Zero Punctuation: DC Universe Online

[Gralian]

I'll never really get the American fixation on comics and superheroes.

That said, while DCUO looks like fun (albeit for the first month only before the novelty wears off), i've had some shitty experiences with SOE, so i won't touch a single thing with their name on.

I had fun with Champions Online within the first month of release. I'm guessing it's like that, but more... team-oriented with the "duo" system they got going on.

 

[VanillaBean]

Your theory on comics is my whole entire extent when it comes to reading them. Also glad to hear that you like Preacher cause that comic was awesome.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

I'm guessing it's like that, but more... team-oriented with the "duo" system they got going on.

Only after end-game. Before level-cap, it's extremely solo-oriented. It has a lot less depth than other MMOs and it's unique in its immediacy. Really, it's less about the people that like WoW or any traditional MMO and more about those who just play to blow shit up-- albeit with teaming and iconic characters.

 

[TheEnglishman]

As someone who bought the game and played it.... yes, everything you said hear was 100% accurate. Not even the DC stuff could make this anything more than a crappy grind fest.

On the other hand, I sold the game to my local CEX store and got enough money to by some comics (limited run's, I don't by the stuff which is reaching it's 1000th issue anniversary *cough* Wolverine *cough*), including the tie in comic series to this game, which two issues in is pretty good.

 

[Kermi]

Maybe I was just sleepy when I watched it, but I felt like this was a pointless review for a pointless game. But that's alright, because I reckon there'll be an interesting discussion in the accompanying Extra Punctuation next week.

 

[duchaked]

well there's always The Old Republic...

not that it would matter for me since I don't play these games butttt I'm curious to see how that turns out being a Star Wars fan growing up

 

[FallenMessiah88]

I dont know why but for some reason i have been very interested in this game ever since i first saw it. Maybe its because of the superhero motif. In the end though i'll just probably be disappointed. *sigh* So when was Duke Nukem Forever coming out again?!

 

[frans909]

I'll just go back to Mortal Kombat vs. DCU thank you...or I take that back I'll go to a DVD boxset of the Justice League.

If it was a box of the Justice Friends, I might be interested. Not in this game. This was a disaster from conception.

 

[RollingThunder]

This is why I quit reading both DC and Marvel

DC: Cancellation of Impulse, Young Justice and the resurrection of Hal Jordan.

Marvel: Stupid Spiderman.

But if the game went FTP, I'll pounce it at once!

 

[isao]

why would you wipe a retard's ass just before you kill him? Does it matter if he dies with his ass clean?

 

[MechaManiacal]

Hey if Yahtzee's going to do the Super hero MMO's I'de like to hear which he prefers, City of Heroes or Champions online now that Champions is free to play, mostly I want to know which is better because I've been trying Champions for free and been loving it and have been considering paying the $15 a month subscriction but I gotta know which is better first.

 

[Darkauthor81]

OMG You mentioned City of Heroes!!!! I still play that game! ! Way to go Yahtzee!

What I don't like about DC Universe (or the previous Marvel one[the cancelled one]) and I like about City (and Champions to some degree) is that you don't feel like the sidekick. Sure in Cox there's Statesman (or Recluse) with all his mates, but they mostly keep to the sidelines and give you quests. Once you accept that you really feel like the Hero/Villain. In DC I always feel like a Batman Clone (in my case) and under the main cast of characters' shadow. And that blows.

Really because feeling like a side kick is exactly what I hated about CoX. You never go out and do your own thing you're forever handed odd jobs by random street people who wont even give you their bloody phone number until you've saved the city from impending doom a few times. Then there's the boss battles where you have to team up 8 vs 1 against the epic hero/villain (Recluse, Statesmen, and God help you Hero 1) That did a LOT to make me feel like a second rate side kick with delusions of grandeur.

The best moment I ever had in CoX happened in the first day I played where I created a villain and went and pulled a bank job. That was the first, and only, time I actually felt like a real villain and not an errand boy with questionable morals.

I thought DC did a much better job of it pitting you one on one against named and well known hero and villains. What I hated was there was no real teaming mechanic or incentive in place which made the whole thing a really repetitive single player game. But at least the story telling was head and tails above CoX. CoX has gotten better with its stories but there's still a lot content from the game's earlier days that is just painful to read.

As for Champions Online. I've never played it because I HATE the art style.

 

[Luke Cartner]

Damn it, I was scared that would be the case.
I was hoping it would be more like COH/V but less old...

 

[LadyMint]

This episode was so funny, and so true at the same time. I hope the game improves with time but after trying it out for a bit, I didn't feel it was worth a monthly fee.

 

[Flunk]

I beta-tested this dreck because I quite enjoyed City of Heroes. I'm not a big comic fan so I might be missing out on something but I totally agree with this review. This game is boring, the only options are to create characters who are nearly the same as DC heros (I assume) and most of those powers play the same anyway.

For a game that came out years after City of Heroes you'd expect it to add a lot, but in fact it's actually shallower, with less options and less environments. If you're a huge DC fan you might like this, otherwise just play City of Heroes. Champions Online has the same sort of problems but even that ranks higher than DC Heros for me. Feels like a bad copy with a license tacked on.

 

[Kanatatsu]

This review utterly missed the point of the game, which is that it is an action based combat MMORPG. The powers are quite varied and detailed.

Long story short, he should have played it a lot more instead of deciding he hated it within 10 minutes of play and then coming up with reasons why.

Shoddy review. Funny, but shoddy.

 

[Kanatatsu]

One more point: this game is basically designed for PVP. If you play it and are not on a PVP server, you are missing 80% of the fun (and the point of leveling/getting good gear).

 

[Brainst0rm]

I'll never really get the American fixation on comics and superheroes.

That said, while DCUO looks like fun (albeit for the first month only before the novelty wears off), i've had some shitty experiences with SOE, so i won't touch a single thing with their name on.

I had fun with Champions Online within the first month of release. I'm guessing it's like that, but more... team-oriented with the "duo" system they got going on.

Yep...Americans..we're the only ones...we're such freaks...and everyone of your nationality is normal and just like you. Golly, I wish I was like you too!

 

[Rolland Therrien]

I'm honestly disappointed that Yathzee enjoyed Preacher. It's cynical, violent, perverse, full of dark humour and over-the-top criticism on Religion, and it's intellectual and emotional level flies only inches above the gutter.

I am NOT a fan of Preacher. And I find it silly that people who criticize Superhero comics for being "Juvenile Power Fantasies" then go around and praise the works of Garth Ennis, a man who has written some of the schlockiest, juvenile porn/gornfests ever put in print.

That being said, everything I've seen about DCUOnline makes me more interested in sticking with City of Heroes.