Star Wars: The Old Republic
Producer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Platform: PC
Rating: Teen
Genre: MMORPG
Control Your Destiny
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Massively multiplayer games are special. They have special rules that no gamer would ever follow in traditional games; they get away with not doing certain “non-negotiables,” all the while charging you for a persistent connection. For that reason, reviewing them is an insane task, with each unique character harboring enough content to warrant the game’s initial $60 price tag. The hundreds of hours poured into one class in one faction doesn’t say anything about the other seven, and spending time doing quests and missions versus time spent guilding, raiding, or PvP’ing is completely different. And while everyone wants to be Darth Maul and Luke Skywalker, you ultimately choose your destiny in a game like Star Wars: The Old Republic and that is exactly what developer Bioware does so damn well. Take games from their pedigree (Mass Effect, Dragon Age) and add in perhaps the most popular franchise of all time, and prepare for a highly-anticipated, yet barely original, massive multiplayer online battle royale.
With development and production costs pegged at over $200 million, the one aspect that this game reigns supreme in is presentation. From the menus to the cut-scenes, time was taken to deliver a polished, clean interface beyond the engrossing cinematics and gripping story moments. Combat is another key piece, with dramatic fights highlit by well-animated exchanges between enemies. The lightsaber work is especially cool, and makes up for the fact that I’m just pressing the 1 key on my keyboard. Player vs Player combat works well enough, but the uncapped level structure had experienced vets destroying noobs, until a huge patch fixed (and then subsequently re-broke) that. Jet setting around the expanded Star Wars universe is also thrilling, even if some of the cities and environments are slightly barren and the walking speed is atrocious until you hit a certain level. It’s impossible to make every zone in every city on every planet interesting, so the team made up for this by providing you with group-run mini-missions, called Flashpoints. These are by far the game’s best feature, as they provide short bursts of well-planned team-driven levels. Additional content is planned through 2013 already and Flashpoints are going to be a huge focus as they get the most action on any given night, as they are able to be re-run for additional gear.
The merit of this game comes down to what experience you are looking for when you install the game. I took Bioware’s amazing RPG pedigree to task, asking for a solo experience unmatched by contemporary games, with some of the best sound, UI, mission, and story work in the industry. To that end, I’m a completely satisfied customer with dozens of hours of content yet to explore. But if I bought this game looking for a WoW killer, something that has learned the lesson from a revolution nearly 10 years ago, The Old Republic is not it. It is close, and the universe it’s set in may prove more appealing, but it is still a slave to the foundations laid by WoW, Everquest, and everything else that charged you monthly before this game was ever a thought in George Lucas’ skull. Each solo character has enough content to warrant the games initial $60 price tag, but if a new way to think about online gaming is what you desire, play your buddy’s account first and see if the force is with you before paying monthly for it.