So far...
Lets begin with the technical aspects:
Star Wars The Old Republic is a recently released sci-fi mmorpg by Lucasarts, Bioware and EA Games. Bioware production is instantly felt in the game strongly. The levelling system is based on xp gain, pretty much like any other mmorpg. The skill system is through visiting trainers and obtaining new or improved skills. Each class at level 10 chooses one of the two specializations to further enhance his character.
Now lets come to the content:
There are two factions that you can choose from: The Dark Side (the empire) and the Light Side (the republic) these two factions can not communicate with each other in the game so if you want to play with a friend you will have to go for the same faction. Each faction's story is developed separately and each class gets a special class story line apart from the common planet story lines.
During dialogues Bioware has used a format that I am so familiar with from DA2. The video footage system where you see your toon act. Now this must have been amazingly difficult to achieve when you think about it. Each and every one of the classes are voiced by a different voice actor not to mention the mission givers, npcs, companions etc...
My biggest toon is only level 22 as yet but so far what are my first impressions of the game?
Well as a person who said when the game first came out: "I would never ever play a game that begins with the word star!" I am happy to eat it all back. I did not touch the game for a long time although my husband played it, I refused to touch anything that was sci-fi as I hate it and Star Wars in general (not just the games that came out till now but also the movies and everything) always seemed something as laughable to me. And they still do...except for THIS game! I guess its a true testament to how good the game is to entice a sci-fi hater such as myself.
The video below is a nice little intro to all the classes in the game. Watch and enjoy :)
My hats off to you Bioware! You always do such an amazing job.
A very well structed game, with lots of fun and rather easy to play.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be SW fan in order to enjoy it, and that is very good!
I never liked SW saga, but still I'm having great time playing this one.
Nice game system, very good graphics, and the video cuts are super! Very nice idea. At last your character speaks! He behaves. He chooses if he will be on the Light or Dark side...
Good stuff all these...
You can be a Star Wars Saga hater -such as myself- and still play this game because it is that good! Definitely good stuff as you said :)
DeleteI think what Lucasarts, EA Games and in particular Bioware have done here is something never before seen....they have created a game worthy to stand on it's own rights. What I mean is this...if you take away the movies and the merchandise etc, this game would still bring in the players. It has been already said here that it's not just a game for fans of Star Wars (which I am not a big big fan, but have seen the movies), but more than that, it is a game for fans that like to enjoy role playing, combat, crafting, developing your characters and doing so with your friends. This game encompasses so many good things from mnay other titles already realised and brings them together to give the players want they want, a game that they can play without constant grinding, a game where they can actually see results of their labours and a game that they can actually enjoy playing without fear of not having the best of the best gear and weapons.
ReplyDeleteI am currently only playing a free trial version of the game, so I am therefore limited in a lot of things (can't even use the mailing systems for crying out loud :P), but even at that, I have seen enough of the game to know that when it finally goes f2p, I will be ready and willing to take my characters on in their personal stories and visit new places and have lots of fun with friends :)) LOL - and lets face it, I am also looking forard to many more hours of jumping to reach those datacrons :P
Bravo developers....keep up the good work. A nice review Tinny :)
It certainly was like a breath of fresh air after online games like lotro which is all about grinding things. It is so nice to play for the story for once and not for the drops or rewards which is usually what all online games are about...Have you noticed something? In the quest description there is absolutely nothing which shows you what you gonna get if you get that quest done. What does it tell you?
DeleteVery true Tinny, it says a lot about why they want you to complete the quests, and basically play their game :))
ReplyDeleteAnother nice thing I noticed is this...you have to do a fair bit, sometimes a lot, of work to get good at something, but it is not difficult to do. For example, with the crafting, the way the points system works (from my limited experience of it) you get a few points for each thing you make you make, therefore in order to hit maximum points (I think it is 400) you have to do a loooooot of crafting. But they make it easier as you yourself do not have to locate the materials, you yourself do not have to take time out from questing to spend hours grinding ore and other ingredients. In this case, I would be happy for them to make better crafted items to aim for, cause it's not a chore to perform, actually, I find slapping my companion to send him/her off to work for me quite amusing :))
The crafting system was very confusing for me at start. But then I got used to it & I think is easy and good. Now I can't think of myself sitting in front of the pc screen for half hour watching my character turning the materials into some other materials. (like it is happening in lotro for example)... Or loosing many hours in total just making rounds trying to collect enormous amounts of materials...
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