14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Online Entertainment seems eager to turn up the hype level on DC Universe Online, its superhero-centered MMO, set to be released at some point in 2010 for the PlayStation 3 home gaming console and for the PC.
The company has recently confirmed that Mr. Freeze, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the rather forgettable Batman & Robin movie, will be featured in the MMO and that players will be able to either side with the villain and help him reach his goals or fight against him and keep winter out of Gotham City.
The backstory the game offers for Mr. Freeze differs little from the canon one that DC Comics relies on. The man was initially named Victor Fries and his quest was to Deep Freeze and cure his wife, Nora.
His experiments with cryonics exposed his body to extreme temperatures and to complex chemicals and he now needs a specialized suit to keep him alive, with the added benefit of increasing his strength, resistance and offering him access to a powerful freeze weapon.
Even when offered the help of Batman, Freeze refuses to take it and blames the Dark Knight for his actions. In DC Universe Online, the actions of Mr. Freeze will be mainly determined by the need for diamonds and money used to power his suit and experiments but he will also appear when there is a chance to take a shot at Batman and take him out of the fight.
Sony is promising that DC Universe Online will offer a whole new type of superhero MMO. One of its big advantages is that it uses popular heroes from the DC pantheon alongside or against which players can fight but it is also promising a game world that will evolve based on the choices made by players and that will encourage interaction between gamers.