So I thought I would make a more central thread for this. I know we have a few people in the PC one, and plenty for the PS3 one soon I'd bet. I'll start I guess.
First off, the game is not a MMORPG. Not even a little bit. Not in a sort of vague way. No, I don't mean its not a WoW clone. While that is true it is not like EQ, FFXI, DAoC, CoX, CO, or any other MMORPG I have played for even a second. It is best described as a massive multi-player online action adventure game. This is not good or bad on its own I guess. It certainly makes the game unique, and something to try if you like the concept of MMORPGs, but want more fast paced combat with no form of auto attack.
Customization of characters in this game is really lacking sadly. Compared to other super hero MMOs it is pitiful what they offer for costume, and power selection. You get a good selection of costume bits compared to most games though. More cool is that the gear you equip does not have to change your costume. I have had the same look since character creation, but have plenty of options should I change my mind. Powers though are pretty limited. Not much to offset that sadly. The action bar is pretty small (6 powers plus whatever weapon skills you have) so it might not matter in the end anyways.
Combat is a click fest. Various combinations of holding or tapping ranged or melee strikes is how you do most of your damage, and even at later levels one or two combo attacks will take down an enemy. This makes combat really fast, and kind of annoying at times. Powers come in as well (tap 1-6 with 7 for items and 8 for trinkets) but your power pool gets drained pretty quick unless you clicky attack regularly.
The game is fast paced all around. If a normal enemy isn't dead within a few seconds then you have cause for concern as it can really mess you up. Leveling is stupid fast too. It is more a method of making sure you don't get overwhelmed trying to learn all the powers at once than anything else. If you know what you are doing you could max out in a day. If you don't 2-3 days of hard core play. I have been playing sporadically, and mostly during my daughters nap time when I can. I get 2 levels over the hourish I can play with a ton of flying around and goofing off.
The game world definitely feels awesome. Gotham is perpetual night, and Metropolis perpetual day. Gotham is your typical overly dark and bland UE3 game. If you see a color that isn't black, brown, or gray it is probably another player character. Metropolis is the polar opposite. I didn't think UE3 could actually display that range of color. It is bright, beautiful, and a pleasure to fly around in. Going from the tops of various buildings just to see whats there is fun for longer than I expected. Watchtower blew me away as well. The first time is very over whelming, but is mostly a novel effect there. No experience with villains currently.
The immersion doesn't stop there though. You get a travel power from the start. Either super speed, flight, or acrobatics (Batman style movement). I thought it was a novel concept at first, but it has become critical to my characters persona. I do not allow my feet to touch the ground often. I will not crawl on the earth like some filthy dog or insignificant cockroach. I fly bitches. I can't even navigate the city from street level. I have to fly to the tops of buildings. I can get anywhere if I can get high enough cause I know the skyline. No clue what you bugs see though. Nor will I ever have to which is mega cool.
The game needs a lot of work before release though. The voice acting is rough in a lot of spots. A lot of it is place holder, and some of it rocks out big time (Mark Hamil FTW!) but on the whole it needs polish. This is true of the entire game though. The quest system gets a bit rough as you can't drop quests, and the interface isn't exactly great. There needs to be a good amount more content too. Especially solo content at the top. There is still some time before release so there is hope.
There is bad news too. The power selection leaves something to be desired based on the license as well as what is written above. Green Lantern is not an option for you. Creating a character that is not based on an element is also tricky at best. Re-creating Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, or any other character based on just beating shit down is simply impossible. Gadget characters like Batman can be done fortunately. The situation is made worse by their "inspired by" options that try to create these characters despite the fact that the character will end up being substantially different. I dislike it more because you can't create characters that should fit perfectly with the lore. Green/Yellow Lanterns being off the table just sucks big time.
Still the game is a lot of fun if you ask me. I doubt I would be willing to pay a subscription fee, but I will save that for when release actually comes around.
