DC Universe Online Preview

Fancy fighting alongside DC's biggest names?

A few weeks ago I punched Batman in the face. He hit me back of course, and in fact he ended up knocking me out - but that's fine by me, because he's Batman. Hell, a boot in the head from The Dark Knight is like a personal autograph, signed across your aching face. Robin, on the other hand, is a flowery wuss; when I fought him, I turned my fist into a lump of rock and then beat him to a bloody pulp. I can do this, because I'm a super villain. It's no big deal, yeah?

I've been interested in the concept behind DC Universe Online since I first heard about the game, just prior to me joining VideoGamer.com a little over a year ago. For some reason we've not seen much of the MMORPG until now, so I was keen to take a look amid the chaos that was gamescom 2009. My hands-on was relatively limited - and naturally it's always hard to get a true sense of games like these - but nonetheless my encounter gave me a good taste of the experience we may get next year.

First things first - no-one gets to "be" Superman or Batman. The idea behind this game is that the DC Universe has suddenly been flooded with thousands of new superheroes. The cause of this outbreak is one of the plot's mysteries: perhaps the Government is on a vigilante recruitment drive, or maybe it's just Primark is having an end-of-season sale on spandex. Whatever the source, the upshot is that you're one of the new kids in town - fighting with the good guys, or alongside those dastardly forces of evil.

At the start of the game you'll get to design your hero or villain from scratch. In addition to deciding upon your character's look, you'll also have to choose an element that represents the type of power you use, and then pick a source for that power: in the DC Universe, The Green Lanterns rely upon their magic rings- but perhaps your creation will have some form of crystal, or a mystic pair of shoes. The whole back-story of your character is determined by you, but once you've set up the basics the game will mould things around your choices. You'll be assigned a place of origin based upon your decisions - perhaps Arkham Asylum, if you've opted to be a villain - while loot items will be generated in colours that match your own appearance. Hopefully these features will work together to give your character a seamless, consistent identity.

I've only seen a tiny fraction of all the available options, but from what I can tell it seems that superpowers and abilities have been designed with specific styles of play in mind. Flying characters can easily get a good overview of a given battle or situation, but other heroes will take after The Flash and use speed to out-maneuver their foes. As these descriptions suggest, the combat in DCU Online is notably more action-focused than in most MMOs; Sony Online Austin says that it's aiming for a twitch-gameplay style that encourages player skill over mindless grinding. This approach is mirrored by the in-game development of your superpowers: if you want to be a flying character, you'll be able to zip about from the start - but as you level up, you'll get better at using your abilities. In other words, you won't have to wait until level 20 to feel like a proper hero.