DCnU and DC Universe Online

I'm sure it isn't a surprise to anyone that I play DC Universe Online, the MMORPG set in the DC Universe.

It's a fun game, though it doesn't have as much depth of content as I might like, and after Sony Online's hacking issues, the number of players has decreased, so it is harder to find a decent pick-up group to run missions with.

It makes up for the lack of depth by having all of that content be DC content. You are helping the heroes you read about, and you are fighting the villains you read about (or vice-versa if you choose to play a villain). My speedster villain, Velocicrat is about to go on a raid on a JSA safehouse. Taking on the JSA - that's just cool. So is putting Harley Quinn away, or battling Lex Luthor to save Superman from a kryptonite force field.

What makes this game so much fun is that it is, most definitely set in the DC Universe. So what happens in September? Already, it's a little weird to be buying things from Cass Cain Batgirl. One of my characters regularly buys from Power Girl, Jay Garrick Flash and Hawkgirl. I've seen no mention of any of those characters in the DCnU come September. As mentioned, my villain is about to take on the JSA, who will not be part of the DCnU.

I am concerned this could actually impact my enjoyment of the game. Not that it makes the game any less fun - and it is a well-designed game in my opinion. I love the fact that all power sets have two roles they can take on - a damaging one and another one that helps to round a team out. There are certainly improvements that could be made. When I switch from one role to another, the powers available to me switch automatically - why do I have to go in and manually switch my equipment piece by piece? But overall, the game play is pretty balanced, and can be a lot of fun.

But will that fun be impacted when I run missions centered around Black Adam - whether trying to save his love, Isis or entering his sovereign land, Kahndaq - knowing that he currently doesn't exist in the DCnU? I really hope not, but I fear it might. A huge portion of this appeal is playing with and against the characters that I read about regularly. I'm not sure playing in an "Elseworlds" version of the DCU will have as much appeal to me. And, possibly as much of a concern, after recent beatings to the player base, if I find it doesn't impact me, but it does impact others, how much harder will it be to find people to share my adventures with, and how will that impact attracting new users if the two settings don't match?

I'm hoping this quality game weathers the storm, and can gradually tweak characters, costumes, etc. to better reflect the DCnU. I'll definitely be watching with interest the post-September impact on the game.