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Amazon moves DCUO shipping date ahead three months
Fans who pre-ordered DC Universe Online from Amazon awoke to a pleasant surprise (or is that a tease?) in their inbox this morning. An order update email was sent out by the online shopping megalith indicating that SOE's superhero extravaganza will be shipping in mid January with an estimated arrival date somewhere between the 18th and the 20th. "We have received new release date information related to the order you placed on October 08 2010 (Order# XXXX). The item(s) listed below will actually ship sooner than we originally expected based on the new release date," says the message. SOE has been mum so far, but we'll bring you the very latest on the official release info as soon as it becomes available.
Assassin's Creed: The Fall comic #2 out now
Good news for fans of stabbing and comic books (a bigger audience than you might think): Assassin's Creed: The Fall issue two is now available in comic shops. Lest you haven't been keeping up, The Fall tells the story of mustachioed assassin Nikolai Orelov, who operates during the Russian revolution. Look out -- he'll stab you right in your warm, furry hat.
SOE teases Gotham City fly-through video
Look! Up in the air! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's the latest DC Universe Online fly-through video! Unfortunately for you Man of Steel fans in the audience, it has nothing to do with Superman. I know, that was mean. SOE's Gotham City is cooler than Metropolis though, and glimpses of its gothic glory are enough to give cynical game journos a reason to grin, so what are you going to do? At any rate, feast your eyes on the creepy confines of Arkham Asylum, the rusty, run-down facade of Ace Chemicals, and the dimly lit digs of Crime Alley, the Gotham Freight Yards, Amusement Mile, and more. Don't forget to check out the legendary Bat-signal atop the Police Department while you're skulking about. Gotham City. After dark. It's all yours after the cut.
DC Universe shows off more location screens
It's Friday night, do you know where your alter-ego is? If you're lucky, he or she is logging into the DC Universe Online closed beta. If not, we'll point and laugh, but we'll also hook you up with some new location reveals via the latest screenshots courtesy of SOE. Feast your eyes on Green Lantern and friends flitting about Metropolis City Hall, Robin and Poison Ivy deep in the swampy bowels of the femme fatale's lair, and a few shots from around Gotham City (including the Botanical Gardens, East End Hotel, and Gotham University). You'll also catch a glimpse of a player character fighting his way free of the maniacal Brainiac tutorial missions. DC Universe Online is currently scheduled to release for PC and Playstation 3 platforms in early 2011. %Gallery-107324%
Massively Exclusive: More DCUO PvP screens
Last week we showed off a batch of PvP screens from Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming DC Universe Online MMORPG. This week, we've got more where those came from, but this time you'll only find these images here on Massively. SOE treats us to twelve new images of player vs. player superhero action, featuring everything from outlandish costumes to fireballs, ice shields, and laser beams (though, sadly, no sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads as of yet). Oh, and don't forget the giant spring-loaded boxing glove. DCUO, currently slated to release in early 2011, is undergoing closed beta testing. You can read more about the game at the official website. %Gallery-106561%
Gina Torres as Wonder Woman in DC Universe
The hits just keep on coming for DC Universe Online, as SOE has added another A-list performer to the game's star-studded voice cast. Gina Torres, well-loved in geek circles for her role as Firefly's Zoe Washburne, lends her vocal talent to one of DC's classic heroines: Wonder Woman. In the latest Voices of the Game video, creative director Jens Andersen narrates a brief look at Wonder Woman's in-game appearances as well as Torres' work in the recording studio. Torres, who also guest-starred in Joss Whedon's Angel, is the third Whedonverse veteran to sign up for SOE's superhero extravaganza, joining James Marsters (Lex Luthor) and Adam Baldwin (Superman). Other DC Universe Online notables include Arlene Sorkin, Wil Wheaton, and Dwight Schultz. Take a look at Torres, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the video after the break.
SOE shows off DC Universe PvP screenshots
What's scarier than a gallery full of Scarecrow screenshots? Why, PvP of course. To cap off a pre-Halloween week rife with thrills, chills, and superhero stills, SOE has released a new gallery full of DC Universe Online screenshots showcasing the player versus player action in its upcoming men-in-tights MMORPG. While we don't have a lot of information on how the PvP plays, we do know that it's full of flashy spell effects and bone-crunching hits. This week's gallery is a bit of a departure from earlier DCUO showcases, in that the legendary comic book heroes associated with the game have given way to a player character cast. Check out the gallery below and visit the game's official website for more info. %Gallery-106282%
DC Universe Online reveals the Scarecrow
SOE has taken the wraps off another iconic villain in DC Universe Online via a new screenshot gallery. This time around the subject is one of the original internet tough guys: Johnathan Crane, also known as the Scarecrow. Crane suffered through an awkward childhood as a result of his uncanny resemblance to Ichabod Crane, eventually parleying his academic brilliance into a position of some notoriety at Gotham University. After a series of unethical experiments involving his students and the nature of fear, Crane was dismissed by the university board of regents. His fall from grace lead to prolonged episodes of psychosis and gave birth to the Scarecrow, a straw and sackcloth-wearing villain who preys on the fears of his enemies using a variety of psychological and chemical weapons. Check out all the new screens in our gallery below. %Gallery-106037%
DC Universe flexes more voiceover muscles
SOE is getting a lot of marketing mileage out of DC Universe Online's voice-acting, and with such a star-studded cast behind the microphone, you can hardly blame them. In a press release earlier today, the MMORPG maker outlined four new additions to DCUO's roster including two Star Trek veterans, a memorable Batman villainess, and one of radio's leading voice talents. First up is Arleen Sorkin, instantly recognizable to Batman fans as the voice and personality behind Harley Quinn. Next is Wil Wheaton, Star Trek: The Next Generation veteran and responsible for bringing DCUO's Robin to life. Dwight Schultz, also of Star Trek (and the A-Team) fame, signs on to portray the Flash, while Corey Burton, a veteran voice actor with hundreds of productions under his belt, will be powering the notorious Brainiac. Read more about DCUO on the official site, as well as our previous coverage of voice actor James Marsters.
MLG DC starts tonight for WoW
If you're not keeping up with the PvP tournament scene, this is a friendly reminder that MLG DC starts tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST. You can watch the MLG stream at MLGPro.com when it starts. I'll be in attendance at the event personally, so if you have any questions you want answered by the teams and players, leave a comment and I'll do my best. The WoW tournament will only run for a couple hours tonight, then continue all day Sunday. Notable teams competing are Nerdstomper Blue, the winners of MLG Raleigh, and their sister team Nerdstomper Black. Also in attendance are Arenapwnage, Evil Geniuses, Complexity Red and Black, Skill Capped, and Penguin Smash. Unfortunately, as World of Ming reports, the tournament will not be played with the new 4.0.1 patch. Apparently, there was a conflict with MLG's viewing client and the new patch.
DCUO screens feature Power Girl, amazonian action
Sony Online Entertainment has graced us with its latest batch of weekly screenshots for its recently delayed DC Universe Online title. The superhero action MMORPG, tentatively scheduled for early 2011, looks to feature healthy amounts of beat-'em-up action if these screens are any indication. Check out our gallery below where you'll see Power Girl getting pwned by Parasite and a player-created biker chick. We're not sure who makes up the delectable double-team that's going down in the Batcave, but it looks cool regardless. There's also a shot of Amazons running amok at a Metropolis subway station, as well as some players duking it out in the Egyptian-themed Temple of Isis. Check out Massively's extensive DC Universe Online coverage for the latest on the game. %Gallery-105181%
New DC Universe Online Inside the Studio video answers more questions
One of the things we love about DC Universe Online is the way Game Director Chris Cao and Creative Director Jens Andersen take time out of their undoubtedly busy schedules to answer questions that come in on the DC Universe Online Facebook page. The newest update to their Inside the Studio videos offers up another pile of questions asked by the community, with some amusing results. From starting areas (Metropolis for metahumans, Gotham for technophiles, China Town for magical-origin characters), to the availability of regular street clothes (short answer: yes), and even questions about anthropomorphic animal heads, Cao and Andersen cover some really interesting ground. Pop by the DC Universe Online Facebook page to check out the full video -- and be sure to leave your questions for the developers while you're there!
Newest DC Universe Online screenshots highlight game locations and combat
The latest round of screenshots from Sony Online Entertainment gives us a look at combat in DC Universe Online, but that's not all. The combat is set in varying locations around the DCUO world, and fans of DC comics should enjoy the familiarity. Combat in the various screenshots is set in Joker's Fun House, Circe's Lair, the Hall of Doom, and Glen Morgan Square. The backgrounds offer an exciting look into some of the game settings, and the combat itself allows a preview of character customization options -- much more than we've seen until now. Check out the gallery below for the latest look at DCUO. %Gallery-102654%
DragonCon 2010: MMO track listing
It's time once again for our yearly invasion of Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia! While, yes, we will have several members of our team covering everything going on at PAX, Dragon*Con offers us a chance to get involved with the community and give back some of the love we get during the year. (Oh yes, and some of the snark too.) Of course, it doesn't hurt that Dragon*Con is also an enormous 4-day long party for just about everything any geek would ever be interested in! If you've been wondering what's going on this year with the MMO track, which we'll be back to help with for our fourth year straight, then join us after the break for this year's panel listing! Also, for those friends who haven't picked it up (or anyone curious), the online pocket guide to the overall con is available for download.
Exclusive Interview: DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao
What gamer hasn't wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Superheroes and comic books have been a part of gaming culture as long as computers. Of course, everyone has wanted to be Superman soaring through the skies of Metropolis, or Batman scaring the pants off the criminal underworld of Gotham City. Sony Online Entertainment has teamed up with Warner Bros. and DC Comics to bring this world -- nay, this universe -- to life. On November 2nd, DC Universe Online will blast its way to game store shelves everywhere. DCUO gives fans of comic books, action video games, and MMOs a reason to come together and celebrate this incredible amalgam of genres. Create your own superhero! Thrill to the art of Jim Lee! Soak up the voice-acting of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy! On top of that, if you preorder this deliciously intense action RPG, you will have exclusive rights to a token that will allow you to join a 2v2 PvP arena as the caped crusader himself, using his abilities, gadgets, and fighting style. Plus you'll get all the other preorder bonuses like confetti bombs and batarangs. Massively snagged an exclusive interview with DCUO Game Director Chris Cao about this groundbreaking game. Up, up, and away! (OK, that was cheesy. Just hit "read more" to read our lengthy interview after the break!)
Chris Cao claims DCUO will be the "ultimate superhero experience"
The superhero MMO genre isn't as sparse as it used to be, but DCUO's Chris Cao isn't sweating the competition. In a recent interview with The MMO Gamer, DC Universe Online's creative director expresses supreme confidence that DCUO will be the one superhero title to rule them all. "It's just the ultimate superhero experience," he said. "You're not playing Batman this time. You are there with thousands of other players, working for and against him. That's never been done." DCUO's simultaneous rollout to both the PC and PS3 was a significant part of the interview. Cao admits that he was attracted to the project specifically because it was going to be released for the console market as well, something he feels is largely unexplored territory. Cao also discusses the relationship that his team built with DC proper during the game's development. Instead of being at odds with having thousands of player-run superheroes entering into the DC universe, DC worked hand-in-hand to both educate SOE's crew and help meld the comic book experience with the MMO. Cao shares one example of this: "In fact, just a couple weeks ago, Geoff Johns and I were talking, and we thought of a feature we wanted to put in, and he goes, 'No problem, we'll write it into the comic books. So now it's instant canon.' I don't think you can get much better than that." You can read the full interview over at The MMO Gamer.
20 great, free iPad comics
CNET's Crave blog compiled a great list last week of twenty great, free comic books to read on your iPad. For me, more than anything else, the iPad seems perfect for a visual, interactive medium like comics. Movies are better on my big screen, and books can be read on a Kindle (or just on paper -- weird, I know), but for the iPad, having the ability to zoom in on a great piece of comic art or download new comics straight to the device to be read on that big, colorful screen seems perfect. Enter this list, which has some great free samples from both the DC and Marvel comics apps, or a few other free Comics reader apps available on the store. There's some really good stuff out there for the low price of absolutely nothing, from some classic books that are hard to find in print to some newer promo books for current series or comics that have been made into movies. Man cannot live on free alone -- if you're really into comics, you'll probably want to buy a few from their official apps (though it's a shame that pricing and selection isn't quite there yet, but hopefully Marvel and DC will eventually figure that out). And this article doesn't even mention the tons of great single-app books you can find on the App Store, for both the iPhone and the iPad. The iPad was designed for consuming media, and comic books are one of my favorite media around.
SDCC 2010: Up, up and away at the DCUO panel
Are you pumped for DC Universe Online after watching the recent "Who Do You Trust?" trailer or our own interview with John Smedley? We can hardly blame you -- it's tough being a superhero waiting in the wings. While we count down the days until its November 2nd launch, there's a lot more DCUO goodness to be had. Massively was on hand at the DCUO panel at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, where Jens Andersen, Chris Cao, Marv Wolfman, Jim Lee and Mark Hamill (who is reprising his voice work as the Joker) were on hand to answer questions about DC's upcoming title. Hit the jump for the full skinny on time travel, heroes, villains and Bat-shark repellent.
DC Universe Online enters this universe in November
At a recent press event in LA, Sony Online Entertainment revealed a November release window for PlayStation 3 and PC MMO DC Universe Online (the company declined to comment on the possible effects of bridging our universe with DC's). When we pressed for a more solid release date, an SOE rep kept mum, but reiterated that both PS3 and PC iterations of the title would arrive at retail simultaneously later this year. With a release window finalized -- falling right in line with Sony's promised timeframe, might we add -- Sony will assuredly trot out the title in a more open fashion come E3 (read: we'll see more than just Metropolis, we hope). As for The Agency? Apparently that PS3/PC MMO from SOE is still hiding in the shadows for now.
Rumor: Mr. Freeze and Talia al Ghul to appear in Arkham Asylum 2
The original Batman: Arkham Asylum's large cast of antagonists was awfully daunting for any detective to face off against -- even if that detective has pointy ears and is equipped with exploding Vaseline. Two reports have begun to circulate about the first pair of villains we'll be buffeting with all manner of bat-shaped weaponry in Arkham Asylum 2: Talia al Ghul (daughter of immortal mastermind Ra's al Ghul), and everyone's favorite horrible pun-smith, Mr. Freeze. According to Gaming Target, Talia's appearance was confirmed on Twitter by her apparent voice actor, "Castle" star Stana Katic -- though any Tweets to that effect have since been pulled. Freeze was similarly confirmed by voice actor Maurice LaMarche (who voiced the latter half of "Pinky and the Brain") in an interview with the GeekCast Radio Network. These certainly seem like reasonable choices for the next game's cast -- however, we're going to pray that if Mr. Freeze is actually included in the game (in a capacity greater than his cameo in the first Arkham Asylum), his dialogue won't sound anything like, well, you know. [Thanks John!]
