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Ever Dream Of Fighting Alongside Batman? Soon You Can

Posted on: Friday, 25 July 2008, 09:10 CDT

Batman fans can now fight next to the Caped Crusader and other superheroes with Sony’s launch of the world’s first multiplayer online comic book game.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) introduced the “DC Universe Online” this week at the immense Comic-Con International show at the San Diego Convention Center.

The enormous multiplayer game lets players create their own villain or superhero to fight alongside classic characters like Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and villains like Bizarro, Lex Luthor, and The Joker.

"Comics dominate the pop culture landscape today," said Jim Lee, who is an artist for DC Comics, and serves as executive creative director of "DC Universe Online.”

"As comic fans, we've known since we were little kids how great comics are. With this game, we have the opportunity to show everyone else how cool the DC Universe is."

An early build demo of the game which focuses on Brainiac attacking the city of Metropolis is playable on the show floor, although the game won’t be available for PC or Playstation 3 this year.

Although the game won't be shipping for PlayStation 3 and PC this year, an early build of the action-packed game, which focuses on Brainiac attacking Metropolis, is playable at six kiosks on the show floor.

SOE Austin is currently developing the game with Lee and a group of DC Comic writers, which allows for a unique crossover between online and print mediums.

"We'll coordinate things across print and online," said Lee. "If we have a big storyline happening in the summer, you might see that in the game later. I have a staff position at DC and we have a short list of characters that we'll update first in the game and then in the comics."

President of SOE, John Smedley, said there couldn’t be better timing in developing the game.  Warners Brothers’ “The Dark Knight” dominates the box office and animated shows like “Teen Titans” and “Justice League” have both become a success with kids.

The new game will include over 150 characters from the core DC Universe, but will focus on user-created characters.

"The biggest fantasy players can have is to be an equal of Superman, not necessarily to play as Superman," said Chris Cao, studio creative director at SOE Austin.

According to Cao, players can aspire to join the Justice League, or the Legion of Doom as their character progresses.

John Blakely, vice president of development SOE Austin, said "DC Universe Online" offers physics-based combat action that has never been seen before in a massively multiplayer online game (MMO).

"When you pick up a bus and throw it across Metropolis, hundreds of thousands of players will be able to see this-and many of them will have to dodge this projectile for their safety," said Blakely.

Midway games is also showcasing its “Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe” fighting game at the international show.  The games pits classic Mortal Kombat characters against superheroes like Captain Marvel, and Catwoman.

Activision and Marvel Games also have new games, “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” and “Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Fusion,” showcasing at the convention.  Both companies are throwing parties to celebrate.

"Comic-Con is now an entertainment event and comics have proven themselves as mainstream entertainment across multiple mediums," said Smedley.

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On the Net:

• DC Universe Online

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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