Reviews// DC Universe Online

Past attempts to make joypads work on PC MMORPGs have mostly failed - indeed, I’ve heard reports of trouble when trying to use a joypad with the PC version of DCUO. The PS3 version excels when you’re in the middle of dishing out beatings to a gang of thugs.

The combat is immediately involving in a way never before seen in an MMORPG, requiring mastery of your character’s attack combos and the know-how to use them at the right times.

This goes a long way towards disguising the dreaded grind that plagues the genre. While a lot of the game’s mission objectives get old pretty quickly (go here, kill these guys, smash ten of these barrels, repeat), your heavy involvement in the combat ensures that you always feel engaged. It’s more rewarding than listlessly tapping away at the numbers on your keyboard while you watch your skills recharge over and over again, that’s for sure.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
So, what of the game’s longevity? Sony asks that you cough up £9.99 per month in order to play DCUO, which is something that console players certainly won’t appreciate.

Thankfully, the developers are planning new content for the game every month. This is a promise they’re really going to have to keep if they want the game to survive, let alone flourish.

The game’s current level cap is set at 30, which most players might well hit during the 30-day trial included with the game. Indeed, claims abound that people are managing to hit the cap inside of just a week. While there’s a selection of high-end gear available only to those who’ve spent time taking part in PvP matches once they hit 30, the game is really going to need more content to offer players beyond their first month of play.

Of course, you’re always welcome to make more characters, and the often vast practical differences between the various powers and weapons on offer certainly make that a worthwhile pursuit, nevermind the different mission arcs for heroes and villains.

But when people are coughing up a monthly fee and a fair chunk of their spare time, they’ll want to see more of a return on their investment than the suggestion that they just start again with a different character, or fight PvP matches to earn some shinier armour.

The interface needs more work, too. As in the beta, the game’s menus are amazingly sluggish on the PS3, and navigating them with a joypad is a nightmare at times.

Plugging in a USB keyboard helps matters somewhat, as it allows the use of keyboard shortcuts (hitting ‘m’ to bring up your map, for example), but it’s still pretty unacceptable. Final Fantasy XIV commits far worse sins in this area, mind you, but I’d like to think that the developers had loftier goals than “BE BETTER THAN ONE OF THE WORST MMORPGS RELEASED IN RECENT YEARS”.

Conclusion
DC Universe Online is certainly a lighter MMORPG experience than we’re used to, which is both its main strength and weakness. Genre veterans will find themselves aghast at the lack of higher-end content, but newcomers who’ve had neither the time nor the inclination to get into an MMORPG before will find this the most manageable and fun example of the genre to date.

But, will those newcomers also be comfortable paying a monthly fee? I certainly hope so, as DC Universe Online is a game that deserves to be allowed to find its full potential. It still needs work, but it makes a lot of bold design choices and is one of the freshest examples of its genre seen in a long time as a result. See you in Gotham, folks.

SPonG Score: 80%