Comic book and MMO fans alike; it's time to go back into your past. Recall the days that you wanted to be a superhero. Go and find all those tattered drawings of you dawned in your superhero attire. Remember how the mask went over your face and how you could do things like shooting lasers from your hands. Remember envisioning yourself flying through the air saving damsels in distress. I hope these memories are fresh in your mind because DC Universe Online is close to being released and is ready to make all those dreams come true.

We've spent a few weeks playing Sony's big venture into the MMO genre and this may be the next universe you MMO junkies might want to through down your money for.

First and foremost when the game loads up, you are treated to the cinematic trailer you have seen by now. The DC heroes are embroiled in an on-going war with their iconic villains and things are looking bleak. Once Lex Luthor strikes down Superman, Brainiac's fleet swoops in and we are transported to the present. Lex has come from the future and has unleashed the Exobytes to give powers to all who claim them. This is where you come in. Creating a character in the game is very in-depth. You can create a character that closely resembles iconic heroes such as Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman or you can create and fully custom hero of your own design. For the beta, I decided to create a Speedster hero with mental powers and dual wielding blades that had Batman as a mentor. I decided on the moniker, Psyonic Speed.

Origins

Immediately, I awake inside one of Brainiac's ships. Oracle has made contact with me and it is clear I need to get off the ship. Combat here is more button masher than your typical MMO. It is all action oriented. You can block, counter, roll out of the way; everything is in the moment. The square button and triangle will be your primary attacks. In the PC version, it feels more like a Diablo-control style as you wildly press on the left and right buttons of your mouse. This is a good style of play as the game is extremely fast paced. Already at Level 1, I am quickly swarmed by Brainiac's minions. As I mash down on the square button repeatedly, my two blades collide with the enemies and give off a magenta colored shockwave signifying my blades are imbued with my mental powers. After I fight a few more skirmishes, I quickly advance to Level 2. With it I get a power point to buy my first power. I can now throw a volley of psychic shurikens at enemies for moderate damage.

As you fight through the first room, Oracle introduces you to your powers. In order to make it to the next corridor, I have to rely on my movement power. Once I click the left analog stick, Psyonic Speed readies himself in the racing position. As I move, orange and golden streams of myself are trailing behind me interlaced with lightning bolts shooting from my body. What was once walls and a ceiling are now simple planes I can jet across.

After a few more fights and more of Brainiac's goons reduced to scrap metal, I reach the final room. In order to escape, I have to fight my way out. Brainiac is not happy and has sent what seems like his entire army against me. As I keep on fighting, more and more just pour into the room. It was an endless stream of bad guys. This is the first time DC Universe Online shows that you are not alone in your fight against Brainiac. Superman teleports into the room and he wrecks shop. What takes me around four to five hits to down an opponent, Superman does in an instant. He's pounding enemies with his fist, he's blasting them with his heat vision; he is literally saving my butt. Finally Oracle gives me the word. It's time for me to go. She commandeers one of the teleporters and it quickly gets me off Brainiac's ship.

Welcome to the DC Universe

When I find myself in the police station, I see that the superhero community is alive and well. Psyonic Speed has joined a community of heroes that is willing to back him up. When I look at the kind of heroes that have been created, you can tell that MMO and comic book fans are one in the same. The designs for characters look great. For every piece of costume or style of hair I did not place on Psyonic Speed, someone else did. Many decided to be their own hero and create something completely original. While others decided to follow in the footsteps of Iconic DC heroes and become their disciples incarnate. As a metahuman, your costume is everything. It isn't just some other piece of clothing you drape over you. It is the symbol you wear. For heroes, it is what people will say they saw when you pull them from a burning building or what bad guys will say when you leave them tied up for the police. For villains, it will be what people fear when you leave a path of destruction. If you are like me, you spent quite a bit of time perfecting the look of your character. When approaching the traditional MMO aspect of DC Universe Online, it is all about the loot you get and that worried me quite a bit. When you start getting gear, you start to look like everyone else in the world. What once looked like an original creation can quickly turn into generic metahuman soldier #252. Thankfully, the game has an answer to that and it made me breathe a sigh of relief. Once you equip a new piece of gear, you can turn on or off the appearance change it has on you. So if you don't want your hero to look like he or she got a cape from the quest reward, you can simply make it go away while keeping the stats from it. Also, for ever piece of equipment you make appear, it will match the color schemes you have set for your character which is an added bonus.

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