I picked up Star Wars: The Old Republic with some Christmas money a week ago and just started playing it three days ago. Since there doesn't seem to be much in the way of news today (at least as of this writing), I figured I would give some impressions of the game.
First things first, let's just get this out of the way. Yes, the game is a lot like World of Warcraft with Bioware conversations, but that is as much about necessity as it is about pride. WoW has done a lot of good things for the MMO gametype and it isn't silly to see Bioware harp on a lot of things from it, especially with the amount of money it has made. On the flip side of that, a lot of the newer things like LFG and Transmogrification didn't make it in, since WoW added those later in development (heard people complaining about this and it irked me).
I think the fully voiced nature really adds a lot to the game. It is pretty cool to talk to each quest giver with your own voice and shape your character in a way that hasn't really existed in any MMO before it. The voice acting is all top-notch and doesn't make me cringe. Some of the voice actors (heck, probably all of them) tend to repeat but it's perfectly understandable that that would happen at SOME point.
On the flip side, I can see why the voice would get in the way. Compared to WoW, it takes about three times as long to pick up quests and go on your way, since you have to sit through a two-four minute conversation first for each quest giver. If speed is your game, you might have to turn off the conversations. Of course, that would ruin the main point of the game.
Another thing I really like is each class has their own main story thread, one they follow through (I assume anyways) all the way to the level cap. This has been done before in Aion but it feels smarter here. While Aion opened story quests to you as you leveled, TOR never has you without your next step in the story. You have a bunch of smaller, supplemental quests to go with it but the main quest line is the core. I feel much more invested in my character with this chain of quests than I would do all the same ones that everyone else is doing (I know everyone does the same quest chain per class but it still feels more special than the same one for everyone).
Combat flows well enough, uses pretty standard conventions for an MMO. Things like a resource you spend, a resource you build up with abilities and spend with others, and a resource that builds up and prevents you from attacking are found elsewhere. Two of the classes, the Smuggler and Imperial Spy, have an interesting cover mechanic that I need to look into more. You almost always fight groups of enemies, probably Bioware's way of making combat more exciting. It works and also has the benefit of getting you to the end of those "kill 15 guys" quests more quickly.
I sound like a WoW fanboy by saying it but the game doesn't feel quite as snappy as WoW (to be fair, nothing does). Only WoW seems to have the perfect feeling of pushing a button for an ability and having that ability launch immediately. TOR comes the closest out of everything I've played and keeps me engaged more than things like City of Heroes or Rift.
Another interesting choice was the choice of giving everyone companions. Bioware games are known for these and adding them to an MMO seems an odd choice at first. They are used in interesting ways though. First off, you have a "pet" from Level 8, one that helps you fight by doing damage, tanking, or even healing you. Soloers are given a much easier time when they have a companion to give them a hand.
Companions are also the crafting portion of the game. When you want to gather materials, you can find them in the world or send your companions on gathering missions. They disappear for a few minutes and come back with stuff to craft with. When you craft, you can either craft yourself at a bench or send the companion on a crafting mission to craft the item. It is a smart way to make one of the more annoying parts of an MMO something you can do in the background while you do something more exciting.
A small point that I see a lot of people complaining about are the graphics. Some of them hate the artstyle and some think the game looks awful for a 2011 game. I think the artstyle is great, although maybe a little too close to WoW's. I would prefer a more vibrant, arty game than one that looks like Star Wars Galaxies did. As for the quality of the graphics, Bioware was assuredly hampered by the fact that an MMO has to appeal to the widest range of computer hardware to ensure enough users. Even so, the game looks very appealing to my eye.
That's really all I can think of to say at this point. My Bounty Hunter is only at Level 15 so far and I need to get further to see more of the game. Expect to see a few posts here and there when I find something worth mentioning.
Check in tomorrow for my first ever Top 10 Games of the Year list!
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