If you’re a gamer or a comics fan, you probably know that DC’s first MMORPG, DC Universe: Online is set to be released this November 2. With that date just around the corner, Comic Con was the perfect chance for them to set up a demo booth and provide DC fans with a feel for what they are doing with their game. I was there to check it out and was able to go hands-on with DCU:O and ask the reps a couple of questions regarding the thought behind the game. The impression I got was that the developing company, Sony Online Entertainment, is more interested in creating a populated DC world for gamers to play in than an experience that emphasizes player-to-player interaction and layered playability. The game definitely has some things going for it, but I’m not sure that it will succeed on the whole.

When you start playing DCU:O, it becomes clear that, above all else, it is a fighting game. It’s even a bit arcade-like. You run around, encounter bad guys, and whale on them until one of you dies. To add some strategy to the game, players have a number of special, rechargeable attacks including ranged attacks, lunge attacks, power attacks, and area-affect attacks, as well as the ability to block. The decision to avoid an RPG-style turn-based, automatic, or timed attack format was the result of SOE and DC wanting players to have a real superhero-like experience, having to react quickly to their surroundings rather than simply go into attack mode and wait until something happens.

The avoiding of a slower fighting style makes sense; however, I found the combat slightly shallow. Essentially, the game is a button-masher. The special attacks add some strategy to the mix but not much. You range attack when you’re far away approaching someone, then lunge at them, then start clicking maniacally and watch both players’ health bars. Do a power attack if you need to, heal if your health gets low, and if all else fails, do a reverse lunge attack and try running away. Luckily, the special attacks take time to recharge, so you cannot simply range someone to death, but in this demo, you were only apt to encounter one enemy at a time (two at the most), which dilutes the strategy created by the recharge. Just use every special attack and start clickin’.

Hopefully other play modes will involve more enemies to consider and more teamwork. In fact, the mode demoed at Comic Con is likely to be the least engaging of them all. There are three modes of play: your typical MMO, “team up and go on missions” mode; an MMO PvP mode; and a unique PvP mode that allows you to play as a DC character and fight against other DC characters, good guys versus bad, in an arena. The first two of these are accessible on the same world plane but remain optional. Players will have the chance to cross to and from PvP or teamwork modes based on the missions they accept (which will announce plainly whether the mission involves players fighting NPC characters or players fighting other players). It was the DC-character mode that the games were running at the booth. For DC fans, this seems to be a good mix of game types. You have your own persistent character in the DC world, but if you want to run off as Nightwing and fight the Joker and other classic villains, or vice versa, you can step out of persistent-world mode and get in on some superhero skirmishes.

This may be unique to the demoed DC character mode, but the gameplay encouraged players to keep the camera pulled back as far as possible, and this in turn pulled attention away from the graphics. Considering that Jim Lee had a role in the design of the game and that the screenshots Sony has released have really looked good, this was surprising. Even the attack animations were too quick to appreciate. Hopefully the persistent play modes will be focused more on the combat itself and less on being aware of your surroundings, which will allow players to zoom in and appreciate the detail of the visuals. Still, though, with the combat as quick and frenetic as it is, I see the game having a hard time living up to the stills that have been released.

It seems like the folks at SOE have figured out a good way to reward players for their success in any of the three modes of play. Even the DC superhero mode, though distinct from the persistent online world, rewards players with points that can be used either to level up their personal characters in the persistent world or, if they want to progress in the DC-character game, unlock better characters. Naturally, progress in the real MMO world will result in XP, which can be used to level your character.

When I asked the SOE rep what the developers were doing to ensure that players don’t simply try to create clones of DC icons like Batman and Superman, I was surprised to hear that they are in fact encouraging it. This seemed silly at first, but it actually makes sense so that they can have a system controlling the degree to which players can do this, and they seem to have it thought out in a way that maintains the verisimilitude of the in-game world. Players will actually be apprentices of DC superheroes in the game. As you progress and level up, you will be rewarded by your superhero mentor with armor and weapons inspired by that hero’s style. So, if you’re an apprentice of Batman, then Batman himself will reward you with Batsuits that aren’t as powerful as THE Batsuit but that are appropriate for your skill level. The question now is not “Will players be creating copies of superheroes?” but “Will players be able to create truly unique characters?” This remains to be seen, but it does not seem incredibly likely.

If you’re a Green Lantern fan, it looks like you’ll have to wait a few months or so before you can become a Green Lantern apprentice. This has, not surprisingly, turned out to be one of the more difficult classes for the developers to balance and will not be ready for the early November street date. For now, you’ll have to settle for putting on that plastic ring you got at the comic shop and run around the house wearing a paper mask and reciting the GL oath.

It’s hard to say whether DCU:O will turn out to be any good. On the one hand, the developers seem to have thought the game out well. On the other hand, though, the gameplay for the demo was simply not engaging. But even still, the mode they demoed is almost certainly the most shallow of the three. We’ll wait and see what the final product looks like, but with SOE having confirmed a $50 PC price tag, or $60 for the PlayStation 3, plus a $15 per month subscription fee, you may be better off sticking to Arkham Asylum and praying that someone figures out how to make a good Superman game sometime soon.

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