It is a real shame that there has been such great difficulty in implementing a good superpowered MMO. City of Heroes/Villains (CoH/CoV/CoX) was decent enough, and can still be fun now and again to trip back to. Alas while Champions Online and DC Universe Online have made great improvements in some areas, they have been miserable failures in others.
I had great hopes for DCUO... hopes that were dashed upon the sharp jagged rocks of reality once I played the game. Some elements of DCUO were spectacular: The travel powers, the large open city zones, how instancing & zoning are handled. Great stuff. The very basic combat mechanics are also decent enough and the graphics are alright. For myself the major failing of DCUO is how 'powers' and combat itself are handled all in all.
I particularly found the combo system incredibly annoying, cumbersome and... well just not in the least bit fun. The way powers work in the game also kind of boggles the mind. Take a Speedster character as an example. With Electricity/Lightning powers not being available initially, ones choices are reduced to melee brawling or the game-recommended Fire powerset.
Fireball. Alas if Elec/Lightning were in I would expect an actual lightning bolt to be the equivalent early damaging power from that set. In their attempt to achieve the zen of balance across all characters, the system of powers and abilities has been rendered down into something far to base and simplistic. There are certainly folk out there who would love to throw fireballs with their superheroes; but would everyone who want fire-based powers wish for such an ability? I have doubts.
Vote with your wallet. Good advice. Once I realized what the game was going to be like I canceled my pre-order. Very glad there was the opportunity to try before you buy.
While DCUO is not the game for me, there are folk I know who may well enjoy it. Make your own decision; try it if you can before you pay for it.
