Monday 7 November 2011

Time to save Gotham.... or destroy it? Part 1

All the big names come to mind when the words "Gotham City" are mentioned - Batman, Robin, Catwoman and of course - one of the most famous (if not the most famous) villain of all time, the Joker! Never have I been a big fan of DC Comics, but would always pop by the market to get 3-for-a-pound and so on, taking interest in Aquaman's adventures, and so forth. But if there's one thing that's put me off of it, it's the lore. Now, putting the Sylvester Stallone "Judge Dredd" jokes aside (AH AHM, THUH LAW!), it's because that I feel that "if I miss some part of it, I've gotta trace the story a couple-hundred comics back to truly make sense of it". No, I never really started with DC or Marvel comics, nor did I have a starting point, it was just, "That comic cover looks cool, gimme, gimme, gimme." But that was mainly because I was a Beano and Dandy fan, never needing to know lore or characters, just pick it up, read for a bit and laugh at the punchline.

So, what kind of impact did DC Universe Online becoming free have on me? Honestly, very little. Until I came across a video which told me, "Hmm.... alright, I'll have a look". I was mainly interested due to it being made by TotalHalibut (thecynicalbrit.com, goes by the name of TotalBiscuit in-game mostly), and he gave excellent commentaries on Dawn of War so I thought to give him another shot. His commentary and awe-inspiring footage gave me reason to show interest in such a game, and it was he who made it so special. I was empowered by what this game had to offer; not playing this would seem such a crime, I had to join in. Plus, it was free to play so, why not? 30 gig download on my external harddrive (14 gig of that is just the raw start-up data. The other half is patches or something).

"The next legend is you"


I must admit, a new MMO is what I need. World of Warcraft is becoming more of a bore, and content is becoming boring (OK, I haven't done most raids but don't care for them) and would like Patch 4.3, or the new expansion. Lego: Universe I really must revisit. And LOTRO? Needs reinstalling and I need much more interest for it. But this game should offer lots of different things, like Age of Conan, Star Wars(?), Dungeons and Dragons, City of Heroes and most notably Diablo.


So, what's the story of this MMO-Action-RPG? Well, the main antagonist (main villain) Braniac has invaded Gotham City, and plans to take it piece by piece (quite literally). The heroes of the DC universe must come together and stop Braniac and his/her.... we'll go with "it's" alien forces. But what of the villains? Are they taking advantage of the fear and terror, or are they actually saving Gotham too, but claiming it for their own once Braniac's forces are gone? It seems a tad unclear so far, but I'll be sure to update.


While you don't play as the pre-made characters of the DC universe, you can create your own unique one, or a character "inspired" by the already existing heroes/villains. You can edit their personalities, abilities, skin colour and type (I'm gonna have to go with reptillian, perhaps robotic), "built-in" ability and so on and so fourth. The developers of the game really go to town with the character customization, that's for sure. Evidence enough from videos on YouTube, especially what TotalHalibut shows on his. What character shall I be making? Hmm... something along the lines of:


Name: Count Serpentide
Side: Villain / Evil
Mentor: The Joker
Skin: Reptilian, or Human
Ability: Superspeed
Element: Fire, or Nature
Weapon: Cane/Stave, or one-handed sword. Possibly a bow
Costume: Dinner suit perhaps, possibly with a cape.

Backstory:

Once the host of many dinner parties, the Englishman John Esprendite was known for his humor, good heart and always flirting. He even said that his aristocratic ways would live beyond the grave, and that they did. He had supposedly died during a horrific experiment involving blood transplants with that of a healthy virgin reptile, but had transformed into a humanoid lizard! He returned to his dinner party and his guests thought it was a joke - he too found it amusing, and was glad he could still entertain. However, when a group of mobsters disguised as dinner guests knew it was no joke, they immediately shot the dinner guests and Esprendite, knowing that the scientific experiment had been conducted - he had discovered how to transform himself, and had beaten the mobsters' boss!


He recovered from the shootout, and set his path: to avenge the death of the dinner guests, and won't let anyone stand in his way - not even a Gotham City Hero!

The Joker found much use in a man like Esprendite, and started calling him Serpentide. John liked it, the Joker liked it, and the crime organization they were both in liked it. He was glad to have found his new home, and a place to perform all his evil deeds and schemes without raising too much attention!