DCUO Revisited

I guess the big problem I have with DCU Online is that it is a massively multiplayer online game. If it was a simple first-person style action game, without being online (or, like Diablo 1 and 2 were, possible to play online with friends but not a requirement), it would be worth the $50 for the game just for the action and the graphics, both of which are well-done.

However, they want you to play with others online, and plan to charge $15 a month to do so. The problem I have is that the stories are not immersive enough, there is nearly zero replayability in the game, and the action feels just about the same regardless of the character type and style you select. I guess you could play it twice-- once as a hero and once as a villain. However, Sony will likely find the same thing is true for their eventual audience that they found in City of Heroes/Villains and Champions Online-- in general, the people who want to play these games want to be, well, heroes. COV never had more than about a quarter of the audience of COH, so they very quickly merged both games into one, and now have a system by which you can change your faction (so you can start with a villain archetype and make them a hero and vice versa).

It literally makes absolutely no difference if you want to be a more support-type character, healing and buffing your comrades or debuffing your enemies, you will have to attack using the same sets of clicks and holds of your mouse buttons as everyone else, with pretty much the same results. Not bad for those who like action/fight games on their console, but certainly not what the PC MMORPG crowd is seeking in a game.

In the end, I think DCU Online will be fairly successful with the game on the PS3. But I think they will see their PC market shrivel up and die (or go Free 2 Play, which they already seem to be programming for) very quickly. The lack of power sets, the awkward character generator, the fact that you are expected to make a generic hero and play the game to get the costume pieces you want, and the poor interface for PC players will be enough to counter the very nice graphics and fighting action.

My hope, as I want the game to succeed, is that they have enough there to hold onto enough audience paying the subscription fee that they will have time to make a ton more stories, add at least four more power sets (Might/Super Strength, Electricity, Earth, and Hard Light (which should be coming, as a tie-in to Green Lantern movie)), clean up and better explain the character generator and how you'll be gaining features in-game to help make your character look how you want (a tough sell for the crowds coming from COX and CO), and fix the clunky in-game interfaces to make more sense and be more useful. In six months time, granting updates every month and bug fixes every week, they might have enough to lure enough of us back to make a difference to the PC side.