Funny story. So I wandered into Crime Alley last night and found myself surrounded by Scarecrow’s drugged-up thugs. Yeah I was a little worried at first but, as I readied my bow and reached for an arrow from my quiver, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye:

My backup had arrived.

I am of coarse talking about the DCU Online MMORPG beta which arrived on the PS3′s PlayStation Network this past Tuesday exclusively for PlayStation Plus members. Now, having played the beta for half-a-dozen hours or so, I figured it was as good a time as any to share a couple thoughts and first impressions. If you have any questions regarding the game, feel free to toss them in a comment at the end and one of us will try our best to answer it.

Character Creation:
The character creation in DCU Online, something I was pretty worried about before playing it, is pretty solid and simple to do with a controller. While you certainly don’t have nearly as many options as a game like City of Heroes, what with it having been around much longer, the foundation of the character creator in DCU is much more suited for a console than I would have to imagine COH would be.

It would be nice to see more options in the way of emblems, logos and facial features as there are a number of stock faces to choose from but nothing you can change about them. Those issues aside, there are already more than enough options available to customize your character that you’ll be hard-pressed to find another person running around Gotham City or Metropolis that looks completely the same as you.

Gameplay:
The gameplay of DCU Online (the most important part of any game) is original, fun and very functional using a controller rather than a keyboard and mouse. Even in it’s current beta state, the game runs very well for the most part and whether you’re flying, running or beating a bad guy to a pulp, the game itself and it’s servers handle the load pretty well.

The game’s combat system, unlike other MMORPGs, uses a combo system to execute attacks and, as you level up your character, you’re able to add new moves and abilities to use against your enemies. The combat is somewhat repetitive in the early levels since you only have a couple different attacks to choose from but by level 5 or so you’ll have plenty of new weapons in your arsenal.

Another thing that separates a game like this from others like it is the ability to fight alongside the heroes from the DCU that we all know and love. Running into a handful of DCU regulars such as Martian Manhunter or Power Girl in the JLA Watchtower, being able to fight Braniac’s army of robots alongside Superman or helping free The Flash from the clutches of Gorilla Grodd are just a couple of the entertaining scenarios that the game throws you into during the first few hours.

Technical Issues / Future Improvements:
Obviously, with the game still in the beta stages, it’s not always a party. The game does sufferer from the occasional crash, missing texture or uneven audio level but it’s nothing that can’t be cleaned up before the game launches. The menu text is a tad tiny and should be bumped up, the user interface is extremely slow to load and lags quite often, the menus themselves are unpolished and in some cases very broken and many of the characters that should have capes do not. What can I say? I’m a man who enjoys capes.

The initial install of the game may turn many off as it’s roughly 15-or-so gigabytes and takes somewhere between 5-7 hours (depending on your internet speed) to download but trust me when I say that it’s worth the wait once you take that first step into Gotham City or Metropolis should you choose to begin your story there.

Many will be able to turn a blind eye to these issues though as the core mechanics of the game appear to be very strong and will undoubtedly lead to a successful final release in February January of next year. If you’re a PlayStation Plus member, I’d highly suggest you download the beta yourself and give it a whirl.

Also, if you happen to find yourself in Crime Alley, stick to the well-lit areas.

Update 01.14.11: Picked up DC Universe Online? Send me an invite if you’re on the ‘Justice’ server! Username is “Techshot”.

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