Today The Old Republic MMO is open for business. EA execs rang the opening bell at NASDAQ this morning, while the 501st and Rebel Legion stormed Times Square. BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka were on hand, with Jedi robes and lightsabers.
Are you playing – or will you be playing – the game? (I’m not a gamer and only own Macs, so: No.)
During Beta a lot of folks where installing Windows on their Apples and playing.
Honestly, it’s not worth that much effort to me.
It is so fun though! It is nice to finally get a game that pretty much delivers on Star Wars Galaxies’ promise.
I’m a reader, not a gamer. I play Sims and am mediocre at Angry Birds. (Angry Birds!) It’s not a priority.
Dunc, I’m with you (not a gamer, only own macs). I’m considering giving SWTOR a go because it’s very story driven. Think interactive book rather than video game?
*headesk*
I am not going to play the game. Please stop trying to convince me. EVERYBODY, EVER. PERIOD.
Not going to try and convince you to play, but from a player’s stand point it’s a great game. There’s tons of dialog, new lore, and so much to build on. Bioware has really set the bar high as far as what an MMO should be like and even more so for what a Star Wars game should be. The people are great and hopefully more story will be given through not just the game but the novels and comics as well.
Feel free to share your thoughts, just not in the guise of trying to make me play it. :D
I’m having an absolute blast. The story and dialogue are wonderful–it’s everything I loved about the original Knights of the Old Republic, but with better graphics, updated mechanics, and the ability to play with my friends.
They’ve done an amazing job, but it’s not the kind of game I’d expect a non-gamer to enjoy. It’s a game with a well-done story, not a story with a game tacked on. Honestly, that’s part of why I think it’s so good–I have played “choose your own adventures” disguised as games, and they tend to fail at both story and gameplay.
If you’re a SW fan who enjoys the RPG or MMO format, I wholeheartedly recommend SWTOR, especially if you liked the original KOTOR. If, like me, you’re a gamer but not a very good one (I play mostly Adventure games, with a few RPGs thrown in, because I haven’t the manual dexterity for shooters or other twitch-fests), you’ll appreciate that they don’t assume all players are seasoned veterans. They did a very good job with advising the player at the beginning without being heavy-handed about it, and they give you a lot of time to get used to the interface before they throw anything too hard at you.
But if you don’t like this type of game, the fact that it’s really good at being this type of game is probably not a selling point.
There are a lot of neat stories in here – a lot of fun.
Strangely Annalee, I did not like KOTOR at all but I love this.
I can totally see that, Jason. I really loved the story in KOTOR, but BioWare has learned a lot since then about how to tell a good story, and that’s even aside from all the technical improvements.
The games are the part of the EU I’m most involved with, personally. So a game on this scale is like getting a whole new trilogy to geek out over.
I do hope they rectify the heteronormativity issue, though. After the strides BioWare made in Mass Effect and Dragon Age, going back to straight relationships only is kind of a letdown. Queer players deserve to see themselves represented in the GFFA too. They say it’s getting fixed as soon as they can get the dialogue for it voiced.
Not gonna play it, hate the design. Nuff said. If they ever make a game building upon the great work Tom Veitch and company put into the Tales of the Jedi comic books, I might reconsider. But playing a 1:1 copy of the classic trilogy three something thousand years before the PT seems utterly ridiculous and not worth all the anger issues I’d probably experience. ;-P
Apparently the Star Wars universe is just one huge derivative mess: everyone is a hero who goes on an iconic quest, every ship/robot/armor design echoes every other one, and EVERYONE has visited Tatooine and Hoth, regardless of their EXTREME obscurity. I know, it’s just a game, but good grief. Why does a universe so large have to be made so small for a game like this, and don’t even get me started about how the comics and novels have done the same thing. Why does a universe as vibrant and creative as Star Wars have to be so squeezed of all inventive joy? Also, why do I get the feeling that for some bizarre reason technology de-vances in this universe? We go from hologram computers and organic spaceships to big black bulky computer bays and chunky metal junks. I digress into rantings :)
How did early Europe go from this to this? ;) I guess Bioware is going to have to invent some barbarian hordes.
I guess the reason Star Wars keeps changing it’s look is that it always seems to emulate its time period. (Anyone remember 90’s Star Wars :P) If they kept making the SW universe look like the one in a New Hope, they’d just be re-making 70’s sci-fi.
@ Sean – This game does take place 3000 yrs or so before the original trilogy, so I would venture to say that the technology hasn’t “de-vanced” enough.