So it has been a while since I last spoke of Star Wars The Old Republic, probably because I was a little upset that they teased me with a beta invite … and then had to cancel my testing group.
Well, I am excited to report that I have received another invite, this time to test the whole game and until May 17th. I have already created 2 characters, a Jedi Knight and a Sith Inquisitor. Now I can’t talk about things that Bioware has not already released publicly so if anyone were to post any questions, I may or may not be able to answer it depending on the context of the question.
So I will start with my first impressions and I will try not to geek out too much. The movement controls are familiar and comfortable, your standard WSAD. The graphics are pretty sweet, even for a beta. The environment details, the Jedi Temple details are just awesome. I have only gone a few levels so there is much more to try out but so far the combat is pretty sweet, some of the abilities you get early on just give me chills.
I really like the lore and the story that unfolds. I love the concept they are trying with quests where the NPCs actually speak to you and you are given three options as your reply. According to the developer videos, how you reply will alter the perception of your character in the future both by the NPCs and by other players. It is a really neat concept. Oh, and none of the NPCs that have actual dialog, sound the same. I believe Bioware said that they brought in several actors to provide voices for the story questlines. It really adds a new and unique level of quality to the experience.
Then there’s the music. I think its the music that really pulls me in. I love the music.
I am going to stop here for now, I don’t want to talk about too much because I want you guys to keep coming back. I will answer the one question I have had some people ask me already. Is SWTOR a WoW-killer? I am going to tell you what I told them. I think right now its too early to tell but I think TOR has the same groundwork (from a lore perspective) as Warcraft. So, to that end, my answer is, it has the greatest potential over any of the other MMOs which made the same claim to be a WoW-killer.