DCUO

DC Universe Online is a VERY new MMORPG. I stopped playing WOW a bit to give it a whirl. Obviously, an MMORPG is a difficult thing to really critique in one post but I'm going to highlight what I think are important aspects of the game and hopefully not spend too long on this. >.<

Character creation: 4 out of 5 coins

Better than WoW but worse than City of Heroes. Of course, it could be said that COH has TOO many options and that it just gets chaotic trying to pick everything that you like for your character. DCUO has a careful balance where it doesn't take you forty-five minutes to pick out an outfit and yet it's kinda hard to get the same character as anyone else. There are two sets of power combinations- a physical and a "magical" (so to speak). You can mix and match them all instead of having one set "class" for your character. This really enhances the uniqueness of your char.

Graphics: 3 out of 5 coins

The graphics are good as far as the world is concerned but I gave it one less number because I personally believe they should have gone with just a touch more cartoony. It'd be awesome to play in a world that looked just a little bit more like comics than it does real life. This is compared especially when you get a cut-scene and it's done all in comic book artistry and it's all pretty and stuff and then you pop back into the game and it's all real life and junk.

Game play: 4 out of 5 coins

Game play is unlike any MMORPG that I've ever played before. You use your mouse a TON which is why I gave it 4 coins instead of 5. I was worried that I'd break my mouse or something by wearing it out. >.< This aspect of the game is also influenced by the fact that it is available for the console so they'd have to make it accessible for a controller- which I've actually heard is the preferred method of playing even for PC users.

The actual skills and spells that your character has aren't based on a "cool down" but more of a build up of certain elements like mana or rage. This leaves the actual fighting less turned-based and more active. It has a completely different feeling compared to WoW that does take some time to get used to.

Gear system: 4 out of 5 coins

The gear system is pretty cool. You can lock the "looks" of your character so it'll keep the same style you picked at the beginning or you can change it up with new gear you find as you go along on your missions that aren't available in the beginning selections so you can at least see visually how far others have progressed in the game (if they've unlocked their gear). This also means you're not stuck with a style you first picked out and then decide you hate two hours later. This category didn't get all 5 coins though because the system is not casual-player friendly. By level 23, I still wasn't sure what kind of stats I needed for my character and her certain power sets.

Storyline: 5 out of 5 coins

My background isn't necessarily the most comic book savvy but I do know the basics and this game really sticks to them. I LOVED running into all kinds of classic characters and interacting with them. You can pick Batman (and lots of awesome others) as your mentor and then run around doing missions for him. I was like "YEA! BATMAN said I did a good job! WOOT!"

It was also cool to play the mission plots and run into favorites. "Hi Robin!"

Main concerns about the game:

Chat system is AWFUL. Obviously console players don't chat a whole bunch textually but PC gamers, I like to think, chat it up a bit more. Basically, it's difficult to chat and play at the same time. You're so busy using the mouse while fighting that it's impossible to talk like you might be able to during a WoW battle. Essentially, it's one player game in a world that just happens to have other players in it. Luckily, you've got Batman to keep you company.

Level cap is 30 and is easily attained in a 10 day trial period. That is messed up.

You can use your main transportation ability from the very start. This is comparable to having an elite mount in WoW at level 1. Traveling is crazy easy and yet since you need to travel a lot to get to different missions, I'm not entirely sure that's a bad thing.

The game does feel too easy and I wonder how long I would last playing it. On one hand, you can create TONS of characters and never get the feeling of repetition (except for the missions, of course) but on the other hand, you hit 30 in three weeks and there is just only so much raiding and pvping you can do. This last reason is why I haven't felt comfortable shelling out some cash yet because I'm not sure it would have the longevity that WoW certainly does. Players complain that you can't ever totally "beat" an MMORPG but if you can, it'd be SUPER boring and people just wouldn't stay with it.

As of right now, I'm in limbo and I guess that probably means I shouldn't buy it. It's an awesome game but I'm just not sure I'd stick with it long enough to warrant spending much money on it.