What The Big Three Superhero MMOs Are Missing

DC Universe Online is the newest Supehero MMO to be released.

 Ok. If you're a bit supehero fan, you've undoubtedly heard of the recent MMO release, DC Universe Online, which sports comic-powered interactivity with the many fans of the industry. It came out January 2011, developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment, and like every Massively Multiplayer game, has had its share of bugs and problems.

But did you know about the other two?

A Screenshot from City of Heroes

The first would be City of Heroes, open to the public in April 2004. It was originally developed by Cryptic Stuidios, now controlled by Paragon Studios, and published by NCSoft. City of Heroes also now includes City of Villains and Going Rogue. It was the first MMO game to be released within the superhero genre.

The second would be Champions Online, also developed by Cryptic and published by Atari. They released in September 2009 and recently switched to a Free-to-Play (F2P) model which makes them, currently, the only superhero-genre game you can play without spending a nickel.

If you're a big fan of superheroes -- heck, if you want to fly, swing from rooftops, or run at super-speeds -- I suggest you give them a try.

A Screenshot from Champions Online, a Free-to-Play MMO.

But WHEN you do, keep this one missing feature in mind: What's up with your SECRET IDENTITY?

Currently, the Secret Identity feature has not been tackled by any of the games; to my knowledge, only City of Heroes has a system, which involved you picking a "Day Job" (where you log out -- hospital, library, etc. -- is considered to be where you work).

So, perhaps you've come up with a way to work in the Secret Identity. I've actually written papers and models on the idea; the person who solves this befuddling concept will probably revolutionize this MMO genre and cause them all to switch-over.