Choose To Fight For Or Against Iconic Heroes And Villains At The World Premiere Demonstration Of DC Universe Online By Sony Online Entertainment

SAN DIEGO, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtual super heroes and villains, it's time to unite online! Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) plans to reveal exciting new details of the online action game DC Universe(TM) Online (DCUO) at this year's Comic-Con International to be held in San Diego from July 24- 27. SOE's plans include a first-ever public demonstration showcasing how DCUO will redefine online action gaming on the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system and the PC.

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DCUO is being developed by the SOE Austin studio team in collaboration with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics' top talent led by Executive Creative Director Jim Lee, SOE's VP of Development John Blakely and SOE's Austin Studio Creative Director Chris Cao.

Lee, a comic book legend who founded DC Comics' WildStorm Productions, is lending his skills as an artist, gamer and creative director -- he was the first player on his EverQuest(R) (EQ) server to get the Paladin epic sword -- to bring iconic DC Comics characters like Batman and Superman to life in a way that's never been seen before in a video game. For the first time, DCUO will let players create their own customized super hero or villain and wield amazing powers in the name of good or evil as they write their own chapter in the fabled DC Universe.

'The rich, storied world of DC Comics has never been available to players like this before,' said John Smedley, president of SOE. 'For the first time, gamers can actually open the door and step into the vast world of DC Comics and choose their own fate. Who wouldn't want to infiltrate Batman's cave or fly over Metropolis as you speed toward a mission to help Superman?'

Supporting the game's distinctive, dynamic look is a physics-based combat system that makes traditional role-based massively multiplayer online games a thing of the past. With DCUO, players will have virtual powers that feel truly epic in scope from the get-go. Fly around, grab a bus, and toss it at your foes. Shoot energy blasts from your power ring as you dash with incredible speed along the side of a skyscraper.