Looking for a new way to immerse yourself in the DC Universe? Sony Online Entertainment’s new online MMORPG, DC Universe Online, allows you to become a powerful force to be reckoned with while being mentored by your favorite superhero (like Superman or Wonder Woman) or villain (including Harley Quinn and Lex Luther). Following the classic tale of of good versus evil, you battle the opposing force depending if you’ve allied yourself with the folk at the Justice League Watchtower or the Legion of Doom. Sounds like a similar version of World of Warcraft for the cool comic book kiddies, except much more NPC interaction for added interactive play and a cool superhero or supervillain by your side. (Waits for angry WoW fans to angrily tell me each and every specific difference on how these games are not similar at all.)
“Well, when I started writing comics, there were no video games,” co-writer and DC Comics writer Marv Wolfman said in an interview with Techland. “And though I started with video games right from the very beginning, with more quarters than you could possibly imagine pumping them into the machines, the graphics certainly were not good enough to do anything that we’re doing today.”
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMsu_coBy_U”&w=450%5D
“And even later when the graphics did become a little bit better, they were only console type games,” he added. “Not the kind of characters that you could control to the degree you can now. So, no, there was no way that I could have ever thought, even playing games from the beginning, that I would ever be writing them, let alone writing the DCUO MMO. And this game is the ultimate fantasy for a fan, to create characters that interact with Superman, Batman or wonder Woman.”
The story was helmed in part by DC comics veterans Wolfman, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee so we know that we are in good hands. (As the current DC Comics co-publisher, you can expect Lee to have an active role in the company’s video game development projects in the future especially since he’s focusing on the digital aspects of the publication.)
The first conceptual art for the game was released in 2008, so it’s been a long wait for hardcore fans. For those who think that DC should focus more on their comic books (and for those of us who just want more reading material), a tie-in comic book called DC: Legends written by Tony Bedard and Wolfman and illustrated by Howard Porter and Adriana Melo is going to be published. The limited biweekly release will have a 26 issues and is expected to launch February 2011, according to Newsarama.
Have you logged in to the game yet? Are you for the heroes or villains?
More on TIME.com:
DCUO Trailer Director’s Cut Explains Why You Must Become a Superhero
Q&A: Marv Wolfman on DC Universe Online, Love for Video Games