I hate to break out the World of Warcraft comparisons, but this game obviously has a lot of the same polish and ease.
I've played several MMORPGs. I must admit that I've never tried a superhero MMORPG so I can't fall back on City of Heroes or Champions Online as a comparison. Mainly I can just compare it to World of Warcraft, Asheron's Call, Dark Ages of Camelot, and other MMORPGs I've experienced that 'got it right.'
So did this game 'get it right?' Umm....truthfully, yes. It's a very polished MMORPG. There are still some bugs, and the developer admits it released the game with a few features not yet finished such as the auction systems, but WoW did the same thing. It also imitates WoW in having a farily easy initial level cap. This game caps out at 30, and there's already quite a few level 30s on all servers. What will predict this game's success is how fast they can release updates and patches. Like WoW's polish, this game already has a ton of quests. Hit level 10, and your only complaint about quests will be that it should probably have a better system to organize them by location because you will definitely have a huge collection of incomplete quests. And also like WoW and many successful MMORPGs these days, it has replaced the grind that was once popular with games such as Everquest.
If you like PvP this game is up your alley. It was almost made for PvP with its natural theme of random heroes and villains travelling a city and battling at will. It even includes several game options where you can put yourself in a que and then participate in custom PvP or co-op objective matches that have nothing to do with the regular maps, or even a legends match where you can play as Batman, Robin, Harley Quinn, Joker or some other popular DC hero. The PvP servers are by far the most popular servers and while ganking does exist, this is one game where a skilled level 8 can take out a dumb level 15. It just requires that you know how to use your skills in the right way, and quickly master combo combinations on your controller. My only complaint about PvP is that I don't feel it rewards you enough for your PvP victories. There isn't a large skillset given to frequent victors such as Dark Ages of Camelot had and honestly the penalties for dying in PvP are too slim. The worst that can happen is your equipment deteriorates faster causing more repair expenses, especially for the higher levels. To keep the grind away, it even spawns you fairly close to your death location.
Speaking of the aforementioned equipment, that is one of the strengths of this game. There are a variety of custom options available for character design, and the niftiest part is you can keep a design you already have after attaching new equipment to your hero. You don't have to spend weeks hunting down that complete set of armor or weapons to match. It also makes for deceptive appearances in that someone who faces you never really knows what you're packing. You could easily have some of the game's best stat boosting equipment for a level 15 character but still travel around in only your underoos. When designing a character, you can even pick a popular DC character such as Batman, Martian Manhunter or Flash to give you a starting point for your design.
The skills and powers system can be fun. My only complaint is that it basically chooses your role for you: tank, healer or controller. Like other MMORPGs, tanks specialize in being damage enduring monsters, healers do just that -- heal, and controllers are great at stunning, buffing and breaking apart large enemy groups. I suppose complaining about the forced roles is an old school complaint on my part. It seems like most popular MMORPGs these days hold your hand and force you to be a certain way. I do miss older MMORPGs that allowed more hybrids or didn't spell out how to design a character. There are two tank powers: fire and ice, two healing powers: nature and sorcery, and two controller powers: gadgets and mental power. There are also a number of weapons to pick from including staves, martial arts, brawling, bow n arrow, dual pistols, dual swords, and many more. If you truly want the right combination, you'll need to spend some time researching the net and find out which system gives you the absolute best stat boost for your chosen role. As you hit level 10, you can add more weapon skills, and also gain what are called 'iconic powers' which are available to anyone. Plus, you can add powers to your movement skills which are also a fun part of this game.
Movement encompasses 3 types: flying, super speed and acrobatics. The developer did a nice job balancing all of these. Acrobatics is probably the most limiting but has the most power buffs available. Flight is probably the most advantageous to get anywhere but it's also much slower than superspeed and slightly slower than acrobatics at times. Flight of course seems to be the most popular choice on servers, followed by superspeed which allows you to travel up vertically anywhere, and then acrobatics which I personally enjoy the most even though it's not as popular.
And of course, let us not forget the most popular feature of this game -- it's for DC Comics fans! It seems like everyone is here, although I have yet to see a Green Lantern which is rumored to be in the first big patch. Several minor heroes and villains play large roles in this game and most of them have nice voice acting to match. There's even a few treats such as Mark Hammill (the voice of the Joker in Batman Arkham Asylum and the animated series) as the Joker. SOE does have a policy of forcing you to change your name if you're too similar to a DC character although you can certainly make a derivative version. (e.g. Batlad instead of Batman) I have seen a few Spidermans or Hulks but I'm not sure how long SOE will allow these people to continue. Regardless, this is a game that is catered to comic book fans. If you ever nerd out on DC Comics, you'll understand several of the storylines, and the opening CGI movie to set the tone is truly spectacular.
All in all, this game is worth a shot, but if MMORPGs aren't your thing, and you've tried a few, I'm not sure this game will offer you something different to change your mind. My 8.0 review really has more to do with me being burnt out on the genre and experiencing many of these same game mechanics for years now then it is a direct reflection of the quality of the game. If this game was released at the same time as WoW, it would probably be an easy 9.0 by Gamespot.