DC Universe Online (PS3/PC)

[Altimus]

The latest issue of Edge magazine has some details concerning DC Universe Online straight out of executive creative director Jim Lee's mouth. DC Universe Online, which will be released on the PS3 and PC, is a MMO that will include the cast of heroes and villains of the DC universe -- that's Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Darkseid, to name a few. Lee describes the genre as a "kick-*** hybrid between a traditional MMO and a first-person action console game" where you create a unique superhero or villain and choose his/her/its superpowers. Abilities named so far include attacking with fire or ice, acrobatics, flight, speed-running and teleportation. Unfortunately, you can't be the Flash or Poison Ivy or any of the famous (or infamous) DC characters for obvious reasons.

You then level up, improving your powers and learning new tricks; for example, flying becomes attacking while flying. Eventually you get to interact with famous DC characters, and Lee cites a mission/quest for a hero where you save Superman from Lex Luthor or, for a villain, attacking Metropolis and battling the Man of Steel. Gotham City is another place you can attack.

There is also less of an emphasis on instances and raids compared with other MMOs, and the focus will be on action rather than grinding. PvP details include arenas where you can use your superpowers against others and interact with multiple players: "someone might freeze your character in a block of ice, then pick up the block and chuck it at another player" and these arenas can also become "giant PvE boss battles." Lee also hinted at story events in DC Universe Online happening simultaneously with comic book DC Universe.

We are actually pretty stoked about this; with a well-known and well-established franchise behind this MMO, Sony might just have a fighting chance. We'll see how it is marketed and whether the gameplay elements live up to expectations when the game comes "next year."

Sounds pretty interesting. I'm just happy the game is being made after last year MS canceled their Marvel Universe game.

[Cyros]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

In a perfect world we would would have Marvel Universe and DC Universe and they'd both be awesome. Putting this on my radar along with Champions Online.

[aukevin]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

I'm so looking forward to this!

[trobinson97]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

It'd be great if it were Marvel, I really really dislike DC characters. If it turns out to be a great game, I'll check it out though.

[Altimus]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

E3 Trailer:

<embed src="http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf" flashvars="object_ID=755358&downloadURL=http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/article/889/889370/DCUO_trailer_071408_flvlowwide.flv&allownetworking =&quot;all&quot;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="433" height="360">

IGN Interview.

July 16, 2008 - <script style="display: none;" language="JavaScript" src="http://ads.ign.com/advertisers/DartRichMedia_1_03/DartRichMedia_1_03.js"></script>Yesterday, the period of darkness ended. After three years of silence, Sony's press conference finally brought news, video, and screens from DC Universe Online.

Hallelujah.

Of course, a Superman nerd like myself is never content to just hear Jim Lee talk about the game he's helping envision, I want to see it. I want to know it. I want to play it. Sadly, Sony Online Entertainment wasn't ready to let me slip into my tights and try out the MMO that lets you create a hero or a villain, but they were happy to show me a brand new, behind the scenes trailer.

Some of the footage was used in the press conference trailer, which just so happens to be below this paragraph, but there was plenty of stuff I hadn't seen before. A wide shot of the Batcave revealed that the giant Joker playing card and penny in the game; I saw Supergirl beat on some bad guys; concept art for both the Hall of Justice and Wayne Manor popped up; character sheets for Adam Strange, Captain Atom, Hawkgirl, Sinestro, and the Mad Hatter made an appearance; even Batwoman showed up to wail on some baddies.

Afterwards I got to browse through a art book featuring the Huntress and Vixen, but not before I put DCUO Executive Producer John Blakely into the IGN interrogation chair. What would he have to say about this game? What secrets are in his head? I decided to find out.<hr>IGN: What is DCUO bringing to MMOs that we haven't seen before?

John Blakely: Well, first of all, there's the DC Universe -- Gotham, Metropolis, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Joker, Penguin, Solomon Grundy -- a whole host of heroes, a whole bunch of villains. Over 150 of these all penned by Jim Lee and his team at Wildstorm Entertainment -- they have put together probably over 1,500 concepts to kind of layout the official DCU, what it looks like. There's an official map of Metropolis now. There's an official map of Gotham. We're building those in the Unreal 3 engine. It's going to be shipped on the PlayStation 3 and on the PC so it'll be a console experience, and a big thing on that is moment to moment, this is an action game. First and foremost, superhero game and then we're layering in the pieces you'd expect with an MMO -- character progression, end games, rule the world or save the world, levels, loot, character-invested storylines like your hero's journey or your villain's journey. We're really trying to put all of those pieces together as you'd expect in an MMO but moment to moment it really is an action game like you'd play on your console.

IGN: If somebody wasn't familiar with it, what is their role in it? You're not playing as Superman or Batman.

John Blakely: You're not. What you're doing is stepping in. We're opening a portal or a door into the DC Universe that you can step into for the first time with your own custom superhero or super-villain and then fight alongside all your favorite heroes and/or villains, fight against them or fight for them in those settings. Navigating through those stories you've learned to love over the over the last 70 years.

IGN: The first thing that jumps to my mind is that if I'm a villain and I get locked up in Arkham, what happens to my game?

John Blakely: Well, you don't get locked up in Arkham. You'll get knocked out. There will be some penalties for those kinds of things. You won't actually be sitting in a cell looking out, and just hoping that some day someone will come rescue you. Now, however, you can go into Arkham as a villain or as a hero and help free those other characters that may be locked in there -- maybe amass those characters and then go raid the Batcave if you're good enough.

IGN: How does this work? It's a massive multiplayer online game so obviously there's a lot of interaction between people; are there missions then too that make up my experience?

John Blakely: Yeah, there's cases and capers depending on which way you line up. So there are going to be storylines that you are going follow. Part of that's going to be for your own personal discovery of your powers and how to use them, part of that's going to be following along DC canon and some world events that may happen. There will be plenty of content to do that. There will also be basic patrolling. It's an open world game, so in the shared spaces it's like -- You're in Metropolis in the city; you're a hero; you're on patrol; as content gets spun up that's relevant to you, it'll be brought to your attention and you can decide if you want to engage that or not. As you engage that content, the objectives can change and raise your threat level if you're a villain or hero and other heroes or villains can come in and respond to that. It's a very dynamic world. You have a huge impact as a player on what's going on in your quadrant based on how you attack it or how you repel it.

IGN: When I'm doing these cases and capers, do I pop up to other people? The thing I would think is that if I'm helping Superman on a mission, wouldn't I get swarmed by a hundred other fanboys wanting to talk to Superman?

John Blakely: Well, it's not necessarily that. He'll be in a personal relationship with you. You'll have a communicator either by the JLA or the Legion of Doom and you'll be able to communicate with this. So, he might pop up and he might tell you "Hey, go here. Down in this district something's going on and you have to go over and take care of it." Then, as you get there, that content that's relevant for you will pop up. We're also using what we're calling a surplus model concept, which means as objectives spin up in the area, as you consume those objectives, they spawn more objectives. Case in point might be an armored car rides though -- if you're a villain, that objective is hit the armored car, y'know? There's an opportunity for you, but as you hit the armored car, now more objectives pop up because, well, the police are alerted and the police come in. Now, if there are other villains in the area, they can participate. As your threat level rises, heroes are beckoned in to protect the police officers. Their objective is opposite to yours, so it's a really neat, dynamic environment that creates. As people consume content, it creates more content for more people to consume and so we bring all of those people into that kind of heroic fray of heroes versus villains in the shared space. Obviously in the instant space it's more of a story-driving encounters. They'll lead you through. That's where you get the really personal attention from the character that isn't through the communicator interface.

IGN: OK. How does that threat level work? Is it one of those things where there are on-screen indicators or do I get calls from --

John Blakely: We're not going into specifics right now. We really want to focus on, really the only thing we want to focus on going into Comic-Con is the moment to moment combat. So, we're going to get into those things as we move forward. Really what's important to know is that this is not an MMO you would expect. It's not turn-based. Let's say you and I are in an entanglement. I'm going to stun you, now, normally you would stun and you would both be there like you're not doing anything. Well, our stun, if I have ice powers, I turn you into an ice block. Literally. And I can pick up that ice block and I can throw it -- with you in it -- throw it down the street and hit four or five other defenders or four or five other enemies, do damage to them. It's a fully-realized simulated-physics world and so it's a very visceral experience. It's much more like playing a shooter or one of your favorite action games on the console.

IGN: Is it a clear-cut choice in the beginning like you can be a hero or be a bad guy, or if I start playing as my superhero and I suck, can I just say, "Well screw this, I'm going to be a bad guy?"

John Blakely: It is black hats, white hats. DC is a very nostalgic universe, so it's very much traditionally black hats, white hats. We've kept that; we've preserved that. However, they also have character like Batman. Batman kind of flirts with that line a little bit, but you always know that he is on the good side of good. We'll allow you to get close to that line, but we won't allow you to cross it. Once you're a hero or once you're a villain, you've declared a side.

IGN: OK. How does that threat level work? Is it one of those things where there are on-screen indicators or do I get calls from --

John Blakely: We're not going into specifics right now. We really want to focus on, really the only thing we want to focus on going into Comic-Con is the moment to moment combat. So, we're going to get into those things as we move forward. Really what's important to know is that this is not an MMO you would expect. It's not turn-based. Let's say you and I are in an entanglement. I'm going to stun you, now, normally you would stun and you would both be there like you're not doing anything. Well, our stun, if I have ice powers, I turn you into an ice block. Literally. And I can pick up that ice block and I can throw it -- with you in it -- throw it down the street and hit four or five other defenders or four or five other enemies, do damage to them. It's a fully-realized simulated-physics world and so it's a very visceral experience. It's much more like playing a shooter or one of your favorite action games on the console.

IGN: Is it a clear-cut choice in the beginning like you can be a hero or be a bad guy, or if I start playing as my superhero and I suck, can I just say, "Well screw this, I'm going to be a bad guy?"

John Blakely: It is black hats, white hats. DC is a very nostalgic universe, so it's very much traditionally black hats, white hats. We've kept that; we've preserved that. However, they also have character like Batman. Batman kind of flirts with that line a little bit, but you always know that he is on the good side of good. We'll allow you to get close to that line, but we won't allow you to cross it. Once you're a hero or once you're a villain, you've declared a side.

IGN: I thought I could get you!

John Blakely: These [PR] guys train us well, but certainly we want to have an experience reflective of what you'd expect in the DC Universe, so as we roll these things out I think you're going to be excited about what we can provide. If you look at our other products and you see what features we provided there, y'know, you can draw your own conclusions.

IGN: Alright, then my final, final question is for me personally, as a huge fanboy, in there any mention or showing of Kon-El, Superboy, in there? Is his memorial statue at least in Metropolis Park.

John Blakely: There will be things that are called out. I'm not saying specifics, but --

IGN: That's good enough by me.

John Blakely: We have good custodians of the DC Universe, and we have a lot of characters. It's important to make it feel like what you would expect.

IGN: Well, thank you so much, John. It's been a pleasure.

John Blakely: Thank you.

Cannot wait!

[trobinson97]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

Arrrrggh, this should be Marvel Universe Online. Nice trailer though, this looks hard to pass up.

[Skerik]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

I liked this the first time when it was called City of Heroes.

[Altimus]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

I liked this the first time when it was called City of Heroes.

That is a different game I believe. There will be two super hero games.

[23]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

I might get it but the movements seem weird.

We'll see once more info comes out.

[Complex]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

I am checking for this. This is more of what I would like to see from video games.

[Flawless]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=44247"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=44247" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object>

<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=44248"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=44248" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object>

<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=44249"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=44249" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object>

[SoMiss2000]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

never played an MMO. Glad I own a PS3.

[trobinson97]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

Looks interesting for sure.

[Flawless]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

Herbert Ellwood, game designer for Sony Online Entertainment, discusses some of the key features that players can expect to see in DC Universe Online including raids, solo-content as well as a surprise revelations about interoperability.

<div style="width: 480px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=325510"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=325510" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object><div style="font-size: 10px; font-family: Verdana; text-align: center; width: 480px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; background-color: black; height: 32px;"><div><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com" title="GameTrailers.com">Video Games</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/comic-con-2009-dc-universe/325510" title="Comic-Con 2009: DC Universe Online">Comic-Con 2009: DC Universe Online</a></div><div style="padding-top: 3px;"><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/xb360/index.html" title="XBox 360">XBox 360</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/ps3/index.html" title="PS3">Playstation 3</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/wii/index.html" title="Wii">Nintendo Wii</a></div></div></div>

Jens Andersen, Creative Director of SOE, gave us a walk through of DC Universe Online during this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego.

<div style="width: 480px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=244722"/> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=244722" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object><div style="font-size: 10px; font-family: Verdana; text-align: center; width: 480px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; background-color: black; height: 32px;"><div><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com" title="GameTrailers.com">Video Games</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/dc-universe-online-hands-on/244722" title="DC Universe Online Hands-On">DC Universe Online Hands-On</a></div><div style="padding-top: 3px;"><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/xb360/index.html" title="XBox 360">XBox 360</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/ps3/index.html" title="PS3">Playstation 3</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/wii/index.html" title="Wii">Nintendo Wii</a></div></div></div>

IGN Videos:

<embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=755358&downloadURL=http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/article/100/1007265/sdcc09_dc_gmp_combat_072309_flvlowwide.flv&allowne tworking="all%"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360'></embed><div style='width:433;'><a href='http://ps3.ign.com/objects/755/755358.html'>DC Universe Online at IGN.com</a></div>
<embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=755358&downloadURL=http://ps3movies.ign.com/ps3/video/article/100/1007265/sdcc09_dc_gmp_smash_072309_flvlowwide.flv&allownet working="all%"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360'></embed><div style='width:433;'><a href='http://ps3.ign.com/objects/755/755358.html'>More DC Universe Online Info</a></div>

[Flawless]

Re: DC Universe Online (PS3)

DC Universe Online Gets a Release Date

DC Universe Online is coming this November.

Basically, you're going to create a hero or villain and begin proving yourself to your Big Brother savior (folks like Superman) or bad guy (think the Joker). As you complete missions, you'll earn XP to apply to your moves and loot in the form of costume mods that amplify your powers.

The level SOE was showcasing had you as a hero breaking into Harley Quinn's lair to rescue a kidnapped Robin. If you're wondering, Harley is in her Batman the Animated Series outfit and not the sultry Batman: Arkham Asylum getup and Robin is Tim Drake in his One Year Later red and black duds.

DC Universe Online has been a tough one to peg. It's a really cool idea but the combat has been a bit flat in past demos. This time, I still didn't get that impact as I wailed on opponents, but it did feel like it was on the right track -- that ball is awesome -- especially for brawling in an MMO. I'm an admitted DC geek, so I'm excited, and that excitement's only going to build because chances are it's going to be cool to make your own hero/villain and a Sony Online Entertainment rep said that the company wasn't ready to announce voice actors yet but that you should expect familiar folks behind the characters you know.