Vaudevillain

Interlude: A Great Premise With Slapdash Mechanics

Graphics: 10/10

Gameplay: 3/10

Overall Score: 5.5/10

For those of you who dislike reading long rambles about game journalists reviewing new games, the title of this article is all you need to know about World of Supers. For those of you who want more of a description, this is my thought: Vert created a marvel of technology but rushed its release to beat out the other new consoles and to sell the tech, they tacked on a simulator with some extremely basic mechanics. It might be the conspiracy theorist in me talking, but both Zony and Nicrosoft did announce the release of their next-gen consoles at the end of the games expo.

I can't talk about World of Supers without talking about Vert's new headset. The Vert VIS is a newcomer to the console scene, something we haven't seen for about twenty years now. Coming in at just over $1000, this sleek headset is by far the most expensive machine we've seen to date. Granted, the price tag is only $100 more than Zony's Gamestation but that amount of money could get you Jalo Unlimited or Last Fantasy XXIV. So it stands to reason Vert released their new machine with a flagship title.

Which brings us to the game in question. World of Supers is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online sandbox. In it, players are allowed to enter (almost) any power they would like and jump into a modern world of superheroes and supervillains. And I do mean almost any power. The absolute best part of World of Supers is picking the exact power you want your character to have.

When you first activate the VIS and the game in question, World of Supers prompts you with a character and power creation tab. Being the man-child that I am, my first idea for a character was an incubus who made those around him horny. I was able to create the perfect demon character, but Vert denied my power. It was a longshot, this game is rated 16+ after all, but there were plenty of other powers to choose from. Eventually, I settled on a superhero classic; super-speed.

After I made my character and requested my power, I got dropped into a virtual obstacle course and was told to complete forty hours of the course. This is by far the dumbest thing I've ever seen in any game. I get why Vert had this. There are plenty of news articles out there talking about how the brain needs to get accustomed to a new body. But why would you ever decide to make this synchronization a simple obstacle course? I was bored of it all a few hours in, and I pride myself on my patience. I ended up dropping the game for a few days because of this.

In fact, it is my belief the 40-hour "synchronization" time is what's turning most players off to the game. Right now the total amount of players in WOS is under ten thousand, despite being one of the most talked about games online. I don't know any gamer who would want to spend an entire games worth of time running an obstacle course. Even if you can play the game while you sleep.

But because I am a game journalist that perseveres through games and doesn't drop them after a tutorial, I slogged through this obstacle course over the course of the week. Finally. Finally, I could get into the actual game.

And what a rush it was to spawn into the world. Everything in World of Supers looks and feels real. From the largest detail to the smallest building, Vert has taken great care to create an entirely realistic world. When I leaned over and scratched a bit of paint off the side of a house and rubbed it on my leg, I knew Vert had created an amazing simulation.

My first few hours inside the game were spent exploring this stunning world. Vert went all out creating the cities, taking inspiration from both fictional and real world locations. The city I spawned in sat above a dark jungle. Buildings were built directly into the trees and sturdy bridges connected the various canopies together. The entire floor of the jungle was controlled by a group of mutant villains who controlled the carnivorous animals in the jungle.

But I will say the random spawn location is a terrible choice, especially since Vert limits travel between cities until C rank. If a group of friends wanted to play together they would have to wait until C rank, which could take a while depending on your luck. However, this is a minor argument as I was so engrossed in the realism of the world that I completely forgot I was in a game. But the novelty of it all wore off after a few hours and I was stuck trying to figure out what it is I should be doing.

There is a generic quest system in the game. But it seems Vert wants to encourage players to pave their own path across the world. Personally, I'm a huge fan of this idea but it would have been nice to have a quick tutorial of all the systems. I'd also like a penalty-free area to practice my superpower so I can get the hang of it. Realistically, this wasn't that much of an issue as the interfaces for the power system are probably the only thing I that didn't require a common-sense translator.

I immediately went to work exploring the jungle with my superspeed. And boy howdy did Vert deliver on the powers. With a few quick steps, I traversed the distance between trees in less than a second. Granted I had some trouble dodging throughout the tree canopy but once I hit an open area I moved so fast I heard a sonic boom behind me.

The system interface for my power gave me a HUD that warned me of possible threats with a distance meter. With the extra preparation from the HUD, I was able to run circles around the various predators in the jungle. The system also assisted in reaction times. My body would sometimes jerk to the side to dodge a projectile, which was a little jarring. However, the system made sure to give a warning each time it happened and I eventually got used to it.

But after reveling in my newfound power and gaining some reputation, the novelty of WOS quickly vanished. There's no progression in powers other than what you learn about them and the game has no official storyline. Now, I know the lack of a storyline doesn't bother most people but Vert's announcement about hiring players made me think the game would be in line with a more traditional MMO. As I ranked up I believed I could unlock extra abilities skills and abilities for my powers. And this is somewhat true. Vert has an item inside the game that can grant a player extra powers, but only when you reach B rank.

Admittedly, it wasn't hard to reach B rank. Vert seems to have put no thought into their reputation system. I'm wondering if it was added specifically for Vert could keep an eye on promising players. It's the only reason I can think of for the company to add such a stupid mechanic into the game.

Vert's reputation system works on a simple pass-fail success rank. Players can perform crimes or stop them to gain reputation and rank up. The ranks are spread from F to S, with the requirements to rank up needing more successes each time. The issue with this is that every single action taken nets the same success. If a villain robbed a bank they'd receive the same amount of reputation as if they stole a purse. It was immediately apparent that this was extremely abusable for villains. However, this isn't the same for heroes. Since heroes are forced to stop crimes to gain reputation, I was constantly running around the city in search of targets. Luckily with my superspeed I could patrol almost the entirety of my starting city. And with so many villains stealing purses it was a simple matter to find one and pay them to have me stop them for a bit.

I will say the game does open up more once you reach B rank. Players get access to secret contacts that give special missions and are smarter than your average NPC. These missions can net you some pretty sweet rewards, like extra powers or some fancy weaponry, customized for your character. I ended up getting my contact to add a forcefield power so I could barrel into targets without harming myself. Destroying a secret villain base as a human wrecking ball was probably the most fun I had in this wreck of a game.

I almost think Vert would have done better if they released World of Supers without any of the tacked-on mechanics. The power system is unique enough that I didn't get bored of my power until far into the game and the NPCs inside the world are realistic enough that I can hold something of a conversation with them. Some of the best times in the game is going on a quest with an NPC hero based off some of your favorite comic book characters.

But the various mechanics added into the game completely ruin that comic book feeling. For example, players have the option to create secret bases and identities. Except the base building mechanic requires players to squat in one area for a specific amount of time before they can claim the territory. And claiming it doesn't even stop other players from invading your space. Why in the world would Vert have you stand around in one area, that's not why I signed up to play this game.

The secret identity mechanic is terrible as well. First off, you have to reach B rank or luck into finding one of the forgers throughout the city. These contacts will create fake identities for you so the NPC characters from the opposing side don't attack on sight. But this doesn't stop players from finding you and killing you for reputation. Why in the world didn't Vert add a penalty to players who killed someone in their secret identity? Or at the very least make it so they don't gain reputation.

For those still reading this, I'm sure you're starting to see a trend. Vert's gated most of the extra gameplay behind the reputation system. This means that players have to slog through a boring grindfest to reach the more interesting parts of the game. It looks like the company's tried to create a more traditional MMO experience by adding some rewards for leveling, but that isn't the appeal of this game. Vert should completely scrap its reputation system, the base building mechanic, and the secret identity and make the entire world a realistic sandbox with superpowers. Oh, and get rid of that terrible obstacle course at the beginning. Maybe have all the beginners start in some noob town where they can learn to use their powers and their new bodies while still playing the game.

Really, we should call this game what it is: an early access title with some promise. But it needs a lot of work before its a polished title. Don't spend $1000+ on a terrible game like this.

Update: Vert's most recent expansion, "World at War," has released a patch to address some of the problems people are complaining about. For some reason, the company is still trying to treat the game like a traditional MMO. The reputation system is more complex and they fixed the reputation exploit, but the game still looks exploitable. Now it seems like groups of players could very easily win trade against each other for easy reputation gain. Vert also lowered the requirements for secret contacts but this mechanic still requires you to be C rank. There are some improvements to the base building mechanic but not enough to make creating a base worth it. Wait for their next patch I say, though if this is the route the company is taking don't even bother waiting. Go buy the new Zony or Nicrosoft console.

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