Zero Punctuation: DC Universe Online

[Wulfclaw]

Pretty much confirmed my expectations. As I'm not a big comic book fan (I only watch the movies/play occasional game) I highly doubted I'd enjoy this.

Honestly, dont belive what he says about this. Hes one of my faovrites and averything, but he didnt bother to mention a single good quality about it.

Like the fact that character customization takes place even after you decide your hero. Every item you get gives you a new costume peice, so you can change your looks litterally, when ever you look. You could be in the middle of combat trying to figure out what hair style you enjoy.

He also described it as button mashing, when really, there are alot of combos you unlock. Just mashing buttons severly hampers your damage out put.

Honestly, i went into the game with my suspicions, but im still playing it this day and having a great time. Because its much more active then other games. You dont stand there going "1-2-2-2-2-3-1-2-2-2" over and over for hours on end. And every quest is FULLY VOICED. Thats right. You dont have to stand there and read a wall of text. The hero/villain you choose and your mentor pops up on screen, and tells you what to do in amazing good voice acting.

I would give this mmo a try. You know, and go through the first 30 days that comes with it. You will probably be surpirsed by how much fun it is.

And lets face it, how many games for 50 bucks accually last a month these days?

I personally disagree with every point you just said. Yahtzee was spot on the money.

I honestly didn't care that I could customise my character after the innitial customisation phase because the customisation is rubbish, you're effectivly given a choice between stupid helmet, or even stupider helmet.

Well, thats personal taste, is it not? I have seen some great costume designs from dropped and bought costume pieces. But you can't argue about personal taste.

As for button mashing. Yes, you can learn new combo's. You learn the most powerful one, and you re-use it over and over and over again until everyone who needs to be dead is dead. I suppose you could do lots of different button combo's when in a fight and feel fancy, but that seems pointless as it means your doing some fancy punching when you could just repeatedly shoot fire balls in the enemies face until they learn to just bliddy die.

I am sorry, but that is plain wrong. Enemies tend to become immune to a combo and power, if you spam it to much. The system is built around fluid alternating combos and it works. If someone doesn't want to learn and use the combo/power system, then it's their personal taste. I for one learned the different combos from different weapons and have fun chaining a effective and cool looking fight (and bring the combo-meter up).

 

[VulakAerr]

This is one of my favourite ZPs ever. He is spot on with his take on this game. It doesn't just fall into the same traps as many MMOs and doesn't do anything to set itself apart. In fact, it does many things worse and is one of the least enjoyable games I've played in recent times.

It's just... lazy. Really lazy. To not even get the chat system right in an MMO is unforgiveable.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

As for button mashing. Yes, you can learn new combo's. You learn the most powerful one, and you re-use it over and over and over again until everyone who needs to be dead is dead. I suppose you could do lots of different button combo's when in a fight and feel fancy, but that seems pointless as it means your doing some fancy punching when you could just repeatedly shoot fire balls in the enemies face until they learn to just bliddy die.

As someone already mentioned, that's not true. You *need* combos and the right powers to survive a battle, you can't just button mash or grind the same super-power. There is actually a bug in the game that occasionally locks combos and you're stuck with just mashing and that's ironically as good a way as any to see why combos are needed. I have been playing since launch and the combination of the right powers *has* made the difference between different bosses. It's not God of War, but for an MMO, it's pretty impressive.

He didn't even mention how empty the servers are. And there are only 4. 2 PvE and 2 PvP

I *wish* the servers were empty. I would maybe then get to play an alert before the 40-minute-mark-wait.

 

[Michael826]

I interest in this game was only very fleeting. I came to the conclusion that it would most likely be boring and repetetive with no real engaging elements. Seems I was correct. I still have plenty of games clogging up my back-catalogue anyway.

 

[Misho-]

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.

Lol as for the Champions Online rant +1

But as for Cox, I really gotta say (althought it's your own opinion of course) I disagree, maybe it's because I like to Roleplay (yeah alone, I'm sad) but I don't feel bogged down by the fact that you have to team up with 8 other players to take on Archvillians. Actually if I recall correctly that's how the Avengers originally came to be, Thor, Ironman and ermmm Ant Man (help me out here) had to team up agaisnt an enraged Hulk (provoked by Loki) and after the battle they decided to create a team (supergroup if you will) to face threats no single hero could handle.

As for the errands... Well I gotta say, all MMOrpgs even DCUO have errands, the combat is faster (and more entertaining) given, but that's just the structure of the game.

I'm sorry for Jim Lee, but when he said a game like DCUO is better than CoX and the likes just because it has more history behind it and people already know what's going on so that you just simply jump in and enjoy. (Not verbatim) He was wrong, I rather play a game like Cox or even ChampOnline because eliminating the backstory of like 60+ years and starting fresh I can really feel like a major league player starting my own big adventures.

And I know it doesn't count now, but since you can tweak the missions in City of Heroes now, you can play and defeat Archvillians on your own (changing them to Elite Bosses, which is a step down). It's not like playing and defeating Green Lantern on your own, but at least in Cox they won't get up and run away after you defeat them.

I would rather play a new IP game in with the mechanics of DCUO on the PS3, than DCUO.

I know this makes me sound like a Cox (or even a Marvel) fanboy, but I like idea behind it. Complaining about the established characters in a story aside your own it's like playing D&D and complaining there's NPCs who are more powerful than you.

 

[Void(null)]

I would rather play a new IP game in with the mechanics of DCUO on the PS3, than DCUO.

Agreed. I like DCUO's mechanics and if another game came along with the same set up using a unique IP I would jump ship... but as it stands DCUO has made me feel far more heroic and wicked than City has in the past 7 years.

Jack inserted his Penis... errm I mean "Statesman" into bloody everything. Every quest, every story, every plot line there is always something going back to Statesman. And just how many versions of his Penis do we need? Statesman, Recichsman, Emperor Cole, Imperious... all the same bloody guy.

Whats worse is that Jack doesn't even work there anymore and yet still we have to suck his dick daily. City of Heroes New Issue! How far do you have to cram Jacks Penis down your throat this time!

I have been running Paper and Radio Missions for the past 3 years just so as not to have to deal with it.

 

[Sam Winterton]

Preacher rules. Good going, yet more proof of good taste

 

[Mydnyght]

I swear, some of Yahtzee's analogies are fucking hilarious.

Yeah. Also, a nice touch when ANALOGY was falling apart, but ANAL still held up.

Also, District of Columbia Universe Online?

Yahtzee Croshaw, you, sir, have given me the desire to call this game
"One of the Guys From Tag Team a.k.a. the 'Whoomp! There It Is' Guys Universe Online".

 

[Darkauthor81]

Snip

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE City of Heroes. Played it for about 4 years. I miss it too but I've grown so tired of the standard MMO tropes of grinding and fetch quests. Every once in a while I'll renew my subscription. I'll play it for about an hour before going "Oh wait... I forgot how mind numbingly boring MMOs are to me now..."

But back before I was completely sick of mmo mechanics I was all over city of heroes for years. By far my favorite MMO.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

Jack inserted his Penis... errm I mean "Statesman" into bloody everything. Every quest, every story, every plot line there is always something going back to Statesman. And just how many versions of his Penis do we need? Statesman, Recichsman, Emperor Cole, Imperious... all the same bloody guy.

Lol yeah... CoH started off with a great narrative, in that it was very comic-like and worked, but it kind of got lost in its own world after a little while. What I noticed in DCUO, on the other hand, is that there seem to be running storylines that one would expect to see more of in future updates, which is kind of cool.

And don't get me wrong. I love CoH. It wasn't just my first MMO, but also the only MMO I've been going back to for the last five years. But even so, the only things I ever did was clear dungeons and occasionally team up. I never found out what salvages are even supposed to do, never joined a super-group, never did anything than go somewhere and kill something. And I never capped a character, because by the time I'd reach level 40, I was bored and just made new ones.

People like me are the audience that DCUO can draw in, because of its simplicity and immediacy. It's not really that close to a traditional MMO... it's more akin to a 3rd person action game with a partying mechanic.

 

[Spookimitsu]

And second, I saw the cinematic trailer. Yes, the one where all the average chipmunks said "Woah, awesome, it has 'splosions!" The whole thing was horrible. They basically lined up some famous super-thingies and made them channel "Last Man Standing" and that Punisher-movie with John Travolta. Yeah, f*** all those hints of personality all those characters somehow maintained through years of horrible writing and retcons, now they just want to horribly rape each other.
Also, best decision ever: Make a gritty, pseudo-realistic, murderous intro and then introduce a guy with a name like "Brainiac" as the ultimate villain.
In that context:

Lol wat? CoH copy? What game out there is truely original, in your opinion? I guarantee you someone can come along and say "oh that x game borrowed elements from y game.". It's a Superhero MMo, OF COURSE it's going to be reminiscent of CoH. There arent that many other Superhero MMo games OUT there.
But even thats incorrect, it more closely resembles Marvel Ultimate Alliance/ X-men legends co-op RPGs. So yeah. Oh yeah, I guess we can say you don't like intro movies to be completely entertaining while providing you with your necessary exposition free of charge. The intro movie was awesome. But I guess you are going for your junior woodchuck "SUPER ELITEST" badge, where cool things only pass you by like Neo in a snowball fight

PS, the game didnt introduce Brainiac, he's been around since the 60's, and yes he is chock full of complete-bad-assery. Don't write the game off because you weren't well informed.

 

[Spookimitsu]

I interest in this game was only very fleeting. I came to the conclusion that it would most likely be boring and repetetive with no real engaging elements.

You reached this conclusion through actually playing the game, I assume?

As for button mashing. Yes, you can learn new combo's. You learn the most powerful one, and you re-use it over and over and over again until everyone who needs to be dead is dead. I suppose you could do lots of different button combo's when in a fight and feel fancy, but that seems pointless as it means your doing some fancy punching when you could just repeatedly shoot fire balls in the enemies face until they learn to just bliddy die.

That sir, is the easiest way to lose a duel and get teabagged. Sure It's good enough to do on a fetch quest, but anyone worth a smidge would be all in your pockets if you merely tried to mash out combos on them. The combat is deep. I guess you tried out PvE and found it shallow.

As for the voicing. It was O.K. Just O.K. The acual heroes do a fine job of telling you who they want dead an get on with it, I chose Superman and Lex Luthor so maybe I picked a bad option. Everyone else has the same 3 lines of dialogue they'll spout over and over again until you go crazy. And that doesn't make up for the fact that the game play is total rubbish.

Really? All of the voice actors from the animated series provide their talent for the iconic characters. Even the random NPC characters spout dialogue. Granted, like most RPG's I guess the game could have made you READ all of this, and I'm sure that would have opened up another can of worms. Oh yeah, and once again, The gameplay isn't rubbish. Your tactics were :-/ sorry.
Once again, the combat is pretty deep.

I played this for about two weeks I think, than gave up and sold it off. My recomendation, don't suffer like I had to, watching your favourite Universe being turned into a monotomous job where after a few missions you find yourself thinking "Oh God! Superman wants me to save the day by hitting stuff a lot again!"

This game is bad and should not be bought.

Maybe Video Games aren't quite your cup of tea. Most action/adventure/rpg games have the same premise = "Save the day by hitting stuff a lot again"

change hitting stuff to : hitting stuff with bullets = CoD, RDR, Gears of War etc
change hitting stuff to : hitting stuff with lasers = mass effect, Starcraft, Halo
change hitting stuff to : hitting dead stuff = any game with zombies
change hitting stuff to : hitting hookers = GTA
change hitting stuff to : hitting mushrooms and turtles = Super Mario

Maybe you'd like a good driving sim? Or a golf game. Or Civilization. I don't think you were the target market for DCUO.

 

[emporthasym]

You should so review another MMORPG next week, like Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates.

Something as old as that'd be a laugh.

 

[Desert Tiger]

I love comics, but here's the thing.

I really do despise DC.

 

[thegreatkenji]

In the age of WoW you absolutely CANNOT ship an unfinished/unpolished/lackluster product or WoW will eat you. look at whats happening to FF14. its getting demolished because square tried to beat cataclysm's release date and ended up shooting themselves in the foot. I'm really sad to see another one bite the dust but if you want to compete with WoW its gonna take more effort.

 

[Headbiter]

Lol wat? CoH copy? What game out there is truely original, in your opinion? I guarantee you someone can come along and say "oh that x game borrowed elements from y game.". It's a Superhero MMo, OF COURSE it's going to be reminiscent of CoH. There arent that many other Superhero MMo games OUT there.
But even thats incorrect, it more closely resembles Marvel Ultimate Alliance/ X-men legends co-op RPGs. So yeah.

First of all, we Super Elitists don't wear badges, nor do we write in Capslock, we're much too awesome for both. Also, we don't back up our own rage-speaks with something like "So yeah".

Second,you know what? You're right, there are very, very, VERY few games out there which can be dubbed original, and even less who are accepted as such by everyone. You know what else? It's not really an excuse.
"It's an Superhero MMOG, so CoH and DCUO are bound to be similar" was the argument, right? With all due respect, that's bullcrap. Just because two games share the same genre and setting, it doesn't mean they have to be identical. For instance, a Superhero-game where the definition of a Superhero isn't "Wears funny, colourful costum, keeps a secret identity and has some randomly selected abilities" but something where the possible power have certain restrictions or all stem from specific sources and since every person basically could be a superhero the "secret identity"-stuff is replaced by "secretive behaviour".
Or an MMOG where you don't have levels and skilltrees but instead you get either more powerful by improving your basic abilities through practical use or try to form/find new abilities by actual effort rather than by default? And the story of the Game isn't prescribed by the developers but they create several options and then start events in certain intervalls and thus let the players shape the future of the game?
See? Superhero MMO that ISN'T CoH, and I'm not even trying.

Admittedly DCUO's options in variation are limited since it's a license game, but if I were to give DC that benefit, I'd immediately have to snatch it away for doing now what they should have done YEARS ago...kinda the time when CoH came out?

Overall it's just the point Yathzee mentioned with his "Factions"-example: The "But the other ones do that tooooo"-excuse should have ceased being an argument around the time we grew 12.

Oh yeah, I guess we can say you don't like intro movies to be completely entertaining while providing you with your necessary exposition free of charge. The intro movie was awesome. But I guess you are going for your junior woodchuck "SUPER ELITEST" badge, where cool things only pass you by like Neo in a snowball fight

Yes, because the "Gritty looking persons kill each other off in a gunmetal-grey ruin and in such a bland fashion I couldn't even care if I wanted"-scenario is just so-much-fun and so never-seen-before, there's JUST NO WAY I could be bored to my sleep with it.
And don't even get me started and that "exposition". Yahtzee stopped at that time-travel-stuff, I could rag on for hours about how that stuff makes no sense in the slightest.

But I honestly find it amusing, when people come with this "You just try to sound elitist, by dismissing our AWESOMENESS as boring"-argument, because, yes, I heard that one before.
And just as those other times it's funny to see how you "just defend" that "awesome" Designed-by-comittee-crap, while I, obviously am just so "snobbish" I "can't enjoy anything". It can't be that I actually have a specific kind of expectation to a cinematic, can it? That maybe, just maybe, after countless treadmill-trailers, where hundreds of effects attempt to obscure that nothing of interest is actually going on, I demand from nowaday' trailers to at least TRY to peak my interest in the game? For instance by...I don't know...showing me some sad, grey tross for 5 minutes and then say "Oh, yeah, all of that just now? Didn't happen, we just couldn't think of a cheaper excuse to bring the player into the setting."
Nah, that's just impossible.

PS, the game didnt introduce Brainiac, he's been around since the 60's, and yes he is chock full of complete-bad-assery. Don't write the game off because you weren't well informed.

Return to your seat and retake your English-lesson. Read after me: "[...] and then introduce [...]AS THE ULTIMATE VILLAIN." Behold: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/10/24/ Just in case: The punchline is in panel 2.
And thanks to the Interhighway I actually was aware who Braniac is and what he does about three minutes after I saw the trailer the first time. And here's the surprise: All of that couldn't even remotely make up that his name is BRAINIAC, a name that induces about as much fear and respect as WILLY WONKA or RONALD McDONALD.
And that was also the essence of my criticism in that sentence: If you spent 6 minutes of CGI for turning a number of the most prominent heroes and villains of the DC Universe into superpowered, gritty cousins of the punisher, regardless of their history and personality so far, then the least you should do is find an ultimate villain with a better name than Brainiac.

I honestly can't even imagine how a DC-fan would be willing to defend that turd.
But I can say, that for someone who stopped caring for comics the moment he realised that due to the lack of backbone with the writers of the comic-industry as a whole Uncle Ben will be the only character EVER to actually STAY dead, that ending was just fricking hillarious.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

But I can say, that for someone who stopped caring for comics the moment he realised that due to the lack of backbone with the writers of the comic-industry as a whole Uncle Ben will be the only character EVER to actually STAY dead, that ending was just fricking hillarious.

That is your problem right there. You're looking at this with a mindset so far removed from comic-book escapism, you shouldn't even bother. That is not the developers' fault. You're looking for fun in places you can't find it.

 

[RTR]

The bowel analogy in this episode has to be one of his best ever

 

[Lazzi]

why is anyone even trying to make mmo's anymore? whats the point?

Money. Oh, and there is the fact that we are social animals. The idea of having a game that can link people regardless of distance is great. It provides a form of escapism while still allowing people to (theoretically) still form potentially meaningfull bond and realation ship that allows people to enjoy of not enjoy each other company based on a person personality and not physical factor.


But theyre doing a rather shitty job. While the game doesn have socail aspects I does get far to caught up in the simple battle part and eventully makes the whole socail aspect moot.

I like the idea of MMO's and try out as many trails/betas as I can, but none of them really do it for me.

 

[Spookimitsu]

It's a Superhero MMo, OF COURSE it's going to be reminiscent of CoH. There arent that many other Superhero MMo games OUT there.
But even thats incorrect, it more closely resembles Marvel Ultimate Alliance/ X-men legends co-op RPGs. So yeah.

First of all, we Super Elitists don't wear badges, nor do we write in Capslock, we're much too awesome for both. Also, we don't back up our own rage-speaks with something like "So yeah".

Second,you know what? You're right, there are very, very, VERY few games out there which can be dubbed original, and even less who are accepted as such by everyone. You know what else? It's not really an excuse.

Sorry about that, it wasn't rage through which The capslock was used. Only used for emphasis.

I had doubted this needed an explanation, but hey, I've been wrong before.

And btw Nice Burn against that snide little "So yeah" comment. What the heck was I thinking? There is no way I should have dared to cross ideas with you and feel like I could type something as relaxed and possibly snarky as "So Yeah" and I'll be darned if you didnt call me out on it!
No really, I've never played much CoX (or CO at all), but upon entry, I would assume one Superhero MMo is going to have some similarities to another. I was merely Pointing out something that you may have missed, which was its similarity to another ARPG which gasp stars superheros, but you didnt say anything about those blatant similarities.

And sure it is an excuse if they are going for a particular target market.
And I know lots of players whose characters dont wear funny colorful costumes, or have secret identities. What are you on about? And for player-made superpowers? I'd have to say, I'm with you on that, but you gotta admit, that system would be abused as hell, and you would endup with predefined powers anyway, or cookie cutter builds (which are still possible). I'm with you on the need for personal back stories as opposed to "everyone got powers from time traveling super bug dust", at least just something ingame that you can post a little back story would be cool too.
But it seems as if some of these limitations are all in your head.

Yes, because the "Gritty looking persons....etc... I could rag on for hours about how that stuff makes no sense in the slightest

You know the one greatest mechanism of fiction is the ability for the audience to suspend disbelief. If you cannot do that for a VideoGame about COMICBOOK HEROES (once again, for emphasis, not rage... sigh I wish I didnt have to clarify these things)

anyways... if you cant suspend disbelief for comicbook videogames, then maybe you are in the wrong isle. Not trying to be a prick, but like I said, maybe a Flight Simulation or something would be more up your alley (yes that was me reattempting snarkiness, not very well done. Sorry).
You're argument about the artistic choice for the intro movie is a little skewed. I mean the were trying to illustrate...

Spoiler

the death of many of their favourite characters of fiction

...and you are faulting them for being cinematic and gritty about doing so. And then you can hold your nose high and smirk at all the people who are enjoying the "designed-by-commitee" cinema which isn't avant-garde enough for your high brow tastes.

Yes I too get watered out from the Hollywood Machine action movie trailers, and pretty girls doing karate against giant samurai suits with gatling guns on top of a dragon. I believe I understand your point here. But once again, in a short cinema about comic books, I better damn well see some explosions, and if someone is going to kick the bucket, they better damn well make it gritty.

I never said that you can't enjoy anything. I may have merely hinted at your need to relax, oh wise one.

Read after me: "[...] and then introduce [...]AS THE ULTIMATE VILLAIN."

Oh goodness! another zinger. Ooh you told me to sit down and go to school! Aww hell naw gurl! Ok check this out. Seeing as how THEY made the game (not us), in conjunction with the people who actually write the stories (wait for it)

They can introduce WHOEVER they want as the ultimate villain. It's their property. Of fiction. I dont know, maybe you would have a problem with that because you have an idea of another villain more worthy? And if so, isn't that your own hang up that you shouldnt try to convince everyone else of? I dont know what they went through in production, But I can guarantee you they did give it some thought, and didnt just choose Brainiac on a whim. Neither you or I wrot... oh wait. Scratch that, I just realized I dont know you. Ok I didn't write any of it, I dont know if you did or not. I believe Brainiac was specifically chosen because of his abilities, and his and history in the tomes of DC history. But who am I to say who the writers choose to be their next big thing? I'm presonally still holding out for an expansion where Darkseid comes down and wrecks all types of shit.

Another thing I will agree with you though. DC's methods of issuing names to its characters seems kinda...antiquated. Hence we have "Brainiac"
Ultimately, outside of the create your own powers thing (which I think someone is implementing in an upcoming console title), most other changes that you (Headbiter) suggest you may actually get to see, if the developers are working on expansions for this game. Which, I believe all the current subscribers are hoping for. I too would like to see bigger and badder villains, and the ability to customize my character more, in terms of providing a history, about me section, etc etc. Ok tired of typing