DC Universe Online

 PC
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 269 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 137 out of 269
  2. Mixed: 71 out of 269
  3. Negative: 61 out of 269
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  1. Superior
    Jul 21, 2013
    7
    The camera angles were good. The graphics from the NPC's were good enough. The mission were good enough and the in game "world" was big enough Further more you can get almost every equipement for free and the game allows you to chose a faction (Villains or Heroes). It also allows you to chose between a pve and a pvp server and to fully customize your character, not only as a human, butThe camera angles were good. The graphics from the NPC's were good enough. The mission were good enough and the in game "world" was big enough Further more you can get almost every equipement for free and the game allows you to chose a faction (Villains or Heroes). It also allows you to chose between a pve and a pvp server and to fully customize your character, not only as a human, but also as a mummy, robot,, plantlike creature etc.... the hair, clothes, size and the type. And I could chat freely. And further more you can chose your own abilities when you lv'up.… Expand
  2. RichardH
    Feb 14, 2011
    7
    Overall a very good attempt at bringing something new to the rather stagnant MMO genre. As an avid DCU follower, the thrill of having professional voice actors from their respective series giving you missions is something that honestly never wears off. If anything, much like a C&C game, missions will often come down to wanting to hear the next scripted sequence (or who will cameo next).Overall a very good attempt at bringing something new to the rather stagnant MMO genre. As an avid DCU follower, the thrill of having professional voice actors from their respective series giving you missions is something that honestly never wears off. If anything, much like a C&C game, missions will often come down to wanting to hear the next scripted sequence (or who will cameo next).

    For me, the game would have received a "9" but for two reasons. One is collision detecting. In an RPG that doesn't really matter, but for an action game where attacks can literally be dodged this game lacks. Similar complaints have been seen for MMOFPS'. Although points for trying. The second reason is the unreasonable pricing structure for Australians. They pay 25% more per month for playing, while the AU dollar is currently at parity with the US Dollar, there are no Oceanic servers and there is also no option to simply pay in US dollars (and let banks do the conversion).

    To me, that is beyond unacceptable, and perplexing why an MMO would cut out potential users when having an active community is what fuels most games of the genre.    … Expand
  3. Redfordsto
    Nov 30, 2011
    6
    I'm disappointed. To start with, the options for character customization were good, but not great. I think I've been spoiled by Bioware in that respect. Further and this is a major gripe, naming my hero was a hour long process. Anything inventive was taken. I get it, I can't choose Superman or Catman or Sonic the Hedgehog; but every character is a color and noun combination. It'sI'm disappointed. To start with, the options for character customization were good, but not great. I think I've been spoiled by Bioware in that respect. Further and this is a major gripe, naming my hero was a hour long process. Anything inventive was taken. I get it, I can't choose Superman or Catman or Sonic the Hedgehog; but every character is a color and noun combination. It's obnoxious. The world is big, but to be honest, I wasn't impressed. The action/RPG aspect is interesting, but the story missions are little more than go here and defeat this. I think for my superhero fix, I'm better off sticking with Arkham City. And for MMORPG fix... there are tons of better options.… Expand
  4. Woundheir
    Oct 6, 2013
    5
    This game is a great way to spend a weekend without paying for anything. Unfortunately, that is about all it offers. It is fun for awhile flying around gaining new abilities beating things up. But when you start to reach the upper levels, which happens fast, it just becomes monotonous. This game does not keep it interesting. The story is an afterthought, the leveling is too fast, theThis game is a great way to spend a weekend without paying for anything. Unfortunately, that is about all it offers. It is fun for awhile flying around gaining new abilities beating things up. But when you start to reach the upper levels, which happens fast, it just becomes monotonous. This game does not keep it interesting. The story is an afterthought, the leveling is too fast, the abilities only interest you for so long. And more importantly it does not feel like a superhero game. Everyone is a superhero or villain, so it doesn't feel special being one. Honestly I think the most fun I had in this was doing the timed flight challenges. One weekend of fun is not a real MMO. Its sad to think this cost a monthly fee when it came out.… Expand
  5. Darthudd
    Mar 12, 2011
    5
    Played it six hours straight as soon as i had it and thought yes i like this, then when to bed. Next day i thought shall i play it and the response from my inner voice was no. A month later i realised that i'd forgotten to cancle my subscription. the game is just a poor imitation of CoH.
  6. KOrp
    Jan 13, 2011
    7
    DC Universe Online is, in fact, pretty awesome in that it is a pretty good looking game and the combat system isn't all too bad either. The character creation system is fairly good also, but I do wish there was a bit more variety then what is readily available. As for the powers, there are some interesting choices to pick from and what I thought was pretty cool is the ability to be able toDC Universe Online is, in fact, pretty awesome in that it is a pretty good looking game and the combat system isn't all too bad either. The character creation system is fairly good also, but I do wish there was a bit more variety then what is readily available. As for the powers, there are some interesting choices to pick from and what I thought was pretty cool is the ability to be able to pick up powers of real DC Heroes and Villains. About the only fault that I can really level against this game is the camera system, which automatically moves around as you move your mouse. While this does take some getting use to, after a couple of hours of play and you probably won't even remember that this was an issue.… Expand
  7. Muncheese
    Jan 14, 2011
    6
    Well I am going to be completely honest. I wanted this game to be great more than anything. I played WoW since the first year and I still have an active WoW account. I have seen how far that game has come and I was not expecting a game as great as WoW is off the bat. I am kinda getting over WoW and looking for something fresh but that has had enough time invested into it that it must beWell I am going to be completely honest. I wanted this game to be great more than anything. I played WoW since the first year and I still have an active WoW account. I have seen how far that game has come and I was not expecting a game as great as WoW is off the bat. I am kinda getting over WoW and looking for something fresh but that has had enough time invested into it that it must be pretty decent. I was not expecting something as amazing as WoW but a game that could be updated and patched to be nearly as good eventually. However, I was expecting a game that in the very least offered a lot of variety and good controls and camera. Everyone who said to play it with a controller....BELIEVE THEM!!! Every chance I get to choose keyboard/mouse over a controller I take it. I am not a huge controller fan but man does the fighting suck in this game, when you are controlling the camera with your mouse movement, your character is being controlled with WASD, and at the same time your clicking like a mad man to attack. Now I'm fine with a lot of clicking but I want to see precisely where it is I am clicking. There is no cursor/pointer whatever you want to call it. Its just point your camera and point your character and hope you get lucky attacking who you indeed mean to attack. Another thing to note, if you have never played MMOs before you will be lost! Understanding basic questing is key to this game but there is no real tutorial on how to go about questing. Actually I don't think there was much of any tutorial on anything except fighting. To be good at an MMO you need to take advantage of all the tools offered to you; inventory management, character build, searching for parties, running instances, comparing items, etc. None of this is really touched on too much. Another thing to be prepared for if you haven't played yet. You are all expecting some amazing environment. Sorry its not as amazing as you think. the big cities like Gotham and such are the main places in this Universe and unfortunately they are pretty bland. You find a couple cool areas and the dungeons are a bit more detailed I guess but there isn't enough to please the eye. I'm sorry SOE but Blizzard has you beat on bad ass environments. Sadly the environment face lift that DCUO would need is too big of a change for a simple patch so if the game lives long enough one would still need to wait for an expansion to see any major changes. There are some positives however, for one it seems like a lot of people are playing which is good for the game to grow. More people playing means that SOE should show more interest on taking care of and maintaining the game. Another positive is the connection (at least that I've had) so far no crashes, lag, slow down, or anything like that. The graphics are pretty nice and the fighting though extremely clunky still looks cool. The main variety is in the character customization, you can make all sorts of combinations of characters. One thing I like (many others don't for some reason) is the limitation to a 3 color scheme to your hero/villain. You can pick and combination of 3 colors and use those colors on your characters however you'd like. This is really cool because it holds true to the classic DC characters that only had a few different colors that made them up. Another cool thing is the voice acting, well done, funny at times, not cheap and by not cheap I feel like the creators really tried to encompass the correct voices for the characters speaking. This includes little side characters too not just superman, batman, joker, lex, etc. Oh yeah the chat functions suck too but that could be a potentially easy fix. What I want to see in an update/patch/fix is the chat option improved and please give me a pointer/cursor and just have the camera follow my back unless I want otherwise!! OVERALL this game is going to come down to the care SOE and Warner has for it. They invested a lot of money and it shows. The base/core of the game is pretty good. The game would be a lot better with minor changes made. These changes are not impossible Sony so please listen to user reviews, we are the ones paying for this. If there isn't much improvement in the game I will not be playing long. There isn't enough about it to hold me in. Especially with my pocket draining each month. Ill give the game a 6 for now but with a great potential for improvement. Please improve the game SOE. It is new and not dead yet so don't just let it die off!!!… Expand
  8. DarkKnightG4
    Jun 23, 2012
    7
    DC Universe Online is a free to play MMO featuring characters and settings from the more popular DC franchises. You don't actually play as any DC heroes, instead you choose one as a mentor when you create your hero and affect where you start playing in the game, much like picking a race in WoW. Pick Batman and you'll start in a heroes hub in Gotham. Pick Lex Luthor and you'll start in aDC Universe Online is a free to play MMO featuring characters and settings from the more popular DC franchises. You don't actually play as any DC heroes, instead you choose one as a mentor when you create your hero and affect where you start playing in the game, much like picking a race in WoW. Pick Batman and you'll start in a heroes hub in Gotham. Pick Lex Luthor and you'll start in a villains hub in Metropolis. There are two factions in DCUO, villains and Heroes and when you are roaming the central cities (Gotham and Metropolis) you are able to freely engage in combat with the opposing faction. This is where the game truly shines. When you create your hero you have 3 choices in movement style: Flight, Acrobatics, and Speed. All 3 have their perks and are a blast to use to move around the main cities at a good pace. Flying around buildings and under bridges, chasing or running from, enemies is simply a blast. The next best asset of DCUO is the character creator which is robust and diverse. You can truely make your own, unique hero. Combat in DCUO is fairly engaging, with combos and a huge stable of styles and moves. Each class has separate skill trees that can be pursued to shape your style of play. One of the more unique aspects of DCUO is that when you find loot (in the form of weapons or armor) and you equip it, you forever unlock that visual style of the piece for your character. There are two tabs to control your character's inventory and style. While whatever you have in your inventory is what gives you your stats, your style tab determines how you look. Got a new helmet, but love how your old one looks? That's not a problem in DCUO, go to your style tab and each armor peice will have a drop down box where you can select from any of the styles you have previously unlocked. This allows your champion to stay in character. DCUO is a pretty good looking game and is well optimized. It controls fine with mouse and keyboard, but I prefer to use a controller to play. The control scheme transfers well to controller, due to the game also being available on the PS3 and I find that it gives it more of an action feel in the gameplay. Pretty much everything has voiceover audio, and it is performed well enough. The stable characters (Batman, Superman, Joker, etc.) are all done by their regular actors from the cartoons and they do a great job. The level cap is fairly low and you'll reach the "end game" pretty quickly. Since you are not required to pay for the time you play, DCUO doesn't bother to waste your time with hundreds of grind quests. Instead, DCUO has a robust end-game that includes several different forms of pvp and pve. This is how Sony expands DCUO with content as well. Instead of raising level caps, expansions come in the form of new movesets/powers that you can use when you create a character and new regions in the form of instances. The core of the game is all there to play for free and I never felt that I "had" to buy anything. I have purchased three expansion packs that gave me light, electricity, and earth powers, along with new instances. These packs were all priced at $10 each, however, there are frequent deals running where you get bonus "Station Cash" (what you use to purchase items from the in-game store) or items will be discounted. I used these sales to purchase $30 of station cash for only $10 and then I was able to buy two of the expansion packs for 50%. So in all, I have purchased 3 expansion packs, two additional character slots, and still have station cash left for merely $10. Well worth it. This game is by no means perfect, but its definitely a game where some fun can be had for no or little money. -7/10-… Expand
  9. Aepervius
    Jan 18, 2011
    5
    Let us start by saying I am not a DC fan. I am actually not much of a comic book reader, even young I only read hard cover books. So when people go bug-eyed at wonder woman, with all the comic book baggage of their youth, all I see is some dude in a nice costume. But I like super heroe MMO, I liked champion online. Go figure. Another important point : I did too few PVP so I won't talkLet us start by saying I am not a DC fan. I am actually not much of a comic book reader, even young I only read hard cover books. So when people go bug-eyed at wonder woman, with all the comic book baggage of their youth, all I see is some dude in a nice costume. But I like super heroe MMO, I liked champion online. Go figure. Another important point : I did too few PVP so I won't talk about it. So let us start by the technicals. Registration (important for MMO) : without a hitch. I see the one and two glitch reported , but it was smooth for the crushing majority of people. The launcher do not do a great job to show you how far you are (it only give you a number like 6.9 Gb out of 8.7 >Gb, but does not say anything about speed or how long it will take at current speed). But otherwise it is OK. Disclosure : my max Char level is 15 among 4. I have played since the 14th and it is today the 18th. Sound : voice acting is nice, corny at time, but that is *expected* rather than unwanted. The sound effect average, but OK enough for dungeon romp. the music is quite disturbing to play OTOH.

    Graphic : The model are good but not really great. You won't be paying too much attention to them in the heat of action. The environment are bland and a tad bit repetitive by zone, but change from zone to zone, while still staying urban (high rise zone, industrial zone, university zone , small shopping district zone, Chinatown zone etc...). I think the graphic are good enough, but do not offer much (up to level 15) difference. Speaking with a level 30 gave me the impression this stay the same all the game long. Not many option there, and unless you release vsynch, you are limited to 30 fps, and you have to trick around to add AA, but frankly that did not disturb me. As said, good graphic, but far away from being tip top hi tech. Gameplay : button smashing. Sure there are combo you can do, but up to level 15 by mixing restore, health gain power, and 2 interrupt/blocking break skill you can deal with nearly all the PVP content. I tried a few of the combo to see if it made a difference, and it sure did, but OTOH the fact that you have to remember half a dozen combination of tap and hold make it easier for people to use mostly 1 or 2. Sure I betcha I would get killed in pvp over and over, once people learn to combo and combo break, but come on. Tap 9 time then hold ? What the heck. Remind me of mortal combat. Content get repetitive in mission. Kill 20, gather 10, kill 15, repeat and rinse. Thankfully the story (if you pay attention to it) is stopping the gameplay to think too far. Anyway probably my own fault for finding the combo system too complicated. but buyer beware. There are a lot of common quest line, but the 6 sets of different power give replaybility. And two side, villain and heroes. OTOH you level pretty damn quick, I am a few day in and i have 3 level 10 char and 1 level 4 (I tried different power set, fire, ice, nature, and sorcery). The main problem is that the gameplay is always the same, and the quest don't seem to be different at level 1 or 15, only the mob level. Character creation : average at best. There is no much allowed except different skin and hair, and 3 sizes. Otherwise you pretty rapidely see people use the same combo. For example be it male or female with a rock skin, if you cover it all with a spandex, and a mask , that does not make sense. So most people with a different skin go with clothing showing that skin off. So I see a lot of dupes outside. UI: bad. Baaad UI. *Whack UI with a rolled paper journal*. Chat window is small and as far as i can tell not resizable. kiddy filter FORCED to be on, and it does a bad job at it. For example "about it" get censored, because filter ignore space and see TIT. Bahhhh. Can't assign more than 6 powers. If you want to use 6 differents, you have to use the clunky UI to reassign, you can't "save" different action bar there is only one. No interraction I could find like /bow , /curtsey, but maybe I missed it because the FORCED tutorial (not skippable) do a good job teaching you 2 or 3 basic then throw you out in the boiling water without explanation. POWER are very badly explained and result is sometimes surprising and make you regret having choose it. And i pass many other flaw. I am slowly running out of character so I need to conclude. At the moment the game is limited in gameplay, and end content is reported to be limited (by level 30). Don't expect much more than a few week content for 1 char from 1 to 30. Environment repetitive quest repetitive. if you are a DC fan, maybe this game earn a good 7.5 out of 10. If you are not, this game don't earn much better than a 5/10.

    In a way CO had a lack of content and end content like this game, but it allowed a MUCH much greater customisation and varied gameplay. If they add content/repair UI for PC, it might get a 6/10. Don't expect a lasting impression.    … Expand
  10. TheGrindeR
    Jul 20, 2012
    5
    Graphics, characters modelling and sounds are okay. Have a bit booring storyline. You can choose, you will be a hero or a villian. Only contains 2 cities, Gotham City and Metropolis. Have PvE and PvP server. I played with a free account and i found a big problem. I started playing the US servers and make 2 characters. When i gone to the EU servers, i can't make a hero, because in the USGraphics, characters modelling and sounds are okay. Have a bit booring storyline. You can choose, you will be a hero or a villian. Only contains 2 cities, Gotham City and Metropolis. Have PvE and PvP server. I played with a free account and i found a big problem. I started playing the US servers and make 2 characters. When i gone to the EU servers, i can't make a hero, because in the US servers i made 2 heroes. When i deleted the US characters, in the EU servers i ever seen the US characters and i can't make a hero. DCUO much better than the Champions Online, so if you want to play with a superhero game, i think this is the right choose. Free to Play, so you can try it for free.… Expand
  11. Melancholy
    Nov 23, 2011
    5
    Considering the game itself is free to download and play, it's not terrible. But at the same time you get about what you can expect from a game that's free to play. There are numerous bugs throughout the game that effect everything from the music and sound, controls, and even your own character state, most of which require a restart to resolve. Targeting is a complete mess, the userConsidering the game itself is free to download and play, it's not terrible. But at the same time you get about what you can expect from a game that's free to play. There are numerous bugs throughout the game that effect everything from the music and sound, controls, and even your own character state, most of which require a restart to resolve. Targeting is a complete mess, the user interface offers a frustrating lack of information about status effects and target health, and the entire system of play is very one-dimensional and lacking in any real depth.

    That aside, it's not bad if you're just looking for something to pass the time casually. But it's hardly worth the $15 they ask for a "Legendary" account upgrade with all the bugs and flaws that persist. It's a game I want so badly to love, but the problems throughout keep it at arms length at best.    … Expand
  12. Mashley
    Nov 9, 2011
    5
    DC Universe Online is good... for an MMO. And unfortunately the standard for MMOs is set way, way lower than for games in general; I'm still waiting for a game to come along and truly set the bar for these games. I only spent around one week playing it since it went free to play, so maybe I haven't had the full experience yet.
    To begin with, the character is fantastic. Of course you won't    DC Universe Online is good... for an MMO. And unfortunately the standard for MMOs is set way, way lower than for games in general; I'm still waiting for a game to come along and truly set the bar for these games. I only spent around one week playing it since it went free to play, so maybe I haven't had the full experience yet.
    To begin with, the character is fantastic. Of course you won't be able to make any superhero you imagined, but it does a damn good job of letting you personalise your hero or villain and really make them your own. And for a while the game itself is good fun for a while. It's mostly action based, so you won't find yourself watching dull animations and numbers over and over again. But no amount of action can make up for the fact that this sets into typical MMO tedium eventually, and this lead me to quit before I completely stopped enjoying it.
    Personally, I would not pay much money for this game but considering it is completely free (the only time I ran into a limitation that annoyed me was the inventory limits) you could do a lot lot worse. Worth your time, but not your money.    … Expand
  13. Skalinos
    May 10, 2012
    6
    It's nice to see all of my favourite DC heroes and villains in one game (with few exceptions, for DLCs, I guess), but the control for PC ruins it. Still, it's a fun game. 6 out of 10.
  14. Pepelinojosefo
    Apr 14, 2013
    7
    Hay muchas cosas a tener en cuenta en este juego, la verdad es que lo jugué durante bastante tiempo, desde la beta y todavía lo juego porque el contenido que tiene es divertido, no importa que sea corto la historia y llegues solamente al nivel 30, el "end game" capaz la primera vez te confunda y después te aburra, pero para mi, hacer raidz semanalmente, duos diariamente y muchas otrasHay muchas cosas a tener en cuenta en este juego, la verdad es que lo jugué durante bastante tiempo, desde la beta y todavía lo juego porque el contenido que tiene es divertido, no importa que sea corto la historia y llegues solamente al nivel 30, el "end game" capaz la primera vez te confunda y después te aburra, pero para mi, hacer raidz semanalmente, duos diariamente y muchas otras cosas, para es divertido, y el sistema de combos esta implementado de una excelente manera. Capaz los desarrolladores no se les ocurren buenas ideas, aunque últimamente los ultimos DLCs (home turf y dentro de poco Origin crisis) son muy buenos. El juego lo recomiendo pero no se si vale la pena el Membership legendario.… Expand
  15. CappuccinoGamer
    Apr 29, 2013
    6
    Not a bad concept in and of itself, but the game has an air of being fairly 'rushed' and 'unfinished'.
    It's fairly confusing trying to get from location to location, and when sent on a generic 'kill X number of creatures' you are sent into a confined spawning area trying to kill the same targets as the other 50 players swarming the same spot making avoiding kill stealing or having kills    Not a bad concept in and of itself, but the game has an air of being fairly 'rushed' and 'unfinished'.
    It's fairly confusing trying to get from location to location, and when sent on a generic 'kill X number of creatures' you are sent into a confined spawning area trying to kill the same targets as the other 50 players swarming the same spot making avoiding kill stealing or having kills stolen fairly hard.

    The bigger more involved quests that result in a fairly formidable boss at the end are run in their own instance however they are extremely easy to 'inadvertently' repeat. As a lot of the quests share areas and objectives, you often don't realise you're about to complete the same quest (in my case for a 3rd time) until you're up to the final mission.

    It's not a bad way to kill a few hours, but there are more relaxing games, with better graphics and more interesting objectives than this.    … Expand
  16. Akuma698
    May 7, 2013
    7
    Dc universe online is the kind of game you love and hate. The game play is pretty good although various animations can be exploited to do more damage eg clip. The story is linear and not something you would even care about. It was a breeze to fly through. Its glitchy and buggy but for some reason i keep coming back to it i have played 1000+ hours and the reason is that it is simple funDc universe online is the kind of game you love and hate. The game play is pretty good although various animations can be exploited to do more damage eg clip. The story is linear and not something you would even care about. It was a breeze to fly through. Its glitchy and buggy but for some reason i keep coming back to it i have played 1000+ hours and the reason is that it is simple fun none of the B.S. It doesn't feel like a cash cow classic MMORPG.… Expand
  17. TurtleBurger
    Mar 26, 2014
    5
    The amazing customization wasn't enough to keep the game fun for long since PvP doesn't scale, so if you want to fight the villains with your own character instead of a generic DC guy, you best hope level 30's don't kill everyone leaving the police station repeatedly.
  18. PrincessRose
    Sep 20, 2014
    5
    It's an OK game, the most fun is in creating a character. And the game is fun at first, but after a week of playing I felt rather bored of it all, the same old towering buildings, no diversity in your surroundings, lets face it, this game is lacking any depth, nothing much to explore, quests feel tedious and repetitive, same with combat, it felt like button mashing. Glad I played it forIt's an OK game, the most fun is in creating a character. And the game is fun at first, but after a week of playing I felt rather bored of it all, the same old towering buildings, no diversity in your surroundings, lets face it, this game is lacking any depth, nothing much to explore, quests feel tedious and repetitive, same with combat, it felt like button mashing. Glad I played it for free, this game is not worth paying for, nor is it a game that can be played for long.… Expand
  19. Thylbanus
    Jun 17, 2015
    6
    To catch things up on this game, it's come along quite nicely. In case you don't know, it's a Freemium MMO, but don't let that scare you. It's Freemium done right. It's a bit gitchy, but that's the DC Universe for you. It has some basic ideas that they have pulled of well, but not great. It's not that it's bad, but there are some head scratching inconsistencies about the game. Of allTo catch things up on this game, it's come along quite nicely. In case you don't know, it's a Freemium MMO, but don't let that scare you. It's Freemium done right. It's a bit gitchy, but that's the DC Universe for you. It has some basic ideas that they have pulled of well, but not great. It's not that it's bad, but there are some head scratching inconsistencies about the game. Of all the Freemium/F2P games you can get into, this is one that is at least not a P2W situation.

    I guess I should quantify P2W, since there are MANY definitions. P2W by my definition is the necessity to pay in order to compete in either PvP or PvE. To have access equipment, powers, or gameplay that imbalance the game in such a way that you cannot be successful without spending money.

    While you DO have to spend money for certain powers or gameplay access, it is not dependant upon your success. You can do equally well playing in the full F2P basic access to powers as those who are full subscribers. There are also DLCs to purchase, but they also are not required to enjoy the game, although that does leave content a bit sparse.

    Not spending ANY money on the game makes it a grind fest, so throw them a few bucks (if you enjoy a game, give them SOMETHING). Doing so will get you at least a few perks, like 4 more character slots, 50% more inventory space, 100% more bank space, 5 auction slots, and a third more max cash. Know that cash limitations are for gold selling. Don't complain about it. It's an unfortunate reality of MMOs with Freemium/F2P monetization models.

    Given all this, I'll caution you away from the subscription model (this is one of the head scratchers). There really is no point in it. They are not releasing content fast enough that having a sub makes it worth it. You will spend significantly less not going with a sub. And that even means accessing your cash escrow regularly, which costs money.

    As for gameplay, it's quite fun and the missions, while typical, at least vary enough and well executed enough that you don't mind them. Character customization has not been exploited as you might expect. There is very little in the game store for you to purchase. 90% of the costumes are available in game, although as of Amazon Fury I, some equipment styles have been tied to the DLCs. So far that's only 15 suits and 3 weapon total. It's likely that will grow as the game progresses.

    If you are in the know, you might say that it is P2W because the advanced tier equipment is only available if you buy certain DLCs. Not quite. Without buying those DLCs, you wouldn't have access to the missions to need to get that equipment. All the PvP gear remains unconstrained by anything other than time spent grinding PvP.

    Also, know that you will have to pretty much have to follow builds to compete. There will be no "theming" of your powers. If you don't follow preset builds, you are handicapping yourself to the point that you may not be able to complete storyline missions. It happened to me with my Gadget themed hero. Almost made me give up the game until I read up on some builds. Used the build and aced a mission that I couldn't get through without dying. REPEATEDLY. Unfortunately it goes COMPLETELY against how I wanted my character themed, but it's one of the things I marked off for the game.

    The other head scratcher is the penchant to favor the heroes in this game. It's MUCH easier to be a hero than a villain. Wany things are easier (NOTE: not impossible), if you are a hero. From not getting shot down during a race (happens on both sides, but is more prevalent for the villains) to getting all your achievements. As someone who favors the bad guys in a game, this is a bit of a let down. You will be significantly more frustrated by being a villain. I guess that's what gives us our bad attitudes. I suppose if it weren't hard, some parents group might get on a campaign against the game.

    As for the community, there are some helpful, quite a few not so helpful, and a few downright rude people. Not unusual for a F2P/Freemium community. Just know that if you are a noob to the whole MMO thing. There will be some hostile remarks to inquiries and rude ones if you need actual help with missions.

    This isn't going to be one of the best MMOs, but it will be fair and fun. Give it a try. It's not like it isn't free to do so.    … Expand
  20. AJCk19
    Apr 19, 2023
    5
    Repetitive combat and the game is feeling its age. But had one of the best marketing videos ever when it was initially released. It still send chills down my spine.
  21. SIPPIO
    Jul 20, 2016
    7
    Time for DCUO 2.. NO expansions are-NOT the same...I dont want Brainiac storyline..I want Dark SUperman/injustice, or some dark future like Marvels future imperct or Old Man Logan. Not to mention the combat power system BLOWS chunks...Th ecombat weapon combos are amazing! but the complexity of combining soo many powers for combat rating was too much for me..i played TWICE. both times forTime for DCUO 2.. NO expansions are-NOT the same...I dont want Brainiac storyline..I want Dark SUperman/injustice, or some dark future like Marvels future imperct or Old Man Logan. Not to mention the combat power system BLOWS chunks...Th ecombat weapon combos are amazing! but the complexity of combining soo many powers for combat rating was too much for me..i played TWICE. both times for about a year........

    ~~~revamp the whooole game with or without a new engine. diesnt matter...But the stories are pathetic. like a generic comic story that NONE OF US WOULD EVER NEVER EVER READ/BUY...

    --The writing is outdated..its like a early 1990's style of story. just sooo rated PG. & stale....read the Injustice comic and tell me that wouldnt make a great DCUO STORY... The good guy/bad guy teams are mixed but they still have theyre good/bad personalities..and Superman is the only character powerful enough to enslave...

    ~~Unless Shazaam were to go dark by whatever means..im OK with that..It instan tly made me think of,,,of,,? im drawing a blank at the nake of that,,,(3 mins later) KINGDOM KOME!
    **Because Shazaam is a little kid= he could easilly get confused down a darker path because the only way to prtect humanity is to bring in the heroes/villains and fishbowl the people...
    ---Can anyone beat Shazaam? superman,Batman? but thats were writing comes in.

    ****ii just want a storyline that isnt the same ole same ole boring cvrappy crap....
    ~~A Dark Batman because Alfred is killed by a hero sounds dope...Imagine batman without the morals..    … Expand
  22. GuideVault
    Aug 21, 2018
    5
    Its a love-hate relationship you'll have with this.

    The things to love are the fact that its riddled with DC lore and characters and you'll feel like your a part of the series itself. Character creation isn't too horrible if your planning to play only vanilla, but unless you shill out for the powers, which are by far better than the originals then you generally won't have a hope of    Its a love-hate relationship you'll have with this.

    The things to love are the fact that its riddled with DC lore and characters and you'll feel like your a part of the series itself.

    Character creation isn't too horrible if your planning to play only vanilla, but unless you shill out for the powers, which are by far better than the originals then you generally won't have a hope of winning in future story DLCs/PvP.

    The thing I despise are the story DLCs that emerge costing ~$15.00 everytime. It's good that there is fresh content being released regularly but the fact that you continue to pay for a storyline over and over again are a deal breaker for me. Reason is you cannot get the next tier gear say T4 without it. The consequence is that if you skipped a few DLCs you'll either have to pay for the skipped DLCs to play gear catch-up or make sure you have a team who will carry you through the latest missions.

    This is definitely fun, and I was among an original adopter of this game (PS3). Unfortunately unless your willing to let your purse-strings be unwound a lot then you'll lose interest pretty quick.    … Expand
  23. TheCornflex
    Jan 31, 2018
    6
    Great to play your own created Superhero but I don't feel motivated to grind for anything in this game.
  24. DeathKillerNOR
    Jan 8, 2021
    6
    {GamePlay: World/Level Design, Driving/Combat, Game Theme/Mechanics,}
    ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic.
    ☐ 8/10 - Great. ☑ 7/10 - Good. ☐ 6/10 - Average. ☐ 5/10 - Mediocre. ☐ 4/10 - Bad. ☐ 2/10 - Awful. ☐ 0/10 - Non-Existent. {Narrative: Dialogue, Cutscene, Voice Acting} ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic. ☐ 8/10 - Great. ☑ 7/10 - Good. ☐ 6/10 - Average. ☐ 5/10 - Mediocre. ☐ 4/10 - Bad. ☐ 2/10 -    {GamePlay: World/Level Design, Driving/Combat, Game Theme/Mechanics,}
    ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic.
    ☐ 8/10 - Great.
    ☑ 7/10 - Good.
    ☐ 6/10 - Average.
    ☐ 5/10 - Mediocre.
    ☐ 4/10 - Bad.
    ☐ 2/10 - Awful.
    ☐ 0/10 - Non-Existent.

    {Narrative: Dialogue, Cutscene, Voice Acting}
    ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic.
    ☐ 8/10 - Great.
    ☑ 7/10 - Good.
    ☐ 6/10 - Average.
    ☐ 5/10 - Mediocre.
    ☐ 4/10 - Bad.
    ☐ 2/10 - Awful.
    ☐ 0/10 - Non-Existent.

    {Visuals: Graphics, Animations, Motion Capture}
    ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic.
    ☐ 8/10 - Great.
    ☐ 7/10 - Good.
    ☐ 6/10 - Average.
    ☑ 5/10 - Mediocre.
    ☐ 4/10 - Bad.
    ☐ 2/10 - Awful.
    ☐ 0/10 - Non-Existent.

    {Technical: Bugs, Performance}
    ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic.
    ☐ 8/10 - Great.
    ☐ 7/10 - Good.
    ☐ 6/10 - Average.
    ☑ 5/10 - Mediocre.
    ☐ 4/10 - Bad.
    ☐ 2/10 - Awful.
    ☐ 0/10 - Non-Existent.

    {Story: Plot/Ending, Character Development}
    ☐ 10/10 - Fantastic.
    ☐ 8/10 - Great.
    ☑ 7/10 - Good.
    ☐ 6/10 - Average.
    ☐ 5/10 - Mediocre.
    ☐ 4/10 - Bad.
    ☐ 2/10 - Awful.
    ☐ 0/10 - Non-Existent.

    {Replayability: Replayability (Alternate Endings, Secrets, etc)} ☑ 10/10 - Good. ☐ 5/10 - Bad. [The Level Design is average, not bad, but not great either, it does need an upgrade to keep up with other games in the same category in 2021. The Combat system is Average as well for an MMORPG. If you want to try to do some low tier alerts, you will most likely wait quite some time to find any groups. I myself while writing this has been in the queue for “Tier1: Area51 Alert” for about 1 hour. The Dialogue is great, The cutscenes are alright, and the voice acting is good for the most parts. The Buildings look great, the game looks average overall, except for the Player models. The Player models feel outdated and not that great to look at. The animation is alright. I did encounter only 1 or 2 bugs but did encounter more impactful performance issues during my GamePlay such as FPS drops to the point of being verry laggy. Between the main story questline and the DLC quest lines of this game, it actually decent, they keep adding DLC’s and thereby adding new quest lines. The replayability is good, as it is an MMORPG. You got the potential of having many hours of fun in the game, despite the drawbacks. But once you hit the end game you will most likely only play 1-2 months once a new DLC hits the game, or start playing on multiple characters.] "6/10 – Average. These recommendations come with a boatload of “ifs. It's only held back by a few issues (or stiff competition). Not always the best choice, but it can get the job done. There’s a good game in here somewhere, but you’ll have to know where to look, and perhaps turn a blind eye to some big drawbacks.” ~DeathKillerNOR~ ⚠️ IN MY OPINION ⚠️    … Expand
  25. Dimocracy
    Jul 6, 2023
    6
    Unfortunately, the developers failed to adequately realize this potential. It could have been a good MMORPG.

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
67
#67 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. PC Games (Russia)
    Mar 21, 2011
    80
    DC Universe Online plays best if you've never tried a MMORPG before. The combat is innovative and addictive, the visuals are sleek and the setting is exciting. It may lack some interface polish and the level cap happens too soon, but nevertheless it's a must for any comics fan.[Apr 2011, p.89]
  2. GameOver.gr
    Mar 3, 2011
    60
    DCUO never really takes off. It suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, and the structure of the quests looks more suitable for a single-player RPG rather than an MMO.
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  3. PC Gamer
    Feb 26, 2011
    88
    An exciting new direction for MMOs that's plenty of fun already and should only get better with a few patches under its utility belt.
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