The Digital Continuum: Five PvP MMOs with potential pt. 2
DC Universe Online
This'll be the first superhero MMO with both superheroes and villains playable on launch day, which is a key distinction from games with opposing factions. On a very basic level, DC Universe Online's PvP is going to be about villains committing crimes and superheroes will be preventing or stopping them. So, instead of two factions fighting over a lumber mill or fortress, the battle will be about a more primal good versus evil. Batman's beef with The Joker is a very easy example of this.
SOE has mentioned arenas, which sound a lot like instanced PvP scenarios with a superhero twist. The example given is an alien ship that crashes in northern Africa, which causes both sides to fight over the off-world technology. This is an exciting part to me because unlike most MMO settings, DC Universe Online allows for a huge swath of backdrops for battles. Eastern Europe, Egyptian tombs, Moon stations, unmapped tropical islands and much more are all reasonable PvP settings in this game.
As with any MMO, the final and biggest PvP feature is of the open world variety. Not much has been said here, but we know that heroic Leagues and villainous Legions (guilds, basically) will be doing battle for control over the entire planet. With superpowered battles raging across entire servers, I'm looking forward to doing battle with the enemy.
All Points Bulletin
A game we know even less about is All Points Bulletin, which is effectively Grand Theft Online with a flair for impressive urban art design.
I find it curious that the majority of my picks are turning out to be action heavy MMOs. There's just something about doing combat in real-time that grabs people and refuses to let go. Moving into moment-by-moment combat is probably the only way a PvP MMO is going to find huge success in the western market.
And this is why All Points Bulletin is so very interesting. Here is a game featuring real-time combat, a non-level advancement system and a cops versus robbers mentality. As far as I can tell, the only thing that makes it an MMO in the sense we're used to describing is an adherence to a persistent online world. Beyond that, APB isn't playing buy the rules -- and that's very good.
If any MMO has the chance to break out into the wider console and PC shooter/GTA crowd, it's this one. That reason alone should make the PvP highly interesting. But if you need more to chew on, I'd point out that APB could be the ultimate virtual realization of every kids "Cops 'n Robbers" fantasy. Who wants to be a virtual John McClane? I do.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Speaking of childhood fantasies, how about battling the Sith as a lightsaber wielding Jedi? Or if that's not your kind of pie, you could ravage the galaxy as a vicious Sith. Then again, if you've got your hate on for the Padawan -- try a universally feared Bounty Hunter.
Sometimes, when the setting is so wildly popular and strong, the PvP just needs to be competent. Such is the case with Star Wars: The Old Republic, although I don't doubt that BioWare has some interesting twists on the tried-and-true systems.
At its core, we know that PvP will be a battle of those that stand on the good side of The Force against those who revel in its darker tendencies. BioWare has stated that you don't have to be a Jedi or Sith to be aligned to one side or the other, and that makes sense because we know The Force is in all beings to some degree or another.
Personally, I'd like to see some sort of consequence levied on the game world when its under control of light or dark side influences. What does the Republic get for controlling Tatooine, and how does that planet change when under its influence? Also, what reasons and advantage does the Sith Empire have when looking to take Tatooine under its own banner? I'm sure BioWare has been asking similar questions, and hope that their braintrust can come up with something beyond what any of us have considered up until now.
