For most people the weekend is the perfect chance to go out, party, meet new people, and wake up with a half-naked girl in your arms. Not much there to complain about, but...call me crazy...but then there are those times when all you wanna do is be a shut-in for the weekend and play Playstation. Now most people may think of this as being Anti-Social and I can't really argue with that statement, but I can explain my reason for feeling the need to be Anti-Social this particular weekend.
When I was a child I thought the idea of a game where you could play in a world which was populated by thousands upon millions of other players around the world was the greatest concept. Now also being a big comic book nerd as a kid, I was a huge fan of DC comics. "The Death of Superman" series was a huge favorite of mine as a kid which I read countless of times and it even introduced me to my favorite super hero, the Green Lantern. As a child I dreamed of fighting along side the likes of Superman and Batman, not just this iconic duo, but the lesser know heroes such as Green Arrow, Nightwing, and Hawkman. I remember my friends and I would At the time the only super-hero video games around were the horrible Superman 64 game and the awful Batman and Robin game for the Playstation.
Even though such games like Everquest and World of Warcraft did become popular for being the first to create a MMO (Massively multiplayer online) game, they both were unable to obtain my interest from the get go. Being pressured into playing World of Warcraft by my friends, I constantly kept being told, "Don't worry, it gets better." It wasn't long before I soon lost interest in the game and continued to wait for the search of a MMO game that I could enjoy from the very start and not have to play 20 hours just to get to the meat of the course.
Finally in 2008, Sony revealed their plans to take a concept I thought of being impossible and turning it into a reality. A Massive Multiplayer Online game that took place in a fictional universe that I was all too familiar with calling it DC Universe Online. I couldn't believe my eyes. When it was announced the game would be released on September 25th, 2009, I counted the days until I would find it sitting on the shelves at my local GameStop. In an attempt to enjoy the game at its fullest, I resisted all temptations and refused to read any new updates or features added to the game. I wanted to be enjoyably surprised by every aspect of the game. Finally when the day arrived, I waited all day at school in anticipation for the final bell to ring. I knew as soon as it did, I would be on my way to GameStop to pick up my copy of the computer game of my dreams. By the end of the day I found myself looking up at the clock every two minutes whilst I focused on one thought in my head, "Hurry up!" I tried to convince myself that if I concentrated hard enough, the clock would go faster and I would be out the door and in the store. With only 5 minutes to go, I couldn't take it anymore, I hopped on the classroom computer to check the official game website only to find that DC Universe Online wouldn't be released for another year. At first I dismissed this new discovery, thinking they must be referring to the UK release, but as soon as I got on my own computer at home, I realized that it was true. The game I had waited all year for had been delayed, but what crushed me the most was the fact that there was no confirmed release date at all now. Like Highlander The Game, it seemed to me like this was one game that may never see the light of day.
Finally on January 11, 2011, DC Universe Online is released on PC and PS3, good thing too because I traded in my PC for a Mac a year ago. The only problem was I was currently out of money, none of the stores in my area carried the game, and the closest stores that carried it were half an hour away. So for the rest of the week I was once again playing the waiting game as I reminded of how bad ass the game is by of all my Marvel fanboy friend Ryan of all people. My plan was at midnight on Thursday I would drive 30 miles up to Wal Mart in Tyler so I could acquire my copy of the game. Unfortunately unlike Dallas, Wal Marts out in the middle of East Texas have a closing time which I was unaware when I drove all the way out there. So the next morning I once again headed out to Wal Mart in Tyler to obtain my copy of DC Universe Online. After going to three different Wal Marts, I emerged out of each one empty handed and with my head hung low. Luckily right next to the last Wal Mart on my list, stood a building with big bold red Target on it's side. Immediately my spirits were lifted and I began to strut on down to the electronics. Back in the big city of Dallas, if Wal Mart didn't have what you were looking for, then Target sure as hell did. Sadly I was once again reminded that this isn't Dallas and Target was also sold out. Since GameStop was still closed at this time I found myself driving up and down the road, pondering on what other store would have it. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a big yellow tag with the words Best Buy written across. Expecting the store to be closed, I was surprised to find the neon Open sign radiating in the window. I walked inside anticipating another let down, but unlike my failed ventures to Wal Mart and Target, there resting upon the racks of PS3 games laid one last copy of DC Universe Online. Without a moment's hesitation I seized the box and clasped it to my chest. Realizing the game was still technically the store's property, I quickly made my way up to the cash register and in exchange for $60.00 of my own hard earned cash, DC Universe Online was now in my possession.
As I drove home, I couldn't help but constantly look over in the passenger seat where my game lay and reflect to myself, "After 2 years of waiting, I had finally obtained DC Universe Online." As soon as I got home and popped the disc into my system, the first thought that went through my head is, "How long is the update gonna take?" because I knew if I had had this many delays up to this point, there were surely a few more to come. I was expecting the game to at the least take an hour or two to set up, but not 10 hours! At this point in time I had basically accepted the fact that this game was put on this earth to torture my patience
