really annoy me. Re. the 8/10 score, I'm interpreting that as a personal fun factor rating. I'm glad Bill enjoyed it, and I'm sure others would as well. The parts of the game that are spotty or broken though, are parts that I tend to value highly in an MMO. These issues, plus the box price, plus the sub fee based on SOE following through with additional content make this a pass for me at the moment. Also, if information about PvP bugs and exploits is accurate those need to be a high priority fix for the devs imo.
If Bill enjoyed the combat and other factors enough to give it a rating of 8/10 then good for him and I won’t try and suggest that rating is wrong.
However, ironically the very things that Bill seemed to enjoy, the fast pace console style combat and controls and the PVP focus are the very things that keeps me away from the game.
Instead of reading all that prose, I can boil it down in a nutshell.
The game is initially fun as hell, but you will use all the content in the game probably in about 3 weeks. As we all know SOE will probably get some new content that failed to make the release out soon, but that will soon taper off and we will see paid expansions soon.
The game has problems, it needs UI help, the chat system is abysmal, the guild system does not have a reason to exist.
It is a typical FPS, designed for about a months play. Asking for a subscription to this game is ludicrous!
Giving it an 8 is a travesty because we need to hold MMO developers accountable for having content in a game. For that I am highly disappointed in the MMORPG staff.
An 8 is too high for me. I'd give it a low 6. Its fun for awhile, but its flaws quickly became crystal clear and I just couldn't overlook them. The horrible UI, borked chat, the often frustrating targeting, lack of a clear explaination of what powers/skills actually did, limited character customization, repetitive button mashing combat and the seeming lack of content made the decision not to continue playing easy. All of what I mentioned made any "fun" I might have had with the game secondary to its problems. If they were to go the F2P route like LOTRO did, I would probably keep playing. As it stands now, for me its just not worth paying a sub fee.
I think your concerns regarding SOE are legitimate, but I don't think DCUO and Rift are vying for the same audience. That would be akin to suggesting Miley Cyrus and Kanye West are competing in the same markets. Sure, I imagine there's *some* crossover... but not enough to really worry about.
I liked the game. Some of the pvp was really fun, and if it wasn't for my hands kinda hurting after a few hours of play time I'd probably be investing more time into it. As it is my hands stopped hurting after a couple days of not playing and I am enjoying the pain free feeling.
Maybe I have the beginnings of arthritis or something. I don't know.
DCUO rocks. One reason is this guy is creative lead director - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Lee
the game is fun, thats all i can say after playing mmo form 1999 the game is fun!
I have to say, this game fell off my radar for awhile, but after reading this review, I'd really like to try it. If the game puts up large enough sales initially, I don't think there will be a problem for continuous content along with bug and balance fixes. If they're promising monthly content, that means they've built a schedule and a support framework to manage that. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll always hit their content milestones on time, as there might be some kinks to work out in their asset pipelines, but they'll probably come pretty close. SOE resides in San Diego, home of the Comic-Con, so if they start to fail in any large area (including delayed fixes of key issues) the fans will definitely let them know about it.
I just got this a few days ago and having a blast on it, i started a toon on a pve server and got to 30 pretty fast(unemployed and had nothng else to do ><). Then i made a toon on a pvp server and this is were it really comes into its own pvp servers are the way to go for this game in my opinion.
Nice read, and agree with you its the most fun i have had in an mmo for a while. but i would rate it about a 6. the character customisation and selection is really non existent. i have seen many copies of myself just different colors. I would like to see this changed a little in the game that way they can rival CO and CoX.
Agree about the cons. the chat system is pretty flawed and i dont really use it as during in combat, which is most of the time, i have difficulty chatting. co-ordination issues maybe. If this game was CoX with a DC label it would be a 9-10 but sadly it lacks the content and the customisation needed for that. but i still enjoy crushing skulls in the game. hopefully when more content arrives including the light powers we can see some real changes that can make this game the score you have given it.
theres a tonne of content upto lvl 30 and more after hard mode ftw or lose depends on your group :P
Great review. I've been playing DC Universe Online this whole week because of a major winter weather storm here in west texas that we rarely have so I played it a ton. I've been submitting bug reports when I see them in hopes they will be fixed.
I agree with everything in the review and the score. The cons really don't hurt the actual game. Things like the chat and stuff are still there and still work for the most part.
Stonkingly good review alot of work went into that and you hit the nail on the head you touched where the player base feels happy and wrong'd.
You must have really spent sometime in DCUO.
I think mmorpg.com is so biased towards DCUO. The game is a mediocre cross-interface with limited costumization and a average combate for a console. God of War has better combat. They get a console combat stuck inside a mmo, then add some role play aspects then you have DCUO. A weak game, take the IP from it and you end up with a mediocre game.
Wait, you compared the combat mechanics in a sp to an mmo there, right? Just to be clear here.
hanshotfirst writes:
SOE is the worse company ever. I hate them and everything they manage. Greedy company who treats bad its playerbase.
So what, they are sellig the IP people will buy it because of the IP, but the game itself is not worth of $15 monthly. 1 more month and people will abandon the game. If is SOE its BAD.
its not that bad the monthly sub usually its £8.99 for us brits for mmo's but this is £9.99 which is only £1 more so i dont see were teh hate for this is coming from tbh.
So going by mmorog.com review DCUO is a great mmo and one of the best in years. hmmm
I really enjoy an mmo called Global Agenda. Like some people who play DCU I could not get enough of the combat in the game. The instanced pvp matches were very fun and the instanced pve matches were interesting in an awkward sort of way that made them fun.
My friends would ask me about the game and what made me enjoy it so much. I would tell them there wasn't a world to explore at all and that the "world" added later could be fully explored in about an hour. There was only a few hours worth of quests in the game which were decent. There wasn't any real open world pve, pvp or exploration. There was no real character development, customization or community. It had some instanced combat that I really enjoyed, but beyond that it failed to deliver almost any real mmo experience. At best I said the game would earn a 6, but most likely lower, because the only thing it really did well was combat and even that heavily relied on replaying the same limited content over and over.
Maybe I would have given it an 8 if it was being judged on its merit as a lobby shooter with random group co-op play. In that respect the game did pretty well and kept me entertained for a while until the joy of repeating the same maps and combat wore off. Even though I enjoyed that I couldn't in good faith tell my friends it was an 8/10 mmo.
DCU gives me that same feeling. As an mmo is falls really far away from rating an 8. If it was being compared to other console co-op action games maybe an 8 would be fitting, but not as an mmo and certainly not one with a subscription fee. There is just to much that is broken, incomplete or missing to rate as excellent just because I enjoyed the combat.
To me a rating of 8 means something that is excellent across the board and not something with tons of problems. I couldn't tell my friends something was an 8/10, but only if they are willing to overlook this, this, this and this, because there was one fun thing to do.
Strangely enough Bill Murphy also reviewed Global Agenda and he also found that mmo to be worthy of an 8. I guess that is the difference between myself and Bill. I expect more than 1 nice feature from a game to rate it exceptional, especially when the game can not even get basic features like chat, banking and ui to a decent level. I expect polish for a rating that high, not something that at the end of the first month leaves me hoping that future patches solve the large number of issues in the game.
Hi. Just a quickie note, most areas have been covered in the other posts. Got a beta invite and played a while. This is a console game with some MMO elements added on. It will appeal to xbox players and some of those who play both, probably. Not particularly to MMO players. PvPers will probably like it. Longevity? Ummm not so much. SOE is a powerful well financed company and can support any game for a long time. As a routine MMO player I did not subscribe nor, after that review, will I even try it in the future unless the MMO aspect is strengthened. It seemed, from the review, that positives only came after PvP.
One more beta play note. The best stuff in the game comes from PvP. For the rest, shrug! I have been a comic fan since the fifties, this game is a console, use a joystick and enjoy.
Purdy is cool but it comes down to being able to play which effects social aspects as well as fun factors. " But it’s very unresponsive at times, lags behind the commands you instruct it, and offers little in the way of customization". For me, this says it all, purdy is as purdy does.
I would give the game an 7 -7.5 right now myself also. I am playing the PS3 version and I don't mind the UI at all. If I was playing the PC version I might want more but for PS3 I think it is fine.
I have never had any problems with Voice Chat so I can't really complain there either. I feel for you guys/gals who are having problems.
My only gripe with the game at this point is the targeting system. Some may have perfected it but for me it is a pain in the arse. Why oh why do you make me target that barrel when I am being pounded on by the enemy right in front of me?
So other than that I am with the game. It is a fun combat style and keeps me entertained which is why I play games ...... to have fun and be entertained.
I think that is a fair review, that DCUO manages to be so much fun, in spite of its UI and chat failing is surprising. The real point for me is that the game succeeds in areas of ip integrity, player involvement, responsivness (in terms of combat, the UI is a different matter) and immersion and those are such rarified and exotic things to get right in mmo circles they actively work to make the experience a lot more fun than the individual elements would have you expect.
There are the usual niggles and concerns for a newly released game but if the promised support materialises it will go far imo.
I did not play the beta so I can't comment on this statement. I will tell you though currently in game this statement is 100% false..... just go to the forums and you will see enough post to see why. It really is not worth getting the T2 PVP equipment b/c all of the PVE drops are better.
I am very much enjoying the game. There are issues - but I don't find myself bored at all. I say its worth purchasing and playing even if you just play the free month and only the free month. You'll get more out of your 50 dollars than most single player games.
The score seems way too high. The UI is terrible, the chat is abysmal, there are a ton of problems like mob respawn rates, the whole mechanic where you are pulled back by just about every mob when flying away is ridiculous it feels like rubber banding. Graphically the game looks fine but there is so much terrain and texture pop in I prefer staying close to the ground instead of flying over the city. The biggest problem is that there really is not that much content in the game. I think reaching the level cap took me around 45 hours, I think it may have been less becouse I did some low level quests along the way. The customisation in comparison with other super hero mmos is also a bit lacking...and what is up with all the evil looking demonic gear. I, as a hero, keep getting demonic wings, demonic pants. As I played it was becoming harder and harder too look like a hero...I know I can choose what style I wear but when its all evil looking what am I supposed to choose from.
Ditto. And here I wsa saying I would not pick up the game.
Is the score a bit high?
Probably.
The reason why it is high?
Look at the CRAP currently in the market. As compared to what is out there this game does stand out as Lots of fun but flawed. Seriously cosmetic flaws like the chat UI and some PvP flaws.
So yeah, will not win the game of the decade award however, it is definately a front ronner when compared to the available titles.
It's a fantastic game if you can past all the feldercarb that hopefully SOE will fix.
1. Worst chat system EVER
2. Horrible interface. Yes, it was designed for a console first and slapped onto the PC with NO modifications, but come on! I spend more time battling the interface sometimes than I do the villians. It's HORRIBLE.
3. The animation canceling exploit has to be patched or PvP is dead in this game.
4. For the love of God, make the mics push to talk as default! I'm tired or mouth breathers mucking up the audio. 90% of them probably don't even know they are doing it. I don't want to listen to you get yelled at by your parents or have a fight with your girlfriend. Mute the chatter!
5. Targeting needs to be fixed. I need to target the closest or greatest threat, not a barrel or a mailbox!
I'm have a blast playing the game. If they would just replace the GUI, give us a real chat system, and fix the exploits it would be almost perfect. But this is SOE and they have a track record of not fixing what's broken or actually ruining a game so I'm not holding my breath. The game is so fun I'm willing to put up with it... for now.
And yet it is lower than PC Gamer's and TTH's scores. Conclusion?
Any game can be "the best fun you've ever had in a long time" for the first few weeks.
But an mmo is a long term thing, will it still be the most fun you've ever had a few months down the line?..
I like MMO's not for their quick fix of enjoyment, but rather the long lasting sense of satisfaction you get when your building a character and following a decent and varied set of stories over a very long period of time.
I think the score is completly wrong because the reviewer in question is still high on his quick buzz from a new game. Nearly everyone I know who got DC stopped playing after only 3 weeks, if a few measly weeks of fun is all it takes to score high on an MMO nowadays then the future is rather bleak.
it's like the alumni of haters, they could be a villian league in the game. I see the same negative comments from the same people who post nothing but negative comments about every other MMO that gets released. I'd say I'm shocked, but I'm not.
Just because you can get to the level cap in a relatively short period of time doesn't mean that there isn't "a lot" of content. You would think that once you've reached the level cap in an MMO that you've "beat" it, as one poster actually implied. However, that's just not the way it works. Not in DCU, or in the vast magority of MMO's on the market. Reaching the level cap just means you can do endgame content.
I play with my brother on the PS3, I also have the PC version. This is the only MMO that allows my brother and I to play two man, endgame instances to attain some endgame items. There are single player endgame quests to earn marks to purchase endgame items. Character development doesn't end at 30, you continue to develop your character beyond that through feats, as the reviewer pointed out.
It seems funny that in every non-sandbox, wholly player driven economy, one of the things I see constantly complained about is that crafting isn't worthwhile at endgame, or that raid or PvP gear is better then anything you can craft. Yet I see people complain that there isn't any crafting in DCU, a superhero/ villain game that you wouldn't really expect to be crafting in. What exactly would my villain be crafting when he's not out committing crimes? I'm hard pressed to think of a time when I saw super man sitting at hom sewing a new piece of gear, or brewing a healing potion. Sure there are super heroes who absolutely do build stuff in comics, guys like Batman or Forge, but really now. Crafting?
Horrible chat system? For the most part yes, but not the worse. The PC version, short of not always being the most responsive, isn't the worst I've experienced, while the PS3 version simply sucks. The UI absolutely needs improvement, but mostly just in the responsiveness of it, and consequently SoE has already made a statement that they're working to improve the UI and chat system; contrary to some of the comments that SoE needs to make a statement, they already did. They've already done some work on the voice chat system, and have stated that they're going to continue to improve it.. The UI and chat system aren't great, they aren't the worst I've experienced, but one thing it does is work. It works.
Bugs? Yes. Game breaking? No. No more so then most MMO's that release, or have released.
Why don't the cons outweigh the pros? Because they don't make the game unplayable, or unfun. Bad chat doesn't make the quests, combat, or pvp less enjoyable. It makes sitting in a graphical chat loby less enjoyable; which I'm well aware is what some people expect an MMO to be these days, a place to log into and chat more then play.
However, I do understand that it's the agenda of some of the posters here to make every MMO but the one they play look like a turd. DCU isn't Vanguard (or whatever EQ/ WoW clone she's playing now-a-days), it's not Darkfall, it'snot Eve online, and it's not WoW. Obviously it doesn't deserve a good review. Some people are incapable of looking beyond their own interests and understanding that DCU is developed for a particular kind of gamer, and it's not them.
DCU is the most fun MMO I've played in years, and for my brother who can't stand open world PvP it's the most fun he's had in an MMO in years as well; he's playing with me on a PvP server and loving it. If the chat, UI, and bugs weren't there, then DCU would easily be a 9 or 9.5.
It's not more of the same, and some people have a problem with that.
I find the game really boring and nothing special besides flying/runing/jumping around in a cool looking armor and hitting the bad guys big deal. {Mod Edit} I give it a 6/10
While I understand your sentiments about MMOs being a long-term investment. I would argue that a month's worth of free time is sufficient investment. For the most part - the mechanics are solid. The presentation is solid. Yes, there are bugs and there are flaws, but most do not hinder my enjoyment of the game. That's good enough for me. I like the fact that I can login for 30min and accomplish quite a bit (get a few missions under my belt, a feat or 2, and knock a few player heroes around). Its also the first time in a long while where standard missions/quests are actually fun to complete (and sometimes challenging if you're on a pvp server).
Bottom line, whether you agree or not, the score is well deserved.
So.....
the transport powers make it special
the gear looks cool
the combat system is cool
But that's no big deal...?
So what do they need in the game in your opinion to make the game a big deal?
Other than the already known ' less than ideal ' chat functions, what exactly makes the game bad? Because the things you listed as good are what I consider to be of core importance to making any game fun -
Or which mmo do you play that has 'more' than a cool combat system and cool graphics? What is the thing they could add to this game in your opinion?
I give the review an 8. A vast improvement than his last reviews. I didn't rolled my eyes, nor sigh, not even once.
Great intro, great finish. It shows that you listen to your critics.
About the game, it seems from your review that SOE is mainly targetting the often ignored casual players, which I think is great. But the danger here is, casual players are not casual player without reason. It means SOE might not get the steady revenue from hardcore players, but this I gotta see if they can pull this off.
But seems to me, as a casual player, I might give this a try and see how it works out. The social flaws of this game per this review is not a big deal since I'm a casual player, maybe it's a big deal to hardcore, but not to me. I simple login, play the game, then logout. If I were to communicate, I do it some other ways like IM or Vent anyway. I rarely use the in-game chat since they usually gets bombarded by trolls and spammers.
My take on this game is, the game is a Super Hero version of Guild Wars Prophesies, where the flaws are so identical. I like GW so I might ended up liking this also...but only one setback...subscription fees. :/
We aren't concerned with what other publications are scoring this. We aren't trying to be part of an echo chamber and I would hope our readers appreciate that. ;)
Looks like fun CONSOLE
While I'm not a hater by any means, actually just renewed my sub based on their new content promises, I do find an 8 kinda high for some of the reasons mentioned at length above.
Good game. Great game? One I'll play for a year? hard to say.
CO travel powers are nearly as good. Though I do really enjoy some of the optional travel skill additions.
CO and CoH gear and customization is better even when you've unlocked many many styles. And due to PS3 it may never get dramatically better.
Combat system I like a lot. I find the balance better for PvP than CO or COH. It is a little more shallow though honestly, just relies more on reaction time. Fine for me, I'm fast, but I get where haters are coming from. There is some power combos, synergy if you will, with the 6 power bar, that reminds me of GW, but I still am forced to think it was less DEV strategy than PS3 limitation.
Graphics in CO are in the same ballpark.
All that said, CO PvP is weak since you don't have villains. CoH PvP (due to complexity of builds basically) is actually too complex to ever be balanced.
I can't make a big deal about DCUO's low level of content since it is so new.
Really wondering why they sell this as pc game. This is pure CONSOLE game ended by mistake in pc world. Real button masher it looks. Purchased today via digital download. First impression after 1 hour is will be one of the most shortlived games on my computer. There are some fun aspects .. but in general not worth money I have spent. Besides already 2 bugs at very start. Most disturbing I ended trapped behind structure near wall and no way to exit. If i have to compare CO with this ... CO really rocks. In every possible sense.
Maybe is not honest judging game from less then 1 hour of gameplay ... but I had same first impression with TR and FF14.
Decent review. I see a lot of people that seem to disagree with the score, but then I put no stock into a single numerical value to rate the multiple facets of a game examined in a review. From what I've read from both the official review, and other players opinions, this will be a good game to check out in a few months when more content is added, and the bugs and various issues are addressed.
The people that are ranting and raving about the reviewer's score are simply b!tching for the sake of b!tching. I would pay more attention to the average user score than the one given by one reviewer. That said, the review itself was well written, and gave lots of insight as to the pro's and con's of the game.
Ouch! GameSpy just gave it a 2 out of 5. I think that score might be 1 start too low but their reasons for the rating are pretty solid.
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/dc-comics-mmo/1147072p1.html
Ok I know this is just one's opinion but an 8 ? If this gets an 8 I can only imagine what The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 gets, lets me guess 8.5 ?
My bad, I thought this was a review.
These brand loyalists then typically spend more time outside the game than in, frothing up half-assed forum defenses of their terrible spending decisions. Defenses like "I just love shooting lasers in space," or in DC Universe Online's case, "I just love punching people in the face."
Thank you really for link. If I had it at hand before purchase guess would think twice before buy. After trying it for (I admin) short, I think they were even too generous with 2. And as binary_0011 wrote is really terrible if some reviewer gives to this .... thing ... 8 for I guess sole reason "I just love punching people in the face.".
But no matter my or others disliking I'm sure there will be many enjoying. But, no offense intended, mainly small kids on PS3 (and for sure not on PC) that enjoy just mashing buttons even not knowing for what end.
Definatly going to look at this again in a years time when it will have some content under its belt.
i see Teala's post as extremely wrong on many levels.
based on fun being the most important thing BY FAR, it deserves at least a 9.
when you consider that it gives you a different experience from the other 399 MMOs which are pretty much all alike with subtle differences.....
if we're awarding scores based on encouraging future MMOs, as Teala was saying, it should be a given a 10.
being fun and opening up MMOs to more than RPG players should be STRONGLY encouraged in any case. they've done things that virtually no other MMO has tried yet, and that is extremely important. yet is totally brushed aside by many of the traditional MMO'ers. boo hoo, you only have MMOs 399 to choose from instead of 400.
don't begrudge the numerous people for whom this is their ONE AND ONLY CHOICE for having something that caters to THEM after 13 years of the typical RPG.
people here talking like polish, xyz featuresets etc. are all thats important, when what is really important is that THIS TYPE OF MMO EXISTS AT ALL! you can only be choosy when you actually have, you know....... CHOICEs.
Just something I'd like to comment on is that there's yet another thing to keep people occupied, and that's unlocking all the costume pieces on every character, because unlocks are not account wide and neither are collections. I don't like it, but they might change it later.
That is all. :)
I tend to agree but that is why I think it deserves an 8 - till the buggy aspects are improved.
At the end of the day we have a gazillion mmo's that take a very linear and uniform view on what an mmo should and should not do, they all put the ip and theme well down the list of priorities making them feel very much as reskins of one another. DCUO is unique in placing theme and IP front and centre and for me at least this works to elevate every other aspect of the game far beyond what it would be in isolation - a case of the whole becoming more than the sum of its parts.
Its an approach I hope we see more of (certainly its what made SWKOTOR so much better than just another rpg) and is perhaps the only real evolutionary change in mmo's in a very, very long time.
All that fuss about that rating being too high, I presume by people who disliked the game (because that's when people usually start to scorn viewpoints and ratings that are more positive and disagree with theirs
).
Metacritic has a 7.3 for the game, based upon 18 reviews, the user score on metacritic rates it 7.8, based upon 59 reviews. Take it for what it's worth.
I haven't played the game and it's very unlikely that I ever will. Thus I won't comment on the game and the score.
However, one point. Both in the article and in many of the posts here, there's a word that gets used quite frequently: fun. Hey, it's nice that you have fun playing the game, nothing wrong with that. Sadly fun is also a word that means next to nothing when used to review a game.
What's common amongst an amateur fisher, a stamp collector, someone building a scale model of an medieval warship out of matches and a player of MMOs? They all find it fun what they do.
Fun is highly subjective and there's a very good chance that what you find fun others won't. Thus when you use a "fun-factor" to review a game you don't really tell us anything about the game, you only tell us what sort of games you like.
I think that's fine. This game is definitely targetting a different audience (at least imo, dunno what the devs think) than the average MMO player.
Wow... what crazy comments... and text colors.
I would have given it an 8 as well. I had more fun in DCUO than I did in most of the mmos I've played in the past 5 years. This is because the parts that they have right in the game are so right that the slight misfortunes really have no effect. I also played through multiple builds of the game so seeing it take its final form was a great experience.
I aggree that it might FEEL like content is non-existant, but once I got to 30 and saw that I had more quests open up than I had from 1-20 combined, I was surprised.
I agree leveling is really fast, but this is neither a pro or a con for me. As long as I have fun reaching the level that I'd like with little or no problems, I see that as a win for the devs. This includes any game no matter what the grind. I had fun leveling in L2 and SWG (when it didn't have levels.. ) and a slew of f2p mmos. There are a large variety of leveling rates between what I've played.
DCUO is a console style MMO. It plays and feels like that in every way. There was not one moment where I was unhappy with it.
Now all of this aside, I will not be buying the game because, while it is fun, it doesn't have what I'm looking for. It's designed to be a pick-up-and-play game, which means... community interaction is secondary most of the time.
If you're scared about content, that will always be added. What is harder to fix are core gaming mechanics, which seem well designed for what the game is. Not to mention the want to make numerous alts like in CoH.
When I was targeting i just turned it on WASD mode or mouse mode i forget which in options. This way when I targetted something and need to change targets I could just while moving. It was pretty painless. I also never actually "locked" on.
Also it appears that that review isn't even done very well. The guy never even found out how to actually play the game. It's not like it's hard to get out of stuns quickly...use the block button (which is displayed on the screen when you are stunned). I have had 4 characters get abouve 20 in the beta and never was stun locked by mobs... PvP can go either way if you're skilled enough.
But just like everyone says, the game plays and feels like a console game, and I won't be paying for it. Gamespy's review just seems poor. They can give it a 2 if they want, but it's written like a whinny teenager and not so much like a professional.
If you want a good review then i'd always look at gamespot first:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/dcuniverseonline/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review
MMORPG.com and Gamespot structure reviews pretty well. Notice how most reviews are similar between a 7 and an 8.5.
its a great single player console style game with options to group (but grouping is DEF not required). However its not much of an MMO, sorry sony.
Completely disagree with this. I'm not even sure where I stand with DCUO after 100 hours or so of playtime, but I know that you are mistaken. You must have avoided alerts, raids, duos, wanted missions, and pvp- which is about the equivalent of only questing solo in WoW, and ignoring other content.
Leveling to max solo is fairly standard mmo fare- DCUO is no different. Just faster and streamlined.
Yes this game shows some promise but it doen't deserve a score of 8. You can do everything solo so the only use for other people that I have found is to steal your gathering quest items while your fighting the mobs that were protecting it. The game also feels way to much like a ported console game to me. The UI needs a lot of work for the PC version not to mention the social options. There isn't a search option for people. A global friend list would also be a huge bonus. If the person is good enough for my friend list why would I not want to know when they are online with a different toon. The only way to see a list of other people is to look on a list that only shows the people around you. Something you can acomplish by simply looking around. Plus everything is done with / commands since you have no cursor.
I am hoping that they fix and improve many things when I give this game another shot in about 6-9 months. Until then I would give this game a 6, fun for the button masher in me but kind of lack luster for the MMO person in me.
Actually, if you had been keeping up to date with all the news and announcements as well as the Dev Tracker for their forum replies, you'd see that they have been responding about and are in fact working on totally re-vamping the UI (just to name one thing).
Great review William Murphey, perfect score in my opinion.
So lets see:
First update was a week late (February update). Created more glitches/bugs than it addressed. More fixes promised in the March update (yeah, ok...wait a month to actually fix bugs/glitches that are killing gameplay..ok). Game director begins backpeddling on the monthly update promise, which was a selling point to many subscribers...change content update from monthly to numbered updates. Forums lack any DEv/CM interaction..player base posting frustrations daily, but threads locked or deleted. March update (err..update 2) now very late, even though Mr. Cao claimed in early Feruary that all content had been completed through May... still no update today, even though the Community manager says it's in final approval...and now this news of closures and layoffs that in fact do affect San Diego (support) and Austin (DCUO Devs).
And we knew the game was rushed to release. Look at the sales numbers...(210k in the US since release... thats pretty sad.), considering the servers having been moving into ghostown status since the first 30 days free was up. They continue to try and spin it in the forums and with the interviews, but i think the cracks are begining to really show on this hack job. And glossy reviews like this one helped players buy into what really should have been a 5 or 6... oh well.
Dude, The Game still has bugs since its newly release and the leveling thingy's its very easy and fast since i played the game for 1 whole week i reached level 20. They should fix the experience gained from leveling ASAP!!! But still for early gamers who pioneered in this game they will be godly. I RATE THIS GAME an 8 from now.
For me this is the best MMORPG Game ever :)