Star Wars: The Old Republic

 PC
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2879 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,378 out of 2879
  2. Mixed: 545 out of 2879
  3. Negative: 956 out of 2879
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  1. Goosebump
    Dec 23, 2011
    7
    *** Pros (in no specific order other than as they come to me): Fantastic voice acting throughout. Decent graphics. Star Wars! Nice twist on professions by letting your companion(s) grind em while you get on with other stuff. Decent stories and class chains. Good travel options (only let down by the ridiculously long fleet recall cd). Various levels of mob difficulty for their*** Pros (in no specific order other than as they come to me): Fantastic voice acting throughout. Decent graphics. Star Wars! Nice twist on professions by letting your companion(s) grind em while you get on with other stuff. Decent stories and class chains. Good travel options (only let down by the ridiculously long fleet recall cd). Various levels of mob difficulty for their respective level. Bioware, Lucasarts are two greats in the industry. Reasonable UI options but can get very cluttered with frames overlapping side action bars and the likes. Your own space ship is cool and some space fights are great fun. Two options to take on how you want to res when you die - this is really good. Everyone can resurrect people out of combat. Nice chat choice roll system when in a group on quests. Dark and Light side is another bit of fun to focus on when levelling. *** Cons: PvP - just don't bother. Dire combat mechanics for melee - WoW is light years ahead in terms of combat fun for a melee class in this regard. Ranged combat seems ok and doesnt feel anywhere as awkward or clunky as melee combat. The deposit scaling with buyout price and auction time is insanely high and totally discourages people posting things on the auction house - especially while levelling where credits are tight. The taint of EA is in the back of players minds that have been stung by their awful support and/or dollar-grabbing previously - I truely wish Bioware would cut all ties with these guys. *** Summary: From my six years of WoW, this is not a WoW killer imho for those interested in it as a potential challenger. It's something that can be played alongside WoW purely for the whole Star Wars thing goin on but I have my doubts about the longevity of the game unless Bioware can keep it interesting - we'll just have to wait and see. The frustrating combat mechanics, bad deposit system on the auction house and after thought PvP are enough to make me cancel my sub when my 30 days are up however. This is not a bash at the game by the way - it's an honest opinion - there's alot to love in the game too as you can see in the pros above and maybe the cons are things that you can live with - if so, great - have a blast! 7/10… Expand
  2. Kassdhal
    Dec 31, 2011
    7
    I am very mixed about this game. Went up to lvl 45 at the moment, participated in the beta and have tried 3 other characters to levl 10-12.

    On one hand it is a pure Bioware game, with amazing RPG feature and story, a strong SW background and a very solid gameplay, very good realization, interesting PVP battlegrounds, the Companion system is great, .... On the other hand, the comparison    I am very mixed about this game. Went up to lvl 45 at the moment, participated in the beta and have tried 3 other characters to levl 10-12.

    On one hand it is a pure Bioware game, with amazing RPG feature and story, a strong SW background and a very solid gameplay, very good realization, interesting PVP battlegrounds, the Companion system is great, ....

    On the other hand, the comparison with WOW is unavoidable and this is where we see what's missing in TOR: the polish that Blizzard put in everything. There are a load of very good things in TOR but, for example, myriads of small things that makes your life easy in WoW are missing (too many load screens, too many small zones, Town Portal system that needs to be improved, tons of small information that should be present in details instead of giving overall numbers, several bugs that should have been eliminated in Alpha version in the fly system for example, or in the fact that often you are out of a BG because the game does not let you go outside of the start zone before the end of the timer).

    Also some key features like a LFD system are missing, which makes finding a group for Flashpoint a real pain in the ass. There are no statistic system that would allow a player to track what he's done in the game, ...
    Also not possible yet to have two spec, which means that you need a full respec if you want to be a tank or a heal, which makes, again, finding flashpoint groups a pain in the ass...

    Very very mixed feeling. Sadly, I feel like it misses maybe 6 month of polish, a little the same feeling as for when Warhammer was launched, very strong base but not polished enough. Way better than WoW at the start but the competition is not anymore Wow in 2005... Prediction is that there will be c. 500-700k player for a while but baring implementation of the key features very very quickly, there will be a huge leakage as soon as Diablo 3 or Guild Wars 2 will be out.

    A good game, but not good enough. A very good, BioWare, RPG game, but not enough to nail the MMO part bit.    … Expand
  3. SchroederRock
    May 7, 2012
    7
    SW The Old Republic is quite the achievement for the newcomer into MMO's (BioWare/EA). It's essentially WoW with lightsabers. But for every great achievement found in this game, there seems to be a drawback. The leveling process is fairly well done (not too hard, not too easy) and the space missions are a great change of pace while questing. However, it's like BioWare took much of whatSW The Old Republic is quite the achievement for the newcomer into MMO's (BioWare/EA). It's essentially WoW with lightsabers. But for every great achievement found in this game, there seems to be a drawback. The leveling process is fairly well done (not too hard, not too easy) and the space missions are a great change of pace while questing. However, it's like BioWare took much of what made WoW great but left a lot of the nuances that allowed the MMO giant to streamline group play and get people into special dungeons/instances (called Flashpoints in TOR). The voice acting is a nice touch and cutscenes are a welcomed element, giving more attention to things like the story that you play through depending on your class chosen. Then there's the light side/dark side choices you can make, which may lend a lot of replayability to TOR. But still, that's if you get hooked enough to continue on. After leveling a 50 and a couple alternative classes AND doing all the latest & greatest in Operations (raids) and Warzones (battlegrounds/PvP) often, TOR has steadily become less and less glamorous. The point that took me years to hit with World of Warcraft has only taken me roughly 4 months to hit in TOR. And while it's been a good investment, I feel this game will only be a flash in the pan for the mass majority. I'd be more interested to play Guild Wars 2, TERA, or the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online at this point to experience the MMO genre. But all that to say that SWTOR is good, it's just not the great competitor to WoW that everyone hyped it to be.… Expand
  4. Lycanthrope
    Jan 13, 2012
    7
    Best MMO there is at the moment. Immersive, choice-oriented and successfully manages to make you feel important and part of the world. Some minor niggles: no LFG window or dungeon finder equivalent, very limited varieties of armour, cannot sell the exact same armour cross-faction without it changing to something else. But as far as MMOs go, it'll be incredibly hard to upstage this one.
  5. Cookies5000
    May 1, 2012
    7
    SWTOR the game with quite the storyline. Decent game but I was hoping more from the PvP front of things than HUTTBALL. Game still has some fun factor in it but the latest event was too short and I still disapprove of the handling of the PvP system currently. Ilum was handled poorly and all the exploiters still got to keep their rewards while the rest of us who played the game legitSWTOR the game with quite the storyline. Decent game but I was hoping more from the PvP front of things than HUTTBALL. Game still has some fun factor in it but the latest event was too short and I still disapprove of the handling of the PvP system currently. Ilum was handled poorly and all the exploiters still got to keep their rewards while the rest of us who played the game legit basically got told that we should have been exploiting as well. It's really quite dumb. Besides that though good storyline, loveable choices like I would love to have in all MMOs, and awesome side kicks that help you adventure along. Sad thing is once you're done the main point of the side kick is to craft or gather for you which seems kinda pointless really. You build a relationship...ohh thx for helping me kill such and such enjoy your time mining some rocks for me while I go PvP in huttball. Space combat I was hoping for something more but it's an crazy easy arcade game no matter what level you are. So I give it a 7 as its worth a few months of fun.… Expand
  6. Berzerker556
    Mar 16, 2012
    7
    Very typical MMO in that it plays very similarly to wow.

    I like the specialization of classes, except that you cannot undo that decision, so if you go with one sub class you have to re-roll and level the same character to swap to the other sub class. This is a design oversight in my eye. II found that overall the story was very generic, and the Empire side was to evil for evils sake and    Very typical MMO in that it plays very similarly to wow.

    I like the specialization of classes, except that you cannot undo that decision, so if you go with one sub class you have to re-roll and level the same character to swap to the other sub class. This is a design oversight in my eye. II found that overall the story was very generic, and the Empire side was to evil for evils sake and the republic felt very vanilla, in a goody two shoes way. Technically, the game looks good and has a good level of polish, but I did run into stability issues and some setting and the game has lowish frame rates on a high-end system. I also noticed that you don't really have to interact with other players and found that as with most MMOs the other players usually make the experience worse so this was a plus or a minus depending on your point of view. One interesting mechanic I loved was the space combat, It was a good idea that needs refinement. I would like to see it evolve into a full "flight sim" implementation as opposed to the current scripted track implementation. Overall if you are tired of fantasy MMOs and want something with a different flavor give this a shot, just be prepared because to me it felt like wow with lightsabers.    … Expand
  7. intruder313
    Dec 21, 2011
    7
    They really have played it safe with this one, largely cloning WoW but adding a few nice touches that make things even easier and allows you to focus on the fun rather than the grind (so far it seems). Highlights include Space Combat events, Companions and Crafting by proxy.

    Very much marring the experience though are the horrendous PvP Instances, the blatant dominance of the "Mage" Class    They really have played it safe with this one, largely cloning WoW but adding a few nice touches that make things even easier and allows you to focus on the fun rather than the grind (so far it seems). Highlights include Space Combat events, Companions and Crafting by proxy.

    Very much marring the experience though are the horrendous PvP Instances, the blatant dominance of the "Mage" Class (this was abundantly clear in Beta so no excuses for going live like this) and the gigantic queues (which will subside).

    Treat it as a solo Bioware game and it's great, the MMO aspects needs a bit more work though to escape the WoW-clone badge.    … Expand
  8. Superstring
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    The game is average. The only new thing that makes it stand out is VO, which is quite controversial. Everything else is good old WoW with lightsabers.
  9. PLANETX
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    I have been waiting for this game to come out ever since it was officially acknowledged to the public. I was one of the people who went on the site every Friday looking for the weekly update. When the game finally came out I spent a lot of time leveling my character, moving through the story, and killing other players along the way. Overall the leveling experience is by far the best of anyI have been waiting for this game to come out ever since it was officially acknowledged to the public. I was one of the people who went on the site every Friday looking for the weekly update. When the game finally came out I spent a lot of time leveling my character, moving through the story, and killing other players along the way. Overall the leveling experience is by far the best of any MMO to date. The story is really what makes this game what it is, combing the best aspects of a singleplayer RPG, with an MMO was really mastered in swtor. However, with that all said there are still many problems. Unbalanced classes, an assortment of glitches which seem to never get fixed, and of course lack of good end-game content. Everyone plays an MMO for its end-game content, which is the whole point of leveling. Once you get there the Operations are very enjoyable, but then it gets way to repetitive way to fast, there are many bugs that still haven't been fixed, and of course a very small selection. They spent most of their time focusing on sucking people in early and mid game that they seemed to forget that the end game exists. People need something to do on their max level main character, it's not the point to create new characters, you want to be able to use your first character. Not being able to do that was really the fatal blow that caused me to quit. I enjoyed the game very much, I consider it a masterpiece among MMO's, but they still have a lot to work on if it's going to be worth playing at end game. I don't doubt that the future will cure the problems I faced, but for now it has yet to happen.… Expand
  10. Kazee
    Feb 12, 2012
    7
    Positives: SW:TOR is a fine MMO offering that had a smooth launch but inadequate endgame, which is about as much as you can hope for from a modern MMO.

    Negatives: Some of the class design choices went too far trying to differentiate from accepted 'trinity' ability distribution (a stealth healer with DPS? kind of OP. A pure Tank class that doesn't have effective mob gathering skills? Not    Positives: SW:TOR is a fine MMO offering that had a smooth launch but inadequate endgame, which is about as much as you can hope for from a modern MMO.

    Negatives: Some of the class design choices went too far trying to differentiate from accepted 'trinity' ability distribution (a stealth healer with DPS? kind of OP. A pure Tank class that doesn't have effective mob gathering skills? Not a good idea.) The story is very well done, but becomes tedious on subsequent play through. After reading some of the reviews here and on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, I think I will be avoiding 'User reviews' on Metacritic from here on. The hyperbole of the reviews and the flimsy justifications for the extreme positions are not entertaining nor a good guide to whether or not anyone should purchase a game, which I think should be the most useful thing about them.

    I justify a score of 7 because I was thoroughly entertained for my first play through and I am regularly raiding with my guild. I would highly recommend a guild for grouping and endgames. As with every MMO ever, pug tanks will make you want to perform seppuku.

    A zero through three should only be given to a thoroughly broken game, not because the game designers made a perfectly acceptable design decision that you didn't like. A ten should only be given to a game that cures terminally ill children and creates a bridge to Valhalla.    … Expand
  11. grammarye
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    TOR has managed to revitalise the tired MMO market with an actual story; nay eight actual stories, that have the same level & quality of Bioware storytelling we've all become used to in Mass Effect, KOTOR and the like. Sure, it's now in an MMO which means some aspects of flow have been sacrificed, and there are some key MMO typical features that seem absent, but nevertheless it fitsTOR has managed to revitalise the tired MMO market with an actual story; nay eight actual stories, that have the same level & quality of Bioware storytelling we've all become used to in Mass Effect, KOTOR and the like. Sure, it's now in an MMO which means some aspects of flow have been sacrificed, and there are some key MMO typical features that seem absent, but nevertheless it fits together pretty well. Extremely stable, sounds great & looks gorgeous.

    The game presents you with a series of worlds to play on, tailored to a set of levels, although the story will have you returning to earlier worlds and tougher areas at points. Pacing is fair, perhaps a little fast, when compared to, say, World of Warcraft, and indeed it's hard not to compare the two; the mechanics are quite similar. Where they diverge is the involving story & fully voiced content, along with better crafting mechanisms & more diverse & useful skills. If I compare my experiences between levelling up a character in WoW and one in TOR, I would say I have experienced less burnout, less frustration, and more fun in TOR.    … Expand
  12. DudasDrakaan
    Dec 23, 2011
    7
    I'll state upfront that this game is not good enough to charge a $15/ month fee. NO game is -- period. If a company needs long term revenue then there are other ways to get that without mandatory fees. Valve has shown this with their store, and then there are the DLCs that Bethesda has used. Both of these methods are annoying, but they do not detract from a game. The fact that you canI'll state upfront that this game is not good enough to charge a $15/ month fee. NO game is -- period. If a company needs long term revenue then there are other ways to get that without mandatory fees. Valve has shown this with their store, and then there are the DLCs that Bethesda has used. Both of these methods are annoying, but they do not detract from a game. The fact that you can lose your account and all data attached to it if you cease paying for it is, by contrast, a live issue for any game. _____ My soap box aside, this is an extremely fun game that -- at least in terms of storyline -- does something that other MMOs do not: allow multiple players to determine the course of a story by taking a vote of what action to take. The lightside/ darkside choices and dialogue should be familiar to KOTOR fans, and TOR has expanded this to the multiplayer. Now, what I have trouble with is the wait times during Instances (that is to say those areas where multiple players go together and determine the course of the story during an event). If a player is lagging behind -- looting and so forth -- then you will have to wait on that person to catch up before you can move on. There is no skipping waiting for that person, and so this can destroy your experience. Bioware could have allowed the player to forgo their part in the story, or just teleport them to their team to cut the annoyance on the press of a button, but no. And I'm not even going to go into teamwork, any online gamer should know matching yourself with random people will make that stitchy. It's just all the sitting, and the waiting, that ruins the experience. This is true for all the minor snatch-and-grab quests that are annoying, even when you are by yourself. How I want the ability to "fast travel" like on Oblivion or Skyrim (and I'm not trolling, but seriously -- why can't a different company use that system to cut down unnecessary travel time). It is not as if they are trying to make Star Wars realistic.... _____ But within these things is the sandbox experience, and the cool, novel features that have yet to be ironed out. When they are the story portion will be vastly improved. The writing itself is still Bioware quality, even though I've found character responses to often be repetitive this is to be expected with a work so massive as this. Combat matches the KOTOR/ WOW style that everyone is talking about, so I'm not going to go into that. I will just say that it stays true to KOTOR enough that I'm not complaining, though the fact that you have to go to a "Trainer" instead of acquring abilities "through the Force," as was explained in the previous KOTOR makes leveling annoying at times and -- in addition -- questions the validity of those previous Star Wars games. Does a Jedi acquire his abilities through practice and from force within, as KOTOR implied? Or does he/she need a master to acquire these abilities, as TOR is now suggesting? I'm not going to force the fact that it makes TOR unnecessarily like WOW in this respect. Finding and paying trainers are a hassle. Nothing that would block a player from getting an "unfair advantage," they are simply an annoyance: why doesn't Bioware make you file an income tax in the game every year while they are at it? Furthermore, it disturbs the lore of Star Wars. Since Dark Forces II there has been both lore that a person gains abilities through experience (which makes sense) but this must first be instigated after learning the basics from a master or other teaching source (also makes sense). Why is TOR suddenly violating this lore? For "game balance?" It just seems like an unnecessary kick in the crotch. _____ In summary, this is a good game but it still has quirks which need to be resolved. If these were resolved, then you're looking at a fantastic game. If Bioware would stop playing the role of King John, like Blizzard, and stop levying a game tax, then you are looking at a 10. Though, really, it would probably be like a 94% due to the graphical glitches and the general look which is outdated. But graphics are forgivable. As are the timing quirks and slow pacing. But a slow game that charges $15/month?... NO. Now if you are rich and have too much time on your hands: this is a game for you.… Expand
  13. DustyPig
    Mar 6, 2013
    7
    I've never been immersed in an MMO before, but I felt like giving SWTOR a try due to it being, well, a Star Wars game. It didn't make me like the combat system commonly used in an MMO, but I began to see why someone would. The graphics aren't great but they do the Star Wars world justice; after all, who sees Star Wars for the realistic and detailed content? Being a Sith Lord is awesome,I've never been immersed in an MMO before, but I felt like giving SWTOR a try due to it being, well, a Star Wars game. It didn't make me like the combat system commonly used in an MMO, but I began to see why someone would. The graphics aren't great but they do the Star Wars world justice; after all, who sees Star Wars for the realistic and detailed content? Being a Sith Lord is awesome, and anyone who appreciates Star Wars will enjoy emulating their favourite character or creating their own. The free to play option is decent; it's annoying to get less XP and be forced to grind to progress in the story, but it doesn't feel restricting in terms of PVP battles and space missions. Overall, my main complaint is the grinding, but it's only bad because of the story focus something that is rare in MMOs. And if the player finds it that bad, all they need to do is get a subscription.… Expand
  14. Falrinth
    Feb 1, 2012
    7
    Game casts a spell on me whenever i do questing and immerse myself in the lore, which is easy, because of the full voiceover. I love questing and doing flashpoints. They made it excellent, its going in right direction! At this point my vote would be: 9/10.
    However its mmorpg and as mmorpg i have bought it. At this moment the mmo part of the game is not very enjoyable (excluding the 4man    Game casts a spell on me whenever i do questing and immerse myself in the lore, which is easy, because of the full voiceover. I love questing and doing flashpoints. They made it excellent, its going in right direction! At this point my vote would be: 9/10.
    However its mmorpg and as mmorpg i have bought it. At this moment the mmo part of the game is not very enjoyable (excluding the 4man flashpoints), due to horrid performance (dont aim for mmo part of swtor like warzones unless you have i5 CPU or higher unless you like PvP with 5-18fps). They simply overdosed polygons in the warzones not thinking about performance at all... Interface in many places is rushed and not working as intended, let alone be comfortable.
    Its beta - but that shoudlnt suprise anyone anymore, becouse thats usuall EA and other low quality producers' strategy.

    So far it wont score more than 7 from me. There is a chance they gonna improve some things soon, becouse some parts of the game are really outstanding and cool.    … Expand
  15. ufte34
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    hold on a sec, i see where this is going those people who are calming to reach max level, gave the game a rating of 0 on the first day, is that even possible (not even possible if you got access to the game before 5 days of release)?. those people who compares the game with XXX gave a rating of 1 or 2. those people who reached level 32 gave the game rating of 0(it's been 6 hours since thehold on a sec, i see where this is going those people who are calming to reach max level, gave the game a rating of 0 on the first day, is that even possible (not even possible if you got access to the game before 5 days of release)?. those people who compares the game with XXX gave a rating of 1 or 2. those people who reached level 32 gave the game rating of 0(it's been 6 hours since the game has been released). those people who are complain about a game being a grind gave the rating of 0-2, note to self if you are going to play an MMO it's a grind. those people who say it's a clone of another XXX mmo, every MMO has been an clone of others, get your brains examined. any one who compares this game to WOW gave a rating of 0. and most of those people never even played SWTOR.… Expand
  16. dobserver
    Oct 8, 2013
    7
    I did have fun playing this game as I do like Star Wars Lore and do prefer solo-ing MMOs unless I have to group up. Thus this may not be a game for everyone if you like the more MMO aspects of it. I have a feeling EA and Bioware were trying to be greedy in targeting both sets of audiences and charging a premium for it.

    Story: Was decent with the voice acting and the quests seem to try    I did have fun playing this game as I do like Star Wars Lore and do prefer solo-ing MMOs unless I have to group up. Thus this may not be a game for everyone if you like the more MMO aspects of it. I have a feeling EA and Bioware were trying to be greedy in targeting both sets of audiences and charging a premium for it.

    Story: Was decent with the voice acting and the quests seem to try and tie into the main story a lot better than some other MMOs I played. It's a bit weak at times, but not bad for an MMO.

    Gameplay: I like the variety of skills that you can choose to use on your toolbar or expanded toolbar, BUT the animations do not link very well with the key press and the cooldowns are all over the place. Combat seemed to be just punching buttons and hoping for the best. IF the key presses matched the animations, it would have been okay.

    Sounds and video were decent. Sometimes a bit glitchy. I would say the gameplay is a bit slow, it takes forever to get past the initial hold your hand levels and I found travelling to be slow, even when I had a speeder. Was surprised to find so much voice acting in an MMO, a nice bioware touch.

    Found classes and character limitation to be a bit limiting. Though it was kind of cool that each character had a distinct story (sadly not very customizeable) but quite deep good effort.

    Recommend this game if you have patience, are a Star Wars fan and prefer solo PVE. Else, pass.

    Not worth buying at all since the core of the game has some problems.    … Expand
  17. proscure
    Jan 17, 2012
    7
    Narrative(story) wise this games tops WoW by far. But unfortunatly the questing is dreadfull. Most of the same after a few lvls. The Ship/Companion/Gatherings are also things i feel very positive about.
    Also the flashpoints are nice cause there is a story in it which evolves as you progress.
    But I still feel like i want to skip quests and just experience the story. So there is where it    Narrative(story) wise this games tops WoW by far. But unfortunatly the questing is dreadfull. Most of the same after a few lvls. The Ship/Companion/Gatherings are also things i feel very positive about.
    Also the flashpoints are nice cause there is a story in it which evolves as you progress.

    But I still feel like i want to skip quests and just experience the story. So there is where it fails for me.    … Expand
  18. Ngamok
    Jan 13, 2012
    7
    Great Space Themed MMO with voice overs. I have tried the Smuggler, Trooper, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent and love the stories they have associated with them. Game has some flaws and important issues needed with MMOs that are being released today. No guild functionality, dual specs are required, UI customization and moving UI elements around. Graphics and worlds look amazing. So IGreat Space Themed MMO with voice overs. I have tried the Smuggler, Trooper, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent and love the stories they have associated with them. Game has some flaws and important issues needed with MMOs that are being released today. No guild functionality, dual specs are required, UI customization and moving UI elements around. Graphics and worlds look amazing. So I give it a 7 because of launching with some basic stuff missing. But the story and voice overs are amazing.… Expand
  19. Ordish
    Nov 23, 2012
    7
    Just because it is Star Wars the game starts with a score of 5 instead of zero. There is a lot to like about Star Wars: The Old Republic, and there is a lot that could have been done better. The Good:
    The graphics are good and mesh very well with the whole Star Wars universe. The sound effects are excellent also keeping in line with the Star Wars universe. The greatest strength of this    Just because it is Star Wars the game starts with a score of 5 instead of zero. There is a lot to like about Star Wars: The Old Republic, and there is a lot that could have been done better. The Good:
    The graphics are good and mesh very well with the whole Star Wars universe. The sound effects are excellent also keeping in line with the Star Wars universe. The greatest strength of this title is the story line, which is both compelling and action packed. The story makes good use of decisions affecting your character build. The Bad: After more than a decade of MMO's that use the age old, and tired, grind fest for leveling, this game will leave you feeling less than original. The story line is good but not even a fresh coat of paint will cover up a bad base coat. The game play is typical of most MMO's of the last decade. Get quest, kill x number of bad things, return to quest giver for reward. Rinse, repeat. Overall, you can't beat the price (free) and if you are a Star Wars fan you will likely enjoy many parts of the game. Just not for very long.    … Expand
  20. IriathZhul
    Jan 21, 2012
    7
    I should probably start by saying that I don't actually have a subscription. I'm just speaking from tail-end-of-beta experience. I enjoyed the game, I really did. And then I completed the Sith Warrior storyline and realized that what had kept me going was the amazing story.

    The stories and roleplaying and characters in this game are stunning. The tragic fact, however, is that you'd have    I should probably start by saying that I don't actually have a subscription. I'm just speaking from tail-end-of-beta experience. I enjoyed the game, I really did. And then I completed the Sith Warrior storyline and realized that what had kept me going was the amazing story.

    The stories and roleplaying and characters in this game are stunning. The tragic fact, however, is that you'd have to roll 8 different alts to experience all 8 stories, or 16 if you want to see the different sides of those stories, not to mention the infinite permutations by going back and forth. Anyways, I say this game is fun and I'm happy for people who enjoy it, I really am, but there's a reason I didn't subscribe--it doesn't function enough as an MMO to make up for the rather "blah" end-game material. I end by reiterating a lot of other people's wishes--this game should have been singleplayer. Bioware could have made the "Dragon Age" of Star Wars RPGs and it would have been legendary, and they went for an MMO instead. At least they'll make enough money from it to fund better games in the future.    … Expand
  21. Sevvy88
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    For years many gamers have watched and waited for a game that would pique their interest in the same way WoW did (and for many continues to) did years ago. The MMO market has been a dreadful one, and Bioware promised alot with this game. Did they deliver? Early signs are pointing, for the most part, yes. The game is extremely well put together. The zones flow well, the story clicks along,For years many gamers have watched and waited for a game that would pique their interest in the same way WoW did (and for many continues to) did years ago. The MMO market has been a dreadful one, and Bioware promised alot with this game. Did they deliver? Early signs are pointing, for the most part, yes. The game is extremely well put together. The zones flow well, the story clicks along, and the combat is solid, albeit traditional. If WoW expanded upon Everquest in all the right ways, then I believe SW:TOR continues this trend. MMO veterans will feel comfortable immediately with the UI and combat, but before you walk out, give it a chance. The story is what Bioware has been pushing HARD for this game, and at first I was skeptical. Let me tell you, the story in WoW never interested me, and I am an AVID reader to boot. Not the case with SW:TOR. I find myself "stepping into my character's shoes" quite constantly. The voice overs add immersion and, get this, Bioware did a FANTASTIC job of making sure that even if you are grouped, voice overs can be seamless. The voice acting is not Hollywood level, but for a video game, it is certainly above standard. Bioware is famous for their storytelling in games, and SW:TOR absolutely shines here. Gameplay wise the game strikes a fair balance between fairly easy and challenging. The game will require you to group at times to complete certain missions, many of which your companion will not be enough to make up the difference of lacking another player's help. I welcome this return of group questing. Fear not though, group quests are not overdone. There are far more solo quests than group quests, and while the solo quests are fairly easy, they are not insulting to the player's intelligence. That may be because I am still learning my class. :) Those who claimed this would be a "single player MMO" are only imposing that on themselves at this point. The most fun I have had in game has been in groups, and I find FREQUENT opportunities to play with others.

    The instances are fun and click along at a nice pace, here again, the story does wonders. Watching your group members gasp at you when, despite all of their choices, you win the conversation roll and choose a dark side option will never get old. It creates alot of opportunity for discussion and friendly banter. Great stuff. The instances are very do-able, but again, I didn't feel like my intelligence was insulted.

    Crafting feels traditional in some respects, but contains a twist: you can send your companion to gather materials and run "crew skill missions" for you while you quest, group in an instance, or just chill out in a city socializing. This is a GREAT addition. I've never met someone who enjoyed farming. There are still many nodes in the open game world for players to collect for materials as they quest as well. Again, Bioware striking a great balance. That really is the name of the game here: balance. Bioware didn't re-invent the wheel by any means, they kept it simple and traditional in many ways, but the spins they have put on it are refreshing and fun. If you are looking for a game that is unlike any MMO ever, then sadly, you will probably be disappointed, the game is by no means a "WoW clone" anymore than WoW was an "EQ clone." Good ideas build off of one another, they don't exist in vacuums. So why the 7 and not a 10 or a 9? Well, because the game can improve in many ways. There are still many bugs afflicting players, and Bioware's support team has been less than transparent about them. The UI cannot be customized, not even resized, and quite frankly, I find it maddening and unacceptable. The game could use better group forming tools, as right now you simply much spam a chat channel for a group. High res textures are also not working. The game still needs alot of love, and I don't think anyone will deny that if they take an honest look at the state of things.

    Overall, the game is solid, and I truly believe it has great potential to see success. Personally I am having a BLAST, and haven't enjoyed an MMO this much since my first journeys in WoW back in 2006. Great jobs Bioware, now just keep up the good work. That's going to be the hardest part... and the true test.    … Expand
  22. kendrickdk
    Jun 20, 2014
    7
    It is definitely a great game. The combat system is out of date but there is no denying that the voice over and story is top notch. If they would just update the combat system this game would be a real contender.
  23. Superfly3176
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    Personally I like this game, it doesn't really do anything out of the ordinary but does some good things for the genre. Questing feels immersive, as a sith sorcerer every quest feels like I'm doing something to help win a war. The voice acting is above average, but it's new for the MMO genre. I can't count how many times I've accepted a quest in wow, and went right to the bottom where itPersonally I like this game, it doesn't really do anything out of the ordinary but does some good things for the genre. Questing feels immersive, as a sith sorcerer every quest feels like I'm doing something to help win a war. The voice acting is above average, but it's new for the MMO genre. I can't count how many times I've accepted a quest in wow, and went right to the bottom where it said "Collect x number of y". SW:TOR doesn't leave you feeling detached.

    The main quest for a sith seems to be pretty good so far, I'm level 20 on the 3rd planet. Combat is smooth, but not as smooth as wow's is. It seems to have a little bit of delay and just lacks that polished fluidity.

    Crafting/Collecting skills are half great, half a major pain. You can set your companions to do crafting or collecting missions, which really streamlines your leveling. The problem is it take forever for them to do it. One minute to craft a belt? Come on now. It also doesn't seem easy to find materials for things you need to craft.

    The game has more faults, while there's a lot of group quests, there doesn't feel like there's a lot of bosses or instances thus far up to level 20. Feels like there's less opportunity to group up in instances. It leads me to wonder if I decide to play Jedi 3 months down the road if there will be anyone around to do the group quests.

    The worlds don't seem very big during the first 2 planets, although I'm on the 3rd one and it feels much larger then the previous two. But even still for an entire plant to feel like it's the size of one zone in wow (think duskwood is just about korriban). The difference is SWTOR puts you in a lot of tunnels and "sub zones" for quests.

    Overall I'd give it a 6.5/10, it has potential but unless they come up with some endgame this is just going to be a leveling ordeal, in which case they should have just made it single player.    … Expand
  24. DeathTouch
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    Can use some more polishing, but have been enjoying myself quite a bit. All I can say is get a friend(s) to group with and have fun, better yet get into a guild with like minded people.
  25. Publicius
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    There's been a mixed bag of reviews here. Plenty of WoW comparisons, however I've never played WoW, but have played other MMO's such as Swg, Lotro, and Sto. As such I find this game somewhat difficult to judge. The VO is a nice addition to MMO playing, but you also have your typical kill that, kill this quest (which every MMO does). The class story lines are decent, some predictable,There's been a mixed bag of reviews here. Plenty of WoW comparisons, however I've never played WoW, but have played other MMO's such as Swg, Lotro, and Sto. As such I find this game somewhat difficult to judge. The VO is a nice addition to MMO playing, but you also have your typical kill that, kill this quest (which every MMO does). The class story lines are decent, some predictable, others not. The zone design and planetary design is very linear..however there is room for expansion. Having played in beta I've paid attention to the various progressions of the game. There is certainly room for improvement, in many areas of the game. However, if you like the star wars genre, you'll most certainly appreciate the game. The game has a decent ground to build off of, provided it's handled in thecorrect manner, which remains to be seen. For the most part it is your typical MMO, theres nothing surprising or jaw dropping from any other MMO (except maybe the VO), however it can be quite fun if you look past some little flaws. I would encourage to make your own conclusions based on your play, but would recommend the standard edition only, as the game is not worth spending the cash on the collectors edition.… Expand
  26. CStormdancer
    Dec 21, 2011
    7
    The thing that defines and separates The Old Republic is story. The whole game is wrapped around it both for good and ill. If you like RPG's then you will likely enjoy TOR because at its heart that is what it is. It borrows its format from other Bioware games where your choices shape the game for you at least to a point. The stories in most cases are enjoyable however there are someThe thing that defines and separates The Old Republic is story. The whole game is wrapped around it both for good and ill. If you like RPG's then you will likely enjoy TOR because at its heart that is what it is. It borrows its format from other Bioware games where your choices shape the game for you at least to a point. The stories in most cases are enjoyable however there are some themes on the Imperial side that become trite. Primarily the Empire in many cases comes off as completely incompetent. I believe that this was done in an attempt to make the player feel heroic. The game play follows the successful model of WoW. Some people criticise this but I find it handy. This game doesn't have a steep learning curve because its play style is already familiar. You can jump in and enjoy the story and the game play right away. Sometimes the game play lacks challenge. However I beleive that is because due to the large number of quest on each planet. If you do all the quest on a planet you will out level the next planets quest. Throw in exp for falshpoints, or pvp or space combat and you can make the game very simple. if you out level the game try doing heroics solo and you will find some challenges. The crafting system is very similar to wow but does have a nice wrinkle to it with the ability to reverse engineer items in order to get better schematics. it offers a little more than WoW in crafting but doesn't become burdensome. The companion system has its ups and downs. While companions stories become interesting you constantly have to be concerned with your faction with them. Some of the companions abilites mesh better with certain class choices. Also your morality choices can please or displease your companion. If your making them happy its all gravy. if your not making them happy you sometimes feel a little animosity towards them. The games reliance on story while its biggest strength does have a few issues. It makes the game very linear. You are pushed along a certain path. You can deviate a bit but largely there is one way to go. So there is less freedom in this game during leveling. However this is something most MMO's suffer from. The gear system is very familiar as it borrows greatly from wow. There are a large amount of armors in the game and the modification system allows for players to customize their gear and if they care to put in the time they can maintain a certain look. The system was far more robust in beta but regrettably they have dumbed it down. Still you do have a lot more options to customize your appearance. They are reportedly coming out with a more robust system for altering the color of gear. They have abandoned their "fit to chest" option for this system. It is a little disappointing but if they come through with their promise then it will be worth it. One criticism I have is that the game revolves around story which is a huge draw for roleplayers. Yet many roleplaying tools are sadly missing from the game. You cannot sit in chairs, many emotes do not have animations and such. I am hoping that this will be addressed. All and all I think the game has a lot of [promise. However there are many things still missing. To be fare it is unreasonable to assume that a new game will have all the features of games that have had years to establish themselves. I have give the game a 7 because while I find it enjoyable I think Bioware has a lot of work to do for the game to reach its potential. I am willing to give them that time.… Expand
  27. Jirekianu
    Dec 22, 2011
    7
    This game over all has the makings of a good game. It's got some innovation but at the same time mechanics that are familiar enough to not be put off by something completely new or untested. Now that's not to say what's the same is always better. But sometimes games will trade being unique for what works. In this instance bioware has raised the bar in regards to missions/quests and theThis game over all has the makings of a good game. It's got some innovation but at the same time mechanics that are familiar enough to not be put off by something completely new or untested. Now that's not to say what's the same is always better. But sometimes games will trade being unique for what works. In this instance bioware has raised the bar in regards to missions/quests and the investment you have in the characters. The voice acting has quality, and the dialogue is reasonably well written. My only complaints are the lack of polish with things that shouldn't need polishing. No anti-aliasing for graphics. You can't friend someone unless they're online. And even on lower settings a mid-range pc has trouble running the game smoothly. (this wouldn't be a problem if the lower settings were giving you the bang for your figurative buck.)… Expand
  28. 200mg
    Dec 22, 2011
    7
    My MMO Credentials: WoW, AOC, WaR, Aion, Rift

    SWOTR is great, the allegations of this being "WoW with VO" are wildly inaccurate. The game play is fun and fast paced, the story is deep, and all of the accompanying media (voice and music) are extremely well done. They have done a splendid job of Star Wars universe immersion. One only has to play the game for a short period of time before    My MMO Credentials: WoW, AOC, WaR, Aion, Rift

    SWOTR is great, the allegations of this being "WoW with VO" are wildly inaccurate. The game play is fun and fast paced, the story is deep, and all of the accompanying media (voice and music) are extremely well done.

    They have done a splendid job of Star Wars universe immersion. One only has to play the game for a short period of time before it becomes apparent that SWOTR is not a status quo MMO. For Star Wars fans this is a must play. For non Star Wars fans looking for a new mmo universe to migrate to, SWOTR offers you a less "grindy" and fresh new take on a gaming genre desperately seeking new play styles.

    As of 12/23/11 1:21AM CST SWOTR has garnered a 5.9 user score on meta, this is blasphemy! 10/10 all the way. This game is great!    … Expand
  29. kamryu
    Dec 23, 2011
    7
    2 out of 3 story (at times generic and predictable but the addition of voice acting makes you care unless your one of those people looking for a grind fest where you can just pick up a quest go do it level up and get your gear soon as possible,plenty of choice quest wise also)
    1 out of 3 game play (yes its a wow clone)
    2 out of 3 Social/Multiplayer (people calling it a solo game full of    2 out of 3 story (at times generic and predictable but the addition of voice acting makes you care unless your one of those people looking for a grind fest where you can just pick up a quest go do it level up and get your gear soon as possible,plenty of choice quest wise also)
    1 out of 3 game play (yes its a wow clone)
    2 out of 3 Social/Multiplayer (people calling it a solo game full of **** they are not gonna do a flashpoint solo or a heroic unless they are over leveled for them same as any other MMO also the addition of social conversation choices adds a good little mix to it never know if your party member wins the role you might be about to kill a ton of innocents or end up having to go the long way round).
    1 out of 2 for graphics (cartoony one or two bugs)
    1 out of 2 customization very limited character image choice races seem to similar only 4 body types user interface not very customizable, on the plus the advance class system means not all consular are going to be the same you ll become a sage or a shadow knight becomes guardian or sentinel and this is before you start deciding on a talent tree to advance through.
    total 7 out of 10.

    Now into some nitty gritty. As I said sometimes the quests can be predictable for instance training a militia you know is going to be a case of go out kill some things and return (boring and predictable) but at the same time you ll get some quests which will make you have to decide for instance recover some medical supplies for the army only to find out refugees are the ones who stole it and they need them you ll be presented with a social choice leave them with the refugees or take them back for the army this in turn has an effect on whether your light side or dark side points go up (some grey would be nice like splitting the supplies between the two). The voice acting is good and if your someone who actually CARES about story and reasons why your doing things you ll enjoy it if however your one of those people who plays games like wow and never even reads the quest because all that matters to you is what is the reward for doing it then it will be nothing more than annoying to you.
    Gameplay is such a clone of all other previous MMO's its almost an insult the few features such as cover (limited to smuggler and imperial agent) add some interest but otherwise be prepared to be playing as you always have (oh yeah no auto attack which personally I feel is actually a good thing) I would have gave 0 out of 3 for this but truth is the system does work it might be boring but reality is the click buttons feature works (just as point and click works for fps I are not going to give an fps review 0 because its point and click why should I give tor 0 because its the same as the others).
    Social would be 3 if not for the simple fact planets are instanced so you don't see lots of people sure you can chat with them and if you want you can chance the instance your on to another version of it very easily just bring up world map and click the pull down menu for it down the bottom right. Flashpoints are pretty good again the addition of rolling on decisions within them adds a nice element never forget how annoyed my first group was when I passed on the free money at the end of our first instance and won the roll meaning no one got the money to you this may seem annoying the point is it adds a new layer of social interaction your going to care about who you group with and such. Heroics also add to social interaction since your not going to solo these quests yourself they are designed for group each planet has around a minimum 3 or 4 of these and they each tell a story its not just a case of go kill this elite mob because well its an elite mob sure your going to be killing an elite mob but before your killing it your going to run around sabotaging his ship because he is using it to smuggle slaves.
    Graphics are cartoony and have a few glitches I would not say it doe snot work the thing is its an MMO it needs a wide audience so of course its not going to be the best graphically and people who expect it are the same people who have blown thousands on their PC not everyone can afford to graphics score for me is out of 2 cause I don't prioritize them.

    People saying not a WoW killer and scoring 0 saying just a WoW clone your not reviewing the game your comparing it to WoW there thats not a review.    … Expand
  30. bobby_bouscher
    Dec 23, 2011
    7
    This is not a very innovative game, more like an extension of World of Warcraft with a Star Wars skin. It is no doubt a fun and well made game, but very traditional. For those looking for innovation I would recommend researching Guild Wars 2, where they are turning the traditional mmo model upside down, in a good way!

    SWTOR will definitely be a more than sufficient placeholder for me in    This is not a very innovative game, more like an extension of World of Warcraft with a Star Wars skin. It is no doubt a fun and well made game, but very traditional. For those looking for innovation I would recommend researching Guild Wars 2, where they are turning the traditional mmo model upside down, in a good way!

    SWTOR will definitely be a more than sufficient placeholder for me in the meantime!    … Expand
  31. Dominii
    Dec 26, 2011
    7
    In many respects The Old Republic is identical to WoW: its static battle mechanics, the levelling system, uninteresting skill trees, equipment durability, crafting without player customization. In some respects, improved: character alignment, companions, crew skills. Its triumph is the story. Unlike any other MMO, The Old Rebublic, gives players a reason to listen to and follow everyIn many respects The Old Republic is identical to WoW: its static battle mechanics, the levelling system, uninteresting skill trees, equipment durability, crafting without player customization. In some respects, improved: character alignment, companions, crew skills. Its triumph is the story. Unlike any other MMO, The Old Rebublic, gives players a reason to listen to and follow every quest, even the minor quests. The main arcs take you across each world. They branch into other stories, create relationships with NPCs who update you from time to time with their goings on reminding you that had you not done or said something that they'd be in jail, in the dumps, or in a ditch. The dialogue options, albeit a feature familiar to BioWare and its players, force you to choose between being true to yourself, or sucking up for favors. Every choice has the possibility to impact your companions' favor of you and the reward outcome. Suck up and garner favor and fortune. Answer genuinely, and watch all of the other Jedi wave their enhanced sabers at you and your basic training blade. The story is why I play and will continue to play. This game could be great, it could rival WoW in popularity, players, and South Park parodies, but it needs to be the next step in MMOs, and not what WoW should have been when it launched. What could make this game great?

    The battle system is likely too large and too complex in code to receive an overhaul. Instead, we should hope and ask for skills that require thinking and tactics; no one likes every battle following the same sequence, no matter who you're fighting, of 3-5-4-1-2. The crafting system needs to allow real player customization. Not recipes, but the ability to take raw ingredients to make whatever you want, with the stats you want in the colors that you want (granted you meet the level requirements). It could also do with more interactive, though please not mindless WoW gathering, crafting missions where player input during a companion's crew mission affects the outcome, your alignment, their affection, and possibly the availability of quests. "Hey, Dominii, I found the treasure, but it's guarded by a local tribe. Should I destroy the village if they get in my way, or should we abandon this one?"    … Expand
  32. ericlprimero
    Dec 28, 2011
    7
    Solid MMO which will probably get much better. A few things really annoy me. Light-side options are unbearably wussy. No combat logger as of yet. LFG system is not up to par. No AA. Companion system could use a bit of work. Otherwise, I am looking forward to playing this game for a long time.
  33. Hushups
    Jan 1, 2012
    7
    This game is a solid MMO and if you enjoy MMOs and Star Wars you'll be fine. The voice acting is great and the story lines are very enjoyable. However, that's about as far as this game goes in terms of giving you something new and refreshing. The voice acted story lines still give you quests that you've been doing for the last 10 years in MMOs. Go kill, go gather, go destroy structure, goThis game is a solid MMO and if you enjoy MMOs and Star Wars you'll be fine. The voice acting is great and the story lines are very enjoyable. However, that's about as far as this game goes in terms of giving you something new and refreshing. The voice acted story lines still give you quests that you've been doing for the last 10 years in MMOs. Go kill, go gather, go destroy structure, go retrieve/place/find item, go talk to/locate/rescue person. As you progress further into the game and the story comes up less and less you're left with any other MMO on the market. Throw in some early launch bugs and a lot of load screens (traveling especially will require you to load from screen to screen to screen) and it's easy to lose interest. I give this rating an extra point for the smooth launch, placing it at a 7 overall and 6 in terms of being an "innovated MMO experience."… Expand
  34. Mehowee
    Jan 5, 2012
    7
    A decent MMORPG that has followed in the footsteps of WoW but created a separate world with a range of innovative features and items, i.e. pvp, pve, spacebattles that die-hard stars wars fans will definitely appreciate. The focus is on the story lines while involving characters, this makes levelling up interesting.
  35. ristlin
    Jan 6, 2012
    7
    Read a review from someone who has actually played the game to max level and tried a mix of PvP and endgame content. The core of this game comprises two core elements: story-driven and Star Wars. And to be quite honest, if you don't love both of these with equal weight you won't like this game. This is a Knight of the Old Republic successor that has been given a facelift and a whole lot ofRead a review from someone who has actually played the game to max level and tried a mix of PvP and endgame content. The core of this game comprises two core elements: story-driven and Star Wars. And to be quite honest, if you don't love both of these with equal weight you won't like this game. This is a Knight of the Old Republic successor that has been given a facelift and a whole lot of real estate to allow for multiple stories to run in parallel. So you create your hero alongside other players of the same faction and, later on, next to the occasional enemy. For some, this trait alone breaks the whole attempt of immersion. But let's be real, every game's immersion breaks down at some point, and the ability to close the chat box (the lack of chat bubbles as well as the option to remove the name of other player's companions) makes for an easy solution to the common complaint of "story is moot when immersion is broken so early." The Companion system in an MMO is, simply put, revolutionary. It's well balanced to give you more roleplaying choices (gearing up, following companion side-quests, etc.) as well as eliminating much of the tediousness of crafting. Crafting also has a depth to it that rewards persistence. On the other hand, crafting is unfortunately on the bottom rung toward gear, being eclipsed rather early by PvE and PvP content. Unfortunately this game is far from perfect. The PvP, though ambitious in some respects, falls short of the whole Star WarsÂ… Expand
  36. 23skidoo
    Jan 6, 2012
    7
    While this game may not be for everyone I have found it really enjoyable so far. I think that the varying scores indicate just how diverse the gaming community has become in what it seeks in an MMO. That said, I think the gameplay, interface, PVP (currently imbalanced), and questing seem fairly polished for a newly released MMO. I played vanilla WOW and can remember that the state ofWhile this game may not be for everyone I have found it really enjoyable so far. I think that the varying scores indicate just how diverse the gaming community has become in what it seeks in an MMO. That said, I think the gameplay, interface, PVP (currently imbalanced), and questing seem fairly polished for a newly released MMO. I played vanilla WOW and can remember that the state of issues people had were similar at the time but perhaps not judged so harshly due to it's innovation. SWTOR while not necessarily innovative appeals to me more than other MMO's mostly because it is a sci-fi universe and I find myself tired of the Sword & Sorcery fantasy settings brought forward in other recent MMO's. I feel I should give SWTOR a 10 to counteract all the 0's that have been given that seem unduly harsh, but I'm giving it a 9 instead because I do feel there are some issues that need to be addressed, such as PVP balance before this game deserves it.… Expand
  37. Jybwee
    Jan 11, 2012
    7
    The story/voice acting are really what stand out in this game and what got me hooked. The rest is a different flavor but as usual is still ice cream as with most mmos. I don't really view that as a negative but it's not a plus. I have also noticed alot of people saying it feels like a single player game, i think the biggest cause of this is the companion system. For me, playing my healerThe story/voice acting are really what stand out in this game and what got me hooked. The rest is a different flavor but as usual is still ice cream as with most mmos. I don't really view that as a negative but it's not a plus. I have also noticed alot of people saying it feels like a single player game, i think the biggest cause of this is the companion system. For me, playing my healer type character, they give me a tank companion as my first companion and make it unnecessary to group for most of the content. On that note - it IS an mmo and you have to talk/group to really get the full experience so i feel it's more the players fault for not being social. I like to view the companion system as an alternative if you like to play alone.

    End game content doesn't offer as much as i would like, slightly less than other mmos have when they first comes out. That being said i think i'll stick with it and look forward to what else they give us with updates/expansions.

    Another thing i'd like to touch on is the character creation. It is incredibly lacking when looked at in relation to most other recent mmo releases. Part of my love for mmos and why i stick with games for years come from me getting attached to my character and when i look too much like everyone else it loses it's appeal. Now one thing it does have going for it is the skill trees - i would like to see a little work done on them in the future, but there is a ton of variety atm. So if on the surface your character doesn't look all too unique, he can be totally unique in the skills/abilities he has.    … Expand
  38. R4d1k4lm4n
    Jan 11, 2012
    7
    Finally an online game that does the Star Wars universe justice! Unlike other mmos that I have played this has got to be the most engaging game out of them all, the effort Bioware has put into the voice acting and story is simply fantastic! I was also pleased that the game is not a complete grind fest like past games I have played and as a result I can casually quest without having to killFinally an online game that does the Star Wars universe justice! Unlike other mmos that I have played this has got to be the most engaging game out of them all, the effort Bioware has put into the voice acting and story is simply fantastic! I was also pleased that the game is not a complete grind fest like past games I have played and as a result I can casually quest without having to kill millions upon millions of enemies to level up (this always put me off continuing my subscription with other games).

    The first flashpoint (The Black Talon) that I played was absolutely amazing, I couldn't believe how good it was being thrown head first into this frantic mission with three other eager comrades being met fierce battles and frequent group conversations, I actually had shivers down my spine the entire time. Once I completed this I was completely sold by the game.

    However as with any newly release mmo it is certainly not perfect. The first issue that I encountered (a personal opinion) was the simplistic character creation process. I thought that this was pretty shocking as I knew that there would be very little differences with my character and other players of the same class and low and behold I was right! What were you thinking Bioware? I just think it would be awesome to be able to run around and see lots of crazy looking toons running around the planets. PVP is also in dire need of some TLC as there are no level brackets and the ability delays do prove pretty annoying when you are trying to play at a competitive level. However I'm sure that this will be addressed in later patches so I can cope with this for the time being. As a result of there being no level brackets I've been forced to wait until I reach level 50 before I can start PVPing because at the moment if you're not 50, the 50's you are playing against will completely destroy you! Another issue that I personally have been having problems with is the fact that it can sometimes be rather difficult trying to find members to form a group for Heroic quests, while not impossible it can take a while. I think this will sort itself out eventually when Bioware removes the server instances so all players play in the same one *fingers crossed*.

    While these issues are rather annoying they still aren't enough to prevent me from continuing on with the game. If you're still on the fence about whether to buy it or not I say go for, it's still in its early stages and it's only going to get even better with time!    … Expand
  39. banz
    Jan 12, 2012
    7
    WoW with lightsabres... hard to not like that. Sure, we all had higher expectations, but it's a good game. I, for one, wanted a Dark Forces II, meets KoTOR, meets Wing Commander: Privateer, meets Battlefield 2... but I ask a lot, apparently. (Imagine huge BF2 style pvp maps with AT-ATs, jedi and speeders... ya... quite the immagination... but I digress.) I'm enjoying the story lines ofWoW with lightsabres... hard to not like that. Sure, we all had higher expectations, but it's a good game. I, for one, wanted a Dark Forces II, meets KoTOR, meets Wing Commander: Privateer, meets Battlefield 2... but I ask a lot, apparently. (Imagine huge BF2 style pvp maps with AT-ATs, jedi and speeders... ya... quite the immagination... but I digress.) I'm enjoying the story lines of the different characters, and the voice acting is pretty darned good. It's fun, but I doubt I'll be hooked like I was on WoW (for years).… Expand
  40. Oreus
    Jan 13, 2012
    7
    Where to begin. The game, in concept, is great but there are many problems that Bioware either has not or can not be bothered to address. One of the first is the fact that they blatently lied to us with the Collector's Editon in game items. We were promised a pet, "Training Droid (Virtual Pet)
    A small but advanced training droid to hover at your side for combat assistance." What did we    Where to begin. The game, in concept, is great but there are many problems that Bioware either has not or can not be bothered to address. One of the first is the fact that they blatently lied to us with the Collector's Editon in game items. We were promised a pet, "Training Droid (Virtual Pet)
    A small but advanced training droid to hover at your side for combat assistance." What did we get instead? A useless piece of garbage that IS NOT A PET, it comes out and circles an enemy for a min or two and then disappears. WTF??!! Bioware has not commented on this. They went with the piece of garbage called Hero Engine. This antiquated gaming engine creates games that are competely instanced. Now the game feels dead because, unlike in WOW or Rift, you can see other ppl around you, in this game, you're basically in a deadzone working on a quest with no one around... You want Customer Support (CS) - I hope you know how to pray... it is basically non-existant and when someone does answer - either they have absolutely NO CLUE about the game or can barely but a coherent sentence together in English. If you think I'm exaggerating as to how poor to atrocious the CS really is, please refer to the following threads:

    http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=86614
    http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...27#post1023327
    http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...08#post1022308

    Don't get me wrong, I love the game itself but I think that ever since the "Kiss of Death" (EA [Electronic Arts]) bought Bioware, it's been downhill ever since.    … Expand
  41. Fireturnip
    Jan 14, 2012
    7
    Coming from 6 years of WoW (but no other MMO experience) as a moderate PVE player (heroic bosses but not complete heroic raids in WoW, no arena or serious PvP outside of vanilla), I have enjoyed my time in SWTOR so far. Leveling is much better than WoW, the voice work is fantastic and really tells the story well. It's nice to know why I'm killing a bad guy for a change (still have noComing from 6 years of WoW (but no other MMO experience) as a moderate PVE player (heroic bosses but not complete heroic raids in WoW, no arena or serious PvP outside of vanilla), I have enjoyed my time in SWTOR so far. Leveling is much better than WoW, the voice work is fantastic and really tells the story well. It's nice to know why I'm killing a bad guy for a change (still have no idea what Illidan ever did to me....). On hitting 50 (max level), I wanted to see another characters story arc, rather than strengthen my character; when I finished leveling in WoW, I was sick of leveling. The stories and voice work are the really strong points; if these points, or Star Wars itself, aren't particularly interesting to you, you aren't going to enjoy this game. If you love arena in WoW, it doesn't exist in SWTOR.

    There are quite a few comments regarding PvP imbalance. Just like every other game ever with PvP. The warzones are similar to battlegrounds in WoW, and they seem fine to me. One major benefit is that there is a warzone type which accommodates battles against the same faction, which really helps queue times.

    The flashpoints (think instances) are fine, nothing special. Bosses are generally a little simple in mechanics, but nothing terrible. Haven't tried the raids.

    I really feel that this is a good starting point, and it depends where they go with it from here. WoW certainly is more polished, but content has generally been in decline (honestly, we got 2.5 tiers of raiding in the whole of Cata....Firelands was too small to be a whole tier). If content keeps up in SWTOR, and they keep polishing, then it will really be a valid WoW killer. At the end of the day, as long as they are constantly working to make the game better, and they keep content coming out often enough that I'm not bored, I don't see me going back to WoW.

    There are a few things I'm worried about. The game takes surprisingly good hardware to run well (Tom's Hardware did a review in Beta which covered this well); this means for me that I have very long load screens, but nothing I can't accept. However, if this means that people with new computers that don't have at least mid range discrete graphics can't play properly, that could have an impact on subs, which of course effects the whole player base. Also, the crew skills (crafting system) and GTN (AH) are bad. Just bad. Removing the requirement that I sit and watch my toon craft is a plus, but it doesn't make the system fun. Presently, I see no real reason to craft at all (unless you enjoy crafting in and of itself). You can easily do without the small advantages that crafting gives you while leveling, and you aren't going to get rich crafting (you will actually get quite poor). The GTN is a big part of this, but both systems are lacking; having said that, I'm not sure how much most players will mind, I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone who hit the gold cap in both WoTLK and Cata.    … Expand
  42. rexob85
    Jan 24, 2012
    7
    Let me preface by giving my experience playing MMOs - City of Heroes, Earth and Beyond, Star Wars Galaxies, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online, Champions Online, World of Warcraft, Everquest - I have a minimum of 10yrs playing the genre and have a firm understanding of what really works and what doesn't. I have a lv46 Bounty Hunter playing on a PvP server in SWTOR and these are my findings.Let me preface by giving my experience playing MMOs - City of Heroes, Earth and Beyond, Star Wars Galaxies, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online, Champions Online, World of Warcraft, Everquest - I have a minimum of 10yrs playing the genre and have a firm understanding of what really works and what doesn't. I have a lv46 Bounty Hunter playing on a PvP server in SWTOR and these are my findings.

    Overall, this game has a lot of potential and a very good initial effort by Bioware. However, there are glaring basic MMO issues that longtime veterans of MMOs will quickly notice. The single player experience attempts to create a rich story, and while the voice acting is nice, the consequences never seem as real or truly immerse a player into the universe the game attempts to create. Character creation is solid and each class feels unique. One of the biggest issues I have is the game feels "empty"; playing on a "standard" pvp server I rarely encounter opposing forces, furthermore I rarely encounter my own forces. The voice acting is among the greatest strength of the game. However, I cannot say the same for all of the writing, it becomes apparent this was a huge undertaking and the writing starts to feel dull and recycled as progressing through content. Graphically, the game looks pleasing with the stylized realism. However, the game has FPS issues, even on the solid gaming machines, and the game failed to launch with the high resolution settings included during the beta.

    Bioware is responsive to the shortcomings of the game and various issues. However, some of the missed basics of MMOs is disappointing. The Global Trade Network (auction house) is horrible, the searching and options are limiting and cumbersome. The UI is static and unchangeable; while this is not a huge drawback, the default settings are not ideal. MMOs traditionally place the party frames in the upper/mid left side of the game - not the lower left. In addition the chat box is in the upper left-hand corner which is quite unorthodox from traditional layouts. I am not suggesting every MMO copy and paste layouts, but there are certain expectations and proven designs that do work.

    Loading times are sorely disappointing and borderline aggravating. In addition there are pointless time sinks traveling from one location to another, a common example to leave a planet - board a transport, ride an elevator, enter an airlock & board your ship, finally select a new destination which then repeats the process in reverse when arriving. Crafting in the game provides few unique bonuses, and no real benefits aside from Biochem currently. However, unique crafting systems are rarely in place at launch of most games, and this is not a bad foundation for later updates.

    The PvP is not horrible, but far from ideal. Both sides can partake in "battlegrounds" simliar to Arathi Basin and Strands of the Ancients from WoW. Then the Empire has Huttball, which has a very steep learning curve for newcomers and the zone itself creates significant imbalances among the classes. The Republic has its own "battleground" too, but I have not participated in it. The PvP can be fun, but on servers with greatly imbalanced populations between the sides, you play your sides "battleground" the vast majority of the time and it gets old very quickly. Leveling throughout the game remains constant once hitting level 20. I did not experience a significant slow-down at any point and I leveled as a healer at all times. Stay focused on the missions (quests) and each level seems to average 150minutes, sometimes more or less depending on what is accomplished.

    Overall presentation is very nice when you can get it to run properly and smoothly...the sound is perfect and Bioware did not miss anything there. However, the constant sound of lightsabers and blaster fire does get old after the initial awe fades away.

    The game offers a lot of potential, but some glaring basic gameplay issues sorely stick out to longtime MMO veterans. Longtime Star Wars fans will greatly enjoy the game and universe though with familiar settings - Tatooine, Hoth, Correlia. Overall, SWTOR has a solid foundation to build upon. The speed and execution of the next few months will undoubtedly set the tone for the game's future. Personally, I do not recommend the game to anyone looking for a fun MMO with a strong community, I typically feel very alone in the game. However, if you really enjoy the Star Wars universe this game is for you.    … Expand
  43. WeekendGamer33
    Jan 30, 2012
    7
    My MMO experience; I played WoW for about a week when it first came out, ditto for Everquest (though a bit later to that party). In both cases I gave up because they felt like huge time-sucks with no substance, but I love RPGs (like KOTOR) and I grew up wearing Star Wars underoos. I played a Powertech to level 50 (max) in SWTOR and enjoyed almost every minute of it. The dialog-driven playMy MMO experience; I played WoW for about a week when it first came out, ditto for Everquest (though a bit later to that party). In both cases I gave up because they felt like huge time-sucks with no substance, but I love RPGs (like KOTOR) and I grew up wearing Star Wars underoos. I played a Powertech to level 50 (max) in SWTOR and enjoyed almost every minute of it. The dialog-driven play feels like an RPG, but the game world feels expansive. It's also beautiful; I often scroll the camera around while on a speeder just to see the details in the sky/horizon. Space combat is nice a break between planet-based play, which can devolve into button-mashing. The thing about SWTOR--and the reason it is so polarizing--is that it isn't built around group-play, guilds, raids, and buzzing mom on the intercom to bring down more hot pockets and a bedpan during a twelve-hour proxy for a social life.

    I leveled without doing any flashpoints, minimal heroic (group) quests, and no PVP because I'm a grown-up with a busy schedule and tend to play on Sunday mornings (often with single-digits of other players on a particular planet). But SWTOR doesn't force me to play at 11PM on Saturday, when my server is jammed; sure, I wouldn't mind doing more group-based stuff, and I'm sure the Sunday morning population will pick up as the game matures, but at least having to solo everything wasn't a bottleneck. And by the end, I felt that my little toon had a personality, and a history; he is different than all the other Powertechs in the universe.

    Now, at level 50, I spend much more time crafting and trying to earn credits on the Galactic Trade Network; here you can really see the dynamics of a new MMO. Every weekend some commodity shoots way up or crashes; for a while I was the only one making a few purple-quality mods, and I could make a killing. Then, one day, there were dozens of others and I couldn't sell at a profit, so I had to reverse-engineer my way to a different purple, and so-on. If you then head to the forums, it is a non-stop complain-fest about how "broken" the economy is because something fell in price or because a commodity became extra-rare--but that is what makes a market-based economy dynamic and fun! On the other hand, I won't pay a monthly fee just to make fake money in a virtual commodities market; this is where the lack of facile group-play does start to become a bottleneck.

    The big question, and the reason I rated this game a 7, is what happens next? What do I do with my little Powertech after he has the fast speeder and all his bling? I suspect the answer is that Bioware will continue to patch and expand the game to give me something to do, and to keep the server population increasing so that I can find others to do group quests with. In the end, that will determine whether or not I extend my subscription. But when you read all the complaints and negative reviews ask two questions: 1) Does the complaint boil down to "I want a game that is just like WoW, but way better, and nothing at all like WoW" and 2) Does the negative review criticize anything that cannot be changed in the future by patches and/or an increasing user base. And then ask yourself if you think Bioware employs stupid people that don't know how to listen to customer feedback and that are incapable of evolving SWTOR into a really great experience and attracting more users. (Also note that 99% of people claiming that you will be banned for X are not basing that opinion on verifiable facts.)

    This is, by definition, a dynamic game that will evolve and wax and wane in popularity; if you enjoy the Star Wars universe, dialog-driven questing, predicting mandalorian iron futures, and occasional group-play, then SWTOR will be fun. If you want "WoW, but not WoW" then go eat some mushrooms and play WoW.    … Expand
  44. btowtow
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do overall like this game and could come to love it and find while this game has some flaws e.g. the lack of major end game content, some serious bugs, some class imbalances and too many servers being drafted in too quickly that need to be quickly for this game to realise its full potential the game remains true to what bioware said it would be , a mmmorpg with heavily involved story and they have however this may not be to some peoples tastes and that is ok as for some just want to get on levelling the character that they have made with the array of different and interesting companions . However for those that choose to step back and analyse the game fully the story element is very good with 8 differentiating class quests that weave through some famous and not so famous planets. The quests on those planets that everybody has access to are reasonably good with some interesting variations but in some places becoming too grind like however for the overall majority that is not the case. PVP people are very divided about this and once again it comes down to personal preference but if you enjoy being able to go in the wow way with brackets then you will be disappointed the bracket only encompasses level 50's. However in 10-49 this does add a level of competition and there is a reasonable level of fairness which people at higher levels do not like their characters at level 49 being killed by a level 10. Also the pvp maps are similar of that to wow which is not particularly surprising as they came out with videos about it months before launch. Instances when you get in them are very good with some nice star wars music , wit and smooth combat mechanics ( well now smooth with decreased ability delay) and the added story lines making them feel more epic not just like large group quests as well as having some nice graphical features like the asteroid launcher in Hammer station and if you stop and look at it properly you will see they have not just spent all the money on voice acting which seems to be the belief from many low scoring reviews. Graphics are good but again personal taste in the type of graphics you want making a difference with some uncalled for reactions about the stylised realism that relates to the kotor days which I like. The sound features and music are also excellent and really take you into the universe. This immersion aspect has been bashed beyond belief and im not sure why because having been in wow and lotro this is the first time i have been able to want to see what happens to my character and this keeps you playing. Endgame not good but not a game breaker as I can make new chars with the 8 class stories and two factions on different planets and quest lines. The endgame raids are extremely difficult to get people for and loot bugs and boss bugs to provide frustration this then needs to be fixed and hopefully new endgame content in 1.2 will provide more entertainment but people seem to put reviews out based solely on endgame which is only one of the features you need to consider. Guild features are severely lacking and inhibit the feeling of community which you need but is apparent elsewhere throughout with the large numbers of group quests which you can mostly get a group for. I hope that this game realises its full potential and moves from a good game to a great game and with high profile releases such as Tera and GW2 coming out . Also I hope that people will give this game some time and seemingly trying to put off people by over exaggerating and that also goes both ways for those who give it 10's as it is not the best game ever but with time it could be. I just hope the unjustified level of vitriol and praise will dies down with a lot of low + high reviews at this early stage to allow the game to develop… Expand
  45. NinjaCrow
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    I'll keep this short, the story is perhaps the strongest point in this game however it is let down by the MMO aspect. I find that as stand alone stories go this is up there with it's engaging and interesting story lines. For instance the Bounty Hunter is a separate and interesting campaign to say the Sith Inquisitor. While I have found no real overlaps in terms of one classes campaign evenI'll keep this short, the story is perhaps the strongest point in this game however it is let down by the MMO aspect. I find that as stand alone stories go this is up there with it's engaging and interesting story lines. For instance the Bounty Hunter is a separate and interesting campaign to say the Sith Inquisitor. While I have found no real overlaps in terms of one classes campaign even being referenced in the other campaign which is a shame since the stories overlapping would have provided a reason to find out how they got there and what they would be doing after they departed. All in all, it's a solid game with a great story. Shame that the MMO aspect just about ruined the experience because you don't feel as if your getting stronger in the world, just that the world is growing stronger with you. However I suppose you would have to keep some check on the powers as to not to break the game. Graphics are dated, however for a MMO this is expected because of the approach that everyone should be able to play this game and not have their experience diminished as a result of poor frame rate or glitching.… Expand
  46. WJS6495
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    Pros: SWTOR is a very fun and refreshing look from other MMO's. Huge game for a launch mmo, nice graphics, the largest voice-over in mmo history, space ship missions, refreshingly different PvP zones and LIGHTSABERS!! Cons: feels like a single player mmo, still some bugs that need to be ironed out, needs more social tools like flashpoint finder and heroic mission finder.
  47. Khalisto
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    The game is good till you reach top level, then it dies...the game will be better if it had a Looking For Group feature which it doesn't and also I wish it had Dual Spec then I would have given it a 9.
  48. MrDaikon
    Apr 28, 2012
    7
    ... This is a product of a developer that is experienced in making RPG but not a MMO. The class quests are good with some Bio ware "good" and "Bad" decisions but as a MMO is broken. PVP gets repetitive real soon and there just isn't enough end game content. The classes aren't balanced and play style is either DPS or Healing. 1.2 patch didn't help the game one bit. Ultra Ugly armor... This is a product of a developer that is experienced in making RPG but not a MMO. The class quests are good with some Bio ware "good" and "Bad" decisions but as a MMO is broken. PVP gets repetitive real soon and there just isn't enough end game content. The classes aren't balanced and play style is either DPS or Healing. 1.2 patch didn't help the game one bit. Ultra Ugly armor were added. If you like the SW universe, roll some characters and play the class mission. If you spend to spend the next 5 year on an MMO, SWTOR isn't the best choice.… Expand
  49. BeatHour
    Jul 7, 2013
    7
    I reviewed this in 2011, but now I'll review it again.

    This game is a prison. Its somewhat addictive, but not enough to keep me away for whole weeks while still subscribing. Before they did the server swaps, the game was a ghost town. Now the servers have pops akin to what a medium pop on the old 50+ server system had. The main character storyline is good most of the time, and your    I reviewed this in 2011, but now I'll review it again.

    This game is a prison. Its somewhat addictive, but not enough to keep me away for whole weeks while still subscribing. Before they did the server swaps, the game was a ghost town. Now the servers have pops akin to what a medium pop on the old 50+ server system had.

    The main character storyline is good most of the time, and your choices do mean something. But the main story is too few and far between. The planet stories can be okay, but more often than not its bad. Sometimes, like Imperial Taris, its a sort of "anything you can do I can do better" sort of thing, which was really lame. The side quests can be cool, but usually set you up for some disappointment. The companion stories are all usually very cool, but a lot of content was seemingly cut and you can not go on their adventures. Its always a matter of "I have to do this alone."

    The main story is the only thing I find enjoyable about the game, and yet one must wade through tons of sub-par content to get there. This makes the game a massive time sink. The developers intentionally forced people who enjoy a standard fair game to play with MMO diehards, WoW 'heretics' who wanted something better.

    I do play MMOs, too, and have gotten to endgame PvE in WoW a few times (though I tend to prefer PvP), but this was much the same monotony from WoW. This is really EA's fault for allowing the rebel WoW community to dictate how the game was made, and yet the WoW crowd wanted something better instead of a carbon copy.

    The game was better in Beta. None of the beta testers were complaining as far as I saw. The game was significantly difficult, yet people enjoyed the pace of progress. We had some disappointments, like design story decisions on the planet Taris. And then right before the game released, they changed how PvE worked. No longer hard and few fights, but lots of boring ones. Endless trash mobs instead of stuff that was fun to fight. The game changed from being a hero to being a jogger, trying to get through areas as fast as possible.

    Anyway, the game is now a smoldering ruin. The cash shop model is very bad, especially the unfairly priced stuff like 'pvp tickets'. The game may be worth $20 for the game and a free month, just to see one storyline (which you may accomplish if you're dedicated). The game is boring and repetitive after your first through playthroughs, but it has its moments.

    PvP is good if you're in to that, but most people aren't and utterly stink at it. The 50+ stuff is extremely gear based, which defeats all semblance of fun for anyone not geared out.

    Haven't played the newest stuff, but before the expansion, the endgame content was severely lacking. Raids were short but too hard for the average player, flashpoints use the same tilesets from the earlier flashpoints (its like they assumed nobody would play the earlier ones).

    All in all, the game seems like it might have changed direction in developement, and certainly did after its initial financial crisis.    … Expand
  50. Rugi
    Dec 4, 2012
    7
    Ok, it's been a year since release and the free to play patch is out. Time for a new review! Let my start by saying that this is NOT KOTOR. The writing is better than your standard MMO, but they are a little below the quality of our favorite Star Wars RPG franchise. The stories for each class are very entertaining in their own right. Don't listen when people tell you that the Agent is theOk, it's been a year since release and the free to play patch is out. Time for a new review! Let my start by saying that this is NOT KOTOR. The writing is better than your standard MMO, but they are a little below the quality of our favorite Star Wars RPG franchise. The stories for each class are very entertaining in their own right. Don't listen when people tell you that the Agent is the best story in the game or that the Consular story is a snoozefest. It's all opinion and different people will enjoy different things. Now on to gameplay. You're probably going to what a mid range machine to get enjoyment out of this game. I run 8GB of DDR2 RAM with a dual core CPU and a GTX 620 graphics card. A tad dated but I can run most settings on high. Except for shadows. I turn shadows off on every MMO I play simply because it is such a huge drain on processes and disabling them gives a massive performance boost. The enviroments which you will be running around in are very detailed and fun to look at. Except Tattoine. That place is mostly sand, so not much going on there. ToR goes for a more realistic look compared to MMO's such as WoW which are more cartoony. Persoanlly I prefer the realistic style, but your mileage may vary. Speeder training has been brought down to level 15 and makes running around between misssions so much faster. This was a complaint brought up by players as it used to be level 25, 10 levels after you get your starship. Doesn't make much sense, huh? Well, BioWare listened! There is also the Legacy system now. Through this system you can purchase character specific perks such as XP boosts as well as unlock things for all of your characters account wide. For the roleplayers you can also assemble your various characters that you have made into a family tree within your legacy. Now your Sith Warrior can have that Jedi son he's always wanted! There are also bind to legacy items now, so once you get a character to 50 you can gear out your next ones so that they fly through the beginning content. End game there is PvP, daily missions, and Operations (better known as Raids to the WoW crowd) so you will always have something to do once you reach the level cap. All in all the game is solid, but not perfect. If you want an MMO with voice acting, great story, and solid gameplay then give The Old Republic a shot!… Expand
  51. kane148
    Dec 13, 2012
    7
    I went into this game with very high expectations but was significantly let down. It's not a bad game, and in fact I would call it a good game, but it has some serious issues which bring it down a lot. There were numerous features lacking or underdeveloped such as auction sorting, group matching, and chat options. These oversights are inexcusable in my opinion, because they have long beenI went into this game with very high expectations but was significantly let down. It's not a bad game, and in fact I would call it a good game, but it has some serious issues which bring it down a lot. There were numerous features lacking or underdeveloped such as auction sorting, group matching, and chat options. These oversights are inexcusable in my opinion, because they have long been implemented in other MMOs, especially WoW, and since SW:TOR seems to copy so much else from that game, they should have done a little more stealing and at least had a decent auction house and chat system. On top of that, the character creation is pretty lousy with very few customization options for an MMO--especially if you don't want your character to look silly. I did however like that the racial bonuses are pretty much just cosmetic, so you don't have to choose between the race with the best stats and the one you want to play for aesthetic or role-play reasons. Where the game really shines is in its fully-voiced quest dialogue and relatively-strong storylines, which do a decent job of making your actions seem significant. However this becomes time-consuming after awhile--especially when you are re-running instances or playing a second character--and I felt that, in the end, Bioware had not done such a good job of blending their signature singleplayer RPG dialogue/story with the demands of an MMO. I played for a couple months and then quit, having already leveled 2 characters and gotten bored. Hopefully it has improved a lot since then, but even as a big Star Wars and Bioware fan, I don't miss it enough to give it a second try.… Expand
  52. hakblood
    Oct 11, 2012
    7
    Fun game from 1-50 with interesting stories and voice acting, game is hindered by a terrible game engine / design and get boring very quickly at max level. I found it was more fun to level a new toon to max rather than grind the same old same old everyday at end game. After lvling 3 toons to max and beating all the raids i moved on with the intent of returning later, but to be honest theFun game from 1-50 with interesting stories and voice acting, game is hindered by a terrible game engine / design and get boring very quickly at max level. I found it was more fun to level a new toon to max rather than grind the same old same old everyday at end game. After lvling 3 toons to max and beating all the raids i moved on with the intent of returning later, but to be honest the game engine is so bad, i doubt i will ever return now that my sub has lapsed. I did enjoy the time i played it however, just done with it now.… Expand
  53. Zackis
    Dec 19, 2012
    7
    F2P review. much more polished than the original release. Pro: More people on the world to interact with, new content seems consistent,PvP keeps getting added war zones, fully customizable gear and clothes. Con: after the end of you story line it becomes a gear grind, not a ton of end game content. Still worth a look as it is free.
  54. BalicanBreeze
    Jan 20, 2013
    7
    The game was pretty fun when it was first released, albeit a bit too similar to wow in how combat worked. The space combat was really disappointed, and dwarfed by SWG that's a lot older. The questing is fun on your first chars, but having to redo the same quests on alts is very boring. They dropped the ball on this game, it could have been awesome. I still recommend playing it onceThe game was pretty fun when it was first released, albeit a bit too similar to wow in how combat worked. The space combat was really disappointed, and dwarfed by SWG that's a lot older. The questing is fun on your first chars, but having to redo the same quests on alts is very boring. They dropped the ball on this game, it could have been awesome. I still recommend playing it once since it's gone free to play.… Expand
  55. Bmane
    Sep 29, 2016
    7
    A fantastic mmo experience, especially if you love narrative story telling. While the narrative here isn't on the same level as the Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect, it is on a far higher level than any other MMO currently in existence. It's also enjoyable to take part in if your co-opting with your friends, being able to participate in conversations with other players isA fantastic mmo experience, especially if you love narrative story telling. While the narrative here isn't on the same level as the Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect, it is on a far higher level than any other MMO currently in existence. It's also enjoyable to take part in if your co-opting with your friends, being able to participate in conversations with other players is certainly innovative. But... it's not perfect, and there are several parts of the game that leave me scratching my head, such as certain quest giving npcs which are solo/same class only, meaning your friends can't take part in the dialogue.

    I play this as a Free-to-Play game, I'm not a subscriber. As a Free-to-Play game the restrictions are not heavy, if anything they are rather generous, with the max level you can reach being 50 for F2P (60 for subs). But perhaps the most criminal aspect of this game is their support for F2P players. There is no support for guys like me, even ones with preferred status (something you get when you buy off the market). I have never known a game to completely shut off any customer support to F2P players, and not just that, but to do it to even preferred status players. It's a complete joke and the only reason why I'm not giving this an 8. Bioware is not exactly known for its stellar support, nor is EA, but they've gone too far this time. Your pretty much screwed if you run into a bug, a technical issue or even have trouble logging in (something I've had).    … Expand
  56. mijxero
    Feb 8, 2017
    7
    The questing is excellently voice acted and the story is actually quite good. I think it plays pretty good as an MMO, but it still gets weighed down by the MMO style combat and running back and forth. I mean as an MMO I would give it a middle of the road 5, but its voice acting, story, and atmosphere really boosts it up. Activated for one month and enjoyed my time, just don't feel likeThe questing is excellently voice acted and the story is actually quite good. I think it plays pretty good as an MMO, but it still gets weighed down by the MMO style combat and running back and forth. I mean as an MMO I would give it a middle of the road 5, but its voice acting, story, and atmosphere really boosts it up. Activated for one month and enjoyed my time, just don't feel like the endgame stuff is for me.… Expand
  57. orctown-troll
    Oct 20, 2013
    7
    SWTOR is pretty good. Despite that: This game is, was and may forever be, the BIGGEST failure, the BIGGEST disappointment, and the BIGGEST lost opportunity in the history of Game design up to this point. I'm not saying that what we got at publication, or what they have patched it up to now is bad. Its not. the problem with SWTOR is what it could and should have been. What it failed to be.SWTOR is pretty good. Despite that: This game is, was and may forever be, the BIGGEST failure, the BIGGEST disappointment, and the BIGGEST lost opportunity in the history of Game design up to this point. I'm not saying that what we got at publication, or what they have patched it up to now is bad. Its not. the problem with SWTOR is what it could and should have been. What it failed to be. The budget was there but the vision was lacking. For those of us who saw the first Star Wars movie in the cinema back in 1977 This IP was a life changing influence in the same way as Tolkein was in the field of literature. We all know how George Lucas had a gift for failing with Star Wars, for wrecking things, or rubbing the luster off it. But Bioware had a good track record of doing Star Wars well. KOTOR 1 and 2 were great. Mass Effect, though a unique IP showed that the Canadians were capable of great things here. So WTF happened? My guess is they played it way too safe, and tried to copy WOW as closely as possible with a few fatal dashes too many of Bioware's legendary (And in this case diasterous) 'STORYTELLING'.! Hey guys a little advice after the barn has burned down: GAMERS WANT TO WRITE THEIR OWN FACKING STORIES! We don't want to get dragged around like marionettes on strings you pull, or strapped into chairs of the scenic railroads you lay for us! We want to be the heroes of the story in our own terms! SWTOR could have ignored WOW. It could have got a few ideas from EVE and X3, heaps of inspiration from the best of the movies and then a glorious freewheeling sandbox in a galaxy, where you can play any of dozens of races, on dozens of planets explore the galaxy and pursue any numbers of skill sets developing the kind of hero you wanted to be. Luke Skywalker had a thing for droids remember! We could have all been free to develop all sorts of fun non-combat skills for the purposes of ROLE PLAYING. Eventually, after many adventures in many places the players might even have got introduced to the force, or its dark side and found the option to choose to become a Jedi knight or a Sithe warrior. Sadly that was all to 1995 for Bioware. This game offered ZERO EXPLORATION. ZERO meaningful race choice, near ZILCH in character development. Near NOTHING in player choice. You start off affiliated to one of two factions, and well on your way to mastery of skills which in the lore of Star Wars were supposed to be rare and special. Bioware designed a game, and planned for a situation where there would be literally millions of high level Jedi's and Sithe running around! A mad dream that has nothing to do with Star Wars lore. Built without vision, this game fails to impress where it should. It suffers a Bioware malaise: No sense of place. Each area you go to is a sterile set, where you plod about waiting to be cued on a conveyer belt to your next fixed 'plot point'. You don't become a bounty hunter or anything in this game by trial and error, by wandering about and earning the membership rights to a skill set. Instead you make a single choice with character creation that then becomes a RAILROAD OF SUBSEQUENT non choices. Which can also be described, when you think about it (as I so capably do) THE ANTITHESIS OF ROLEPLAYING. What some of the targets of these reviews need to understand is that I was designing games at a professional level at the age of 16, back in 1982. I'm not blowing bubbles out of my arse. The game still scores 6/10 because it has plenty of fun content. You can't burn $300 million without getting nice assets, animations, sincere efforts, good voice acting and a lot of good content, which this game DOES offer. It's pretty well a game everyone should look into when it goes free to play. it may even get patched up enough to earn a green score. I hope so. But it will always be too late. SWTOR cannot now become the masterpiece it should have been. When they set aside the budget for this game, it was a grand chance to be daring and to redefine role playing forever. What we got instead was a boring version of WOW in space. Lost in Space, where is that robot waving its arms crying "warning, warning"? TOO LATE.

    Orctowngrot    … Expand
  58. Neravarine
    Nov 17, 2015
    7
    If we look it just as a video game, now in 2015 its a good video game, but its not a good mmo. Let me explain: swtor is probably one of the best "video games" of all mmorpg games, but its not good mmo game at all, coz of multiple reasons: Its free to play game in which you have to subscribe in order to do anything, Do not advertise it as a f2p if its p2p, Its content is a bit simple, veryIf we look it just as a video game, now in 2015 its a good video game, but its not a good mmo. Let me explain: swtor is probably one of the best "video games" of all mmorpg games, but its not good mmo game at all, coz of multiple reasons: Its free to play game in which you have to subscribe in order to do anything, Do not advertise it as a f2p if its p2p, Its content is a bit simple, very interesting but still simple, and every single thing in the game is made primary for EA to make money on and not for players to enjoy. PvP is a lot of fun, but I do not think that they ever cared about balance in this game, well I understand, it takes a lot of money to research a proper balance and EA being EA did not see it as a priority to spend money on. As for PvE content its fun, it makes you feel like you are playing single player or co-op game.

    Now its not all that bad, if you want to pay for sub in free to play game, and then pay again for cartel coins:
    It has awesome storyline for every class, and additional storyline for every planet and expansion, it has Starfighter PvP and Starship PvE, those Flashpoints(Dungeons) are real fun and character customization is nice, even if 70% things ingame are cosmetic.    … Expand
  59. Dragon_Fly
    Jul 17, 2014
    7
    This is a great game, however it has come to my attention that ever since it has become "Free to Play" it has been plagued with idiots who just can not comprehend how to play together as a team. It is so bad that the Developers made these crazy easy Flashpoints called : "Tactical Flashpoints" that do not require a tank or a healer; all this in order to accommodate the idiots into playingThis is a great game, however it has come to my attention that ever since it has become "Free to Play" it has been plagued with idiots who just can not comprehend how to play together as a team. It is so bad that the Developers made these crazy easy Flashpoints called : "Tactical Flashpoints" that do not require a tank or a healer; all this in order to accommodate the idiots into playing the game with virtually zero tactics. They ruin the atmosphere of the game with their inability to listen and communicate...

    They bring the enjoyment of the game down; it makes one have to abandon flashpoints due to their lack of team play and listening.

    If these are children of the future... I fear for the future... these people will never be able to do anything in life without being told step by step... they have absolutely no sense of creativity or critical thinking skills. Heaven forbid the day they become "voters."

    I like this game but... right now I enjoy playing Fifa 14 on "Legendary" setting more...    … Expand
  60. vexarez
    May 29, 2015
    7
    To me Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the best Free 2 Play MMORPG´S out there. It has nice graphics, an amazing story and very solid combat and skill systems.
    Only negative aspects to me are boring and sometimes repetitive quests and the advantages a subscriber has in comparison to a free player are too vast, for Instance a "premium" player can have three different crew skills at    To me Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the best Free 2 Play MMORPG´S out there. It has nice graphics, an amazing story and very solid combat and skill systems.
    Only negative aspects to me are boring and sometimes repetitive quests and the advantages a subscriber has in comparison to a free player are too vast, for Instance a "premium" player can have three different crew skills at the same time, while free players can only have one and that´s just stupid from my point of view !    … Expand
  61. MenaBanana
    Jun 30, 2015
    7
    This game has many rights, and many wrongs. The main issue is that it is not a typical MMO, where players focus on a single class and enjoy a single story. This is a game designed to encourage players to finish all 8 of the campaign stories. Unfortunately this was an over reach for bioware, resulting in some misguided decisions. The most interested parts of the lore are not exploredThis game has many rights, and many wrongs. The main issue is that it is not a typical MMO, where players focus on a single class and enjoy a single story. This is a game designed to encourage players to finish all 8 of the campaign stories. Unfortunately this was an over reach for bioware, resulting in some misguided decisions. The most interested parts of the lore are not explored enough, while the most basic parts are over explored.

    Too many side quests, not enough end game content. PVP is sorely abandoned.

    That being said it is by far one of the best MMO's you will find out there. It is far more interesting than WOW, and much more re-playable than ESO. The unique classes will keep you entertained as you learn how to play them all. It has by far the most original costumes than any MMO you will find. You will be able to make not one, but 8 distinct characters that are unique to you. This is a prime game for role players.

    That being said, be warned of the community. Star Wars is a wide spread IP, and it draws both the experienced players and the newest of noobs. Expect drama in practically every community you meet, and expect role players to take themselves far too seriously. This is "Star Wars" and the ultimate nerd ego bolster, so the role players tend to be overly brutal in their treatment of other people and there is a lot of guild politics and bullying. There are the "loremaster" types who like to use their "expansive" knowledge of lore to justify god modding and metagaming. Don't fall for it. Walk away if someone makes you feel bad There are great role players in the game, you just have to find them. And if you do it will be one of the best role playing experiences you can have in any MMO.

    If you love star wars you will love this game even with it's flaws. I have been a subbed player for almost 3 years now. I have leveled 10 characters, and have 12 more. I think it's possible this game could become the best MMO out there if bioware does their expansions right. We'll see.    … Expand
  62. Sparkyte
    Jan 11, 2016
    7
    This game is absolutely fun if you play it for the story, avoid all of the multiplayer **** While I do recommend other games before this it's not a terrible or great game.
  63. tehCrazedrebel
    Jun 21, 2016
    7
    It's a great game, really. The storyline is pretty well thought out, companions are memorable, gameplay is just like any other free MMORPG, that doesn't make it any less fun. Now, the reason I'm only giving it an 7/10? The unrelenting free to play restrictions, yes, this is a free to play game and I understand IN-GAME restrictions, but I've never seen a free to play game dev team do this:It's a great game, really. The storyline is pretty well thought out, companions are memorable, gameplay is just like any other free MMORPG, that doesn't make it any less fun. Now, the reason I'm only giving it an 7/10? The unrelenting free to play restrictions, yes, this is a free to play game and I understand IN-GAME restrictions, but I've never seen a free to play game dev team do this: You are denied access to the forums and support if you're free to play or a preferred player. So, basically, if you have an in-game problem that can only be patched by the devs, you better be ready to pay up and become a subscriber.

    The game is fun! It really is! Even as a free to play player, it's still very fun, try it out! But these restrictions are a real turn off.    … Expand
  64. OldGamer99
    May 2, 2021
    7
    This game is worth is if you love star wars and a respectable RPG story line (some classes are better than others).

    TL;DR: fun enough for someone looking for some star wars action, but well past its prime. By 2021 standards graphics are mediocre with a very poor color scheme which will leave you playing your PCs in every shade of brown, but hey, the movies are pretty much jedi=brown,    This game is worth is if you love star wars and a respectable RPG story line (some classes are better than others).

    TL;DR: fun enough for someone looking for some star wars action, but well past its prime.

    By 2021 standards graphics are mediocre with a very poor color scheme which will leave you playing your PCs in every shade of brown, but hey, the movies are pretty much jedi=brown, sith=black, so it is true to the franchise.

    Aesthethics aside, the game had a far amount of enjoyment, less so for returning players, but very much so for new to the game.

    It's respectable even as creaky and out of date as it is. Hopefully, there will be a decent, up to date successor eventually.    … Expand
  65. Corefitz
    Feb 15, 2020
    7
    Seriously one of the best MMORPGs out there, and can we just take a moment to appriciate that everything is voiced!

    You even get to chose your own moral compass, not at lot of games let you do this these days!

    BUT BUT BUT

    It IS full of EAs slimy microtransactions.
    The game IS from 2012, so it's not the prettiest of games, still really good considering!
  66. Scritty
    Feb 19, 2012
    6
    I love it when others tell me why I don't like a game. "You are a hater" - "You know nothing about MMO's" and the best one "Go back to WoW". I don't hate this game at all. It's ok. It has a very solid combat mechanic and decent graphics. I have no problem with lag (and BTW the word "lag" should be reserved for talking about your internet connection not your GFX hardware's inability toI love it when others tell me why I don't like a game. "You are a hater" - "You know nothing about MMO's" and the best one "Go back to WoW". I don't hate this game at all. It's ok. It has a very solid combat mechanic and decent graphics. I have no problem with lag (and BTW the word "lag" should be reserved for talking about your internet connection not your GFX hardware's inability to render at an appropriate speed..that's just "underpowered" hardware).

    Anywho - I had a pleasant gaming experience for the most part. But the issues are rather big when you've played for 100+ hours. Firstly, while accepting it's a theme park MMO (like WoW and many others) it is very "light" in terms of things to do outside combat. Crafting and harvesting has no real depth. YOu don't even need to risk your own neck to harvest "above your level" just press "N" and send your companion out "Bye - see ya later" He or she will pop back (while you are in the middle of combat normally) and without looking up from what you are doing you will likely press "N" then a number from 1-3 then hear said companion mutter something about "Back later" and that's it. Crafting is exactly the same as harvesting "Off you go companion"....."Oh you're back with........ nothing of any value what-so-ever" Yes you can reverse engineer everything you make (and you should do this) but I am still yet to find a single item or mod worth using ( I craft appropriate to my level - if not a little beyond - I always have any spare companions out gathering or crafting, yet still have found nothing worth using) I've read that maybe I picked the wrong profession..Oh well.

    I LOVE MMO trading. I DO NOT MEAN I indulge in RMT, never had, never will. But to get any fun out of a trade network it needs to be developed a little. SWTOR's is so basic you'd be better off selling anything of value over the trade channel. Even the filters seem not to work very well, All in all, pretty dull and not much extra. Add to this, no secondary professions, no "side goal" quests to get stuff (like a X faction mount or something decorative) and you have a game that relies far to much on combat and combat alone. And after killing your 4000th group of mobs, going through the same rotation over and over and over again gets VERY dull. I would like to just stop and feel obliged to go somewhere to gather materials to make an item I actually need, or to go "asteroid fishing" or see what the items I have in my pack are fetchin X faction..noe of this (and any of the other things that add a little depth to a theme park MMO) are available.

    Perhaps wore than this is rolling Republic on just about any server. Forget multiplay. You're on your own. Well of course you're not totally on your own, but watching guilds evaporate as even the true blue republicans decide to leave to look for a better served server for th republic (which is guesswork) or give up and roll an Imperial (just so they can do the multiplayer content) or in many places, just give up and do something else instead

    The much vaunted story for my class (Jedi Counsellor) is terrible. Planet one. Rescue (ahem - I won't spoil it) protect (ahem)...then what? Go to planet 2 and do the exact same thing...then what..Oh I know, why not go to planet 3 and do the exact same thing..then what ...... It's more like an episode of "Dora the Explorer" than an epic space quest. Again I'm told other quest lines are better - guess I just picked wrong again. SWTOR is a theme park with one ride...Combat..it's a good one, but it's the only one in town.
    I don't hate the game - I give it a 6, if it was a single player game (which while I'm playing it seems to be) iwould probably give it an 8. It probably does have a future, it needs more "stuff to do" and maybe free character migration for those with Republic characters sitting on their own waiting for a groujp that's never going to come. Please Bio give us more than combat. 6 is fair, it's higher than the average score this game has on this site at time of posting, and that probably sums up my feelings. Could be a great game, but needs a lot more content, not just "depth" (i.e more end game content added) but content width as well. More than just combat ...PERLEAAASE    … Expand
  67. Ansatsu83
    Dec 30, 2014
    6
    I will likely advoctate this game, over wow... However the latest expansion has caused too many issues. They changed the way a lot of things worked, all classes got revamped... However... Some of the spec abilities are automatically given to you while others are not... An example is my operative's kolto probe... It was not provided to me, automatically, upon selecting the role... But myI will likely advoctate this game, over wow... However the latest expansion has caused too many issues. They changed the way a lot of things worked, all classes got revamped... However... Some of the spec abilities are automatically given to you while others are not... An example is my operative's kolto probe... It was not provided to me, automatically, upon selecting the role... But my recuprative nanotech, which is operative, was provided automatically. Its inconsistent on many classes. On top of that, there are some ui issues that should have never been changed. They separated the buff and debuff ui sections and made it so the debuff ui will scale automatically (with no way to turn it off), as a result it overlaps my characters health bar and bottom quick bars... Not sure why they made this design choice but I had to move it off towards the side of the screen... Now I have to check my debuffs like im checking the mirror of a car to take a left turn while there is tons of DEATH in front of me. Just some really bad choices by the developers... Many good things, like flagships/strongholds, good story, extra levels/flashpoints/etc, great graphics and fun leveling... But there are issues like this, which prevents me from giving it anything above a 6... If the developers were to think before they do something, it would be rated a lot higher!… Expand
  68. ravenblade
    Feb 28, 2012
    6
    This is my 2nd review of this game, in my first one I barely touched the game. A second review should be common thing these for MMO reviewers anyways. I will start with what keeps me playing this game for now: Story. Story is the strong point of this game although when talking about story I have to emphasize on class storylines because alot sidequests get lost in the same stereotypical "beThis is my 2nd review of this game, in my first one I barely touched the game. A second review should be common thing these for MMO reviewers anyways. I will start with what keeps me playing this game for now: Story. Story is the strong point of this game although when talking about story I have to emphasize on class storylines because alot sidequests get lost in the same stereotypical "be a hero and save the world." theme not being shy of being hyperbolic in many cases. It is quite common to spend more time listening to the voiceover quest dialogue than for the quest itself. #
    As hinted sidequest content qualities are not exactly an evolution and often backwards, bonus objectives in 99 out of 100 cases start with a kill x of y and if there are stages involved they are often followed up by a x of 5*y type of kill quest. Alot sidequests simply don't go beyond kill x, catch y, click z to destroy/interact. There is no timed challenge, no mini-game which could spice it up and certainly no alternate paths involved which would hint the same level of evolution they offered via their dialogue/voiceover introduction.#
    Speaking of alternate paths it needs to be mentioned that all quest progression follows the same road for every class, the game is heavily guiding you through content while also limiting you in your abilities to explore. Random invisible walls and entire area potential wasted for instancing, some even class-specific are common and a step backwards. If that didn't wreck your immersion already then the fact that despite all the instancing the game does it knows little to nothing of story persistence aka phasing. At least, you could say, you can have world PVP, but unfortunately there is little of that.#
    World PVP is again very limited to a few planets and even then it is better to go your way because on the occasion you have met - which is very difficult with the few Republic players out there - you have almost no incentive to do anything than classical ganking. It is in fact easier to group for instanced PVP.#
    Instanced PVP as well as the only exclusive world PVP zone in this game suffers from the same thing as other games within the genre: It is too much of a treadmill and hindered by mechanical as well as technical limitations. Especially the latter deserves some mentioning.#
    The biggest issue of this game is its lack of fidelity. The reason for that is a blatant neglect of technological standards and a very unpolished client design. It is very common for some players to deal with the lack in case of many players being in the same area. Even then if you can enjoy higher framerates it becomes quite clear that beyond the poor optimization, animation, texture resolution and shadow qualities are one of the worst I have seen in a long time. Adding to that world design qualities are greatly lacking, the amount of sterility and lifelessness, the impression of a paint brush effect, the lack of small details and variations are putting quite a dent into the immersion and cannot be fixed by the sheer existence of voiceover alone anymore.#
    With this said I want to add that I have left out alot of other things especially spoiling ones and things like companions, travelling nightmares and crafting imbalances but these are what I see as biggest outstanding issues. Bioware emphasized too much on voiceover and hoped that it will be the strings that tie the game together. Unfortunately their new pillar of gameplay may break under the burden if they are not beginning to be a little bit more critical of their own design and design choices and start improving. As of now the only saving grace is it being in the Star Wars universe but it will have a hard time to stand up against contenders in this genre who in fact are making and already have made a leap of faith forward.    … Expand
  69. Gratson
    Feb 23, 2012
    6
    Decent game with lots of potential but so many things missing that could make it go from OK to great.

    The graphics are good. Crafting is fun but horribly unbalanced. But the server population is dead on some servers (massive pain for my Republic character to form groups, esp during offhours). There are no server transfers to fix this. There are no cross-server queues, so you're stuck    Decent game with lots of potential but so many things missing that could make it go from OK to great.

    The graphics are good. Crafting is fun but horribly unbalanced. But the server population is dead on some servers (massive pain for my Republic character to form groups, esp during offhours). There are no server transfers to fix this. There are no cross-server queues, so you're stuck pvping the same people over and over and over (since each server is rather small). Ilum is a joke. Warzones are fun, but they get boring after a while (Ilum could save that, but it needs a lot of work). Raiding is ok. The storyline is good but it gets repetative after you've leveled one character up in the same faction. MMOs are all about raiding and pvp, storyline won't keep you interested for more than a month or two. And MMO storyline is never that great, no matter how you sugar coat it, you just can't make it as truly epic as a great single player game since you have 1000s of players who are all "saving the galaxy" 50 times a day and killing the same mobs over and over.

    What it needs:

    Cross server queues.
    Server transfers
    More interesting and dynamic world pvp (see guild wars 2 or DaoC)
    Ranking system for pvp
    Balanced crafting system (horribly unbalanced right now)    … Expand
  70. Sariden
    Jan 29, 2012
    6
    Feels rushed, badly. Has an engaging and fun single player story line, but I think there are too many fundamental problems with architecture and execution for the game to last long term. Sorry Bioware, you tell a great story, but you can't get performance out of any engine you use...
  71. obro
    Dec 21, 2011
    6
    The only good things in this game are voice acting and music. Both of those things do not make a video game. Gameplay pretty much WoW so why even bother playing it if it's the same thing I have been playing for years now? Huge lags and ques and instanced zones. No sense of exploration since it's instanced. Animations are terrible for a 2011 game but then again BioWare never had goodThe only good things in this game are voice acting and music. Both of those things do not make a video game. Gameplay pretty much WoW so why even bother playing it if it's the same thing I have been playing for years now? Huge lags and ques and instanced zones. No sense of exploration since it's instanced. Animations are terrible for a 2011 game but then again BioWare never had good animations in any of their games. All in all completely average MMO interesting only in the beginning because of the voice acting but you soon start to skip it all because no choice you make matters.… Expand
  72. mattaui
    May 8, 2012
    6
    What this game does right, it does really right, but so much of that is purely single player content. I feel like the single player leveling experience was developed in a vacuum and the MMO portions were likewise developed separately, and then at a very late stage they were slapped together.

    I immensely enjoyed my trip from 1-50 on my Republic Commando, then hit a wall with the complete    What this game does right, it does really right, but so much of that is purely single player content. I feel like the single player leveling experience was developed in a vacuum and the MMO portions were likewise developed separately, and then at a very late stage they were slapped together.

    I immensely enjoyed my trip from 1-50 on my Republic Commando, then hit a wall with the complete disconnect between the single player experience and what passed for the endgame. Why didn't my character's story tie into an end game raid? Or why did it not even tie into the flashpoints along the way? They should have felt like organic parts of the leveling experience, not glorified coop missions that were utterly disconnected from the rest of the storyline. The best I can say is that SWTOR is a single player game with online functionality and on-disc DLC you rent for $15 a month. I'd have kept my sub for a few months if I hadn't paid $60 up front, but I wasn't about to keep renting that content when I wasn't getting MMO functionality out of it.

    I'd have given it a 7, still, because of how much I enjoyed that leveling experience, but the lack of so many crucial current-gen MMO features made me kick it down a notch, and also reinforces my belief that it was designed as a single player game first, so such features just weren't even considered.    … Expand
  73. FrodoFraggins
    Jul 20, 2013
    6
    Great fun for the first playthrough. The combat response was horrible on launch as was endgame. Too much money and time was devoted to voice acting and not enough to the other areas of this WOW clone. A Star Wars MMO needs to launch with amazing space combat to set it apart. This game failed on almost every front.
  74. Saruk
    Feb 1, 2012
    6
    5.9 while writing this - not a completely unfair score, imo. Maybe a bit on the rough side but I'll agree with a 6.
    It's production value certainly raises it above the lowest scores. Some parts of this game works great :)
    The mmo-part - that the game is build upon - feels very old fashioned and in some areas just old. Some parts of this game doesn't work at all :( If Bioware shows us that    5.9 while writing this - not a completely unfair score, imo. Maybe a bit on the rough side but I'll agree with a 6.
    It's production value certainly raises it above the lowest scores. Some parts of this game works great :)
    The mmo-part - that the game is build upon - feels very old fashioned and in some areas just old. Some parts of this game doesn't work at all :(
    If Bioware shows us that they have a flexible engine and capable programmers that are able to implement much needed features I will raise the score, I believe. For some reason a little part of me is doubtful about this, unfortunately.    … Expand
  75. MrFpeas
    Feb 7, 2012
    6
    It is a typical MMO, yet a MMO that should not deserve so much hate. As much as I want to try making these people's hate go towards Mists of Pandaria, they seem very focused on this MMO because of the words "BioWare" and "EA", so I just want to take this chance to clarify somethings about this MMO and show that, yes it does not accomplish much, it is just another MMO. I tried writing theIt is a typical MMO, yet a MMO that should not deserve so much hate. As much as I want to try making these people's hate go towards Mists of Pandaria, they seem very focused on this MMO because of the words "BioWare" and "EA", so I just want to take this chance to clarify somethings about this MMO and show that, yes it does not accomplish much, it is just another MMO. I tried writing the rest of this review not comparing this other MMOs (it is a personal policy of mine I have taken recently that I should not compare it to other games of the same genre, but rather judge it by itself), I personally felt like I had to bring up WoW to prove a quick point. Hopefully it will not anger too many people :) But lets get down to the point. I give it a 6.5/10 (based on the old style of grading, not the new style where anything below 9 is **** Though this game really offers nothing new to MMO's honestly, it accomplished what was expected in MMOs, and I will give it credit for that at least. The gameplay is nothing too new, though they try adding a new "pattern" to the users of Smugglers and Imperial Agents, which (depending on spec) they must take cover to use certain abilities. Though not overly complex, they add a new pattern in your typical rotations from past MMOs, giving it a slightly new feel. Most spells are nothing new, very typical for most MMOs (if any of you has seen the famous pictures of how TOR stole spells from WoW, you will see that half the spells people say were stolen are actually fairly common spell. Like you haven't seen a heal over time spell in other MMOs?). The PvP is not exactly balanced, but hey, Yahtzee brought up a very valid point: "Cows go moo, dogs go bark, MMO nerds go PvP is broken" or something along the lines of that. I'm not exactly sure if Illum actually got broken again, but if you read the patch notes, they fixed the big problem at Illum the next day (which a lot of people shut their mouths and acted like they never complained about it). For the review of the "story" aspect, I have to divide it up into two short sections. Class stories are actually not that bad (Imperial wise, no idea what Republic is like, not hearing nice things about it though). I honestly don't see hope in the Bounty Hunter story, but the rest of the Imperial classes have actually fairly interesting stories, not unbearable by any means honestly. Though, the regular stories (regular quests that anyone can pick up) are where the problem lies: they're nothing special and some truly do disgrace the things set up in KOTOR, which this aspect is the biggest problem I have with this game. They really slapped the fan's of the original KOTOR series face, example you get this quest line where you help out the 'Revanites', the followers of the infamous Revan. While I was doing this, I was like "Holy **** this is terribad".
    The 'moral' system is basically forced upon you. If you don't have any light/dark side points, you won't be able to get to the better gear, but honestly, I cannot imagine that many people NOT choosing Light/Dark options, especially in a BioWare game. This was just my personal view on this game. Not the perfect MMO at all, not the best, but I am ok with this MMO until Guild Wars 2 comes out. Hope this review was helpful (was tired while writing this). I really could have written so much more, but I'm too tired and it would have taken way too long and used too much space to write all the info I wanted to write ._. Oh well, it is very mediocre at best, not the best MMO, not 4.0 bad, but mediocre. I'll just leave off by saying: It's a MMO. You either ok with it or you despise it.

    Hope I don't cause a ****storm.    … Expand
  76. Dyalad
    Mar 7, 2012
    6
    I don't believe this game should've been a MMO. It feels more of a poorly executed single player game with a co-op option. By poorly executed I mean that there's a lot of good ideas that were brought on the table, but in the end were poorly implemented. For first, the companion concept was a great idea. The inherent problem with companions, however, is that they become mandatory to killI don't believe this game should've been a MMO. It feels more of a poorly executed single player game with a co-op option. By poorly executed I mean that there's a lot of good ideas that were brought on the table, but in the end were poorly implemented. For first, the companion concept was a great idea. The inherent problem with companions, however, is that they become mandatory to kill anything at your level. Also these companions' equipment must be constantly kept on par with your own equipment. If forces you to stick to one to two companions at most, and that's quite unfortunate, because all the companions are worth experiencing. Secondly, the ship. The ship feels like the camp in Dragon Age: Origins. However the way it acts in SWTOR is more of an additional loading screen rather than something genuinely helpful - in DA you have vendors and you could equip your companions there. In SWTOR you can't do either. The ship has space combat, which essentially is a mini-game that's extremely repetitive: the music for space combat is the same for each of the space combat sequence you pick. Also, some space missions are exactly identical to another space mission, with the only difference of enemies being stronger. Concerning performance and quality, the game lags a lot. In PVP the game is not reactive at all - sometimes your keystrokes may occur up to 5 seconds later, this is very infuriating. The interface is rigid and uncomfortable. As a healer, I found that unit frames positioning is not ergonomical, and I had no way to change it to make it better for me. The status effects icons are tiny and can't be rescaled. That makes tracking buffs and debuffs extremely hard and tedious. One of the pride of the game is its story, which I did enjoy, but what I did not enjoy was the pace at which it was delivered. I played a scoundrel to level 50 and an imperial agent to 30. The first character was leveled as a solo experience, and the other character was a 2 player (bounty hunter) coop effort. What I found in both situations was that for a 2 minutes of dialog and action, I sometimes had about 1 hour worth of fighting and/or travelling. One thing that SWTOR suffers from (and that is the case of every Bioware game) Way too many loading screens. The amount of loading screens in this game blows my mind away. Get on the ship, loading screen. Get on the spacedock, loading screen. Get on the planet, loading screen. World of Warcraft does a far better job at pacing the loading screens than this game does. In conclusion: the game should not be subscription-based. You're pretty much paying for a game that you'll be mostly playing by yourself.… Expand
  77. WildFire15
    Aug 10, 2013
    6
    This game has so many great ingredients: Star Wars, MMO, Bioware, the Old Republic Lore (rather then whiny, badly written George Lucas stuff). However, once the awe has washed away the impression that this game was either designed by people who don't care or by a comity who forced a list in front of Bioware's least experienced employees can't be helped.
    At it's most basic, SWTOR is WoW    This game has so many great ingredients: Star Wars, MMO, Bioware, the Old Republic Lore (rather then whiny, badly written George Lucas stuff). However, once the awe has washed away the impression that this game was either designed by people who don't care or by a comity who forced a list in front of Bioware's least experienced employees can't be helped.
    At it's most basic, SWTOR is WoW with a different coat of paint. For an alleged $200 million budget it's shameful what Bioware has done with this, not taking a single risk or taking advantage of outstanding features anything other then WoW had (no Global friends list is bad enough, but no sidekick feature is even worse). Gameplay is very much by the numbers with a bias towards the NPC enemies if you're evenly matched. There's been so many fights I've gone into with my Bounty Hunter at even level with decent equipment and still been flattened.
    Speaking of equipment, the in-game store added after the change to F2P is an embarrassment, mostly working on random boxes that frequently give you very little with a few 'ok' sets of armour that need modifications adding to them before they can be useful and other bits and bobs.
    I came to this game after City of Heroes shut down. For the longest time, I got on ok with the game as I enjoyed some of the story, but as time progressed I realized just how terrible this game is and wouldn't recommend it at all.    … Expand
  78. Sargonnas
    Dec 28, 2011
    6
    SWTOR is a average game with a good story, but wont appeal as much long term to MMO veterans looking for something more unless those people happen to be big Star Wars fans. Its also too solo oriented and instanced which makes this almost a single player Old Republic sequel more than a MMO. I'm amazed at how good the reviews are and think some publications are unable to truly write aSWTOR is a average game with a good story, but wont appeal as much long term to MMO veterans looking for something more unless those people happen to be big Star Wars fans. Its also too solo oriented and instanced which makes this almost a single player Old Republic sequel more than a MMO. I'm amazed at how good the reviews are and think some publications are unable to truly write a impartial review. This is not a bad game at all, but it should be more than it is for $200 million and what it has now will not sustain it long term which is what will decide if its ultimately successful or not.… Expand
  79. diesbildnis
    Feb 14, 2012
    6
    Cliffnotes: deeply flawed, incredibly addictive game. The story is great, but game mechanics, pvp and endgame are a deal-killer. Cautiously recommend.

    This is my first MMO. I was drawn to this game by a close friend and also because I am a huge KOTOR fan and love Bioware. Over the last few months, I have spent about 250 hours playing SWTOR. My accomplishments: I finished the Empire    Cliffnotes: deeply flawed, incredibly addictive game. The story is great, but game mechanics, pvp and endgame are a deal-killer. Cautiously recommend.


    This is my first MMO. I was drawn to this game by a close friend and also because I am a huge KOTOR fan and love Bioware. Over the last few months, I have spent about 250 hours playing SWTOR. My accomplishments: I finished the Empire sniper campaign, leveled to 50, joined a guild, sampled PVP and raids and have leveled a Jedi Sage to 37 so I have a good feel for both sides of the campaign and for endgame. Overall, this game has brilliant moments and is quite addictive. However, it is a massive grind, especially at the endgame. I came for the KOTOR and Bioware story and elements of KOTOR are definitely there in every story. The choices, the plot twists, the great music, and the fascinating character development. For instance, the Sniper story itself is one of the most incredible storylines of any rpg game I have played and really shines. However, to get through the 12 or so hours of story content you have to log about 80 hours of quests that are all exactly the same. It's one of three possibilities: kill 10 grunts, smash 5 things, touch 5 things with a thing from your inventory. There is slight variation on some quests, such as Heroics or bonus quests, but generally even these are more of the same. Even in these special quests though, sometimes the stage 1 of a quest will be 'kill 10 imperial grunts' and stage 2 will be 'kill 20 imperial grunts'. Glad these were separated so I really feel I accomplished something! After a few hours of this, the quests, no matter how beautifully done, feel like a complete chore. It doesn't help that most of the mobs are the same across almost every planet. For instance, there must be 100 types of mobs that are humans with blasters or swords, with the name 'Imperial' crossed out and the word 'Cartel' or 'Thug' written in. The combat is also extremely formulaic. With hot keys I would just press '4,5,6,4,5,6,1,4,5,6' and by the time I had finished that sequence my companion and I had killed off all the mobs. It's very rare that a mob is actually challenging in that you need to change your repetitive hotkey strategy, and not just "A REALLY BIG THUG WITH LOTS OF HP'. Even the endgame raids, individual strategy is quite simple.


    If PVE combat is dull, PVP combat is even duller and extremely frustrating. It is mostly an exercise in button spamming and whoever has best gear. The champion bag complaint is beaten to death so I will leave that be and focus on the mechanics themselves. For your first 30 hours or so of PVP after you get to 50, expect to lose 60-70% of your matches and get absolutely soul-crushed. As Republic you could easily lose 9 matches in a row and they won't even be close. You will be 3-shot by some classes. If you can get through this frustrating period, even once you start winning it is not even really enjoyable with the exception of the occasional close game.


    All that being said, I still play this game and cautiously recommend it for the campaigns alone. It's amazingly addictive and there are a few really great things about it. The story, the space missions, the flashpoints (when you are not with a moronic healer and tank) and the beautifully crafted worlds are the high points. It feels like a chore though and you shouldn't pay $15 a month for this game as it stands now. Bioware is doing the best they can and patching constantly and adding new content, but it feels like a bandaid over much bigger issues. The main problem is the game mechanics, ie 95% of the game is you fighting either mobs or players and the fighting you can master after an hour. Once you figure out the three or four basic moves of your class it just becomes a Mavis Beacon hotkey typing game.    … Expand
  80. JiggyJoe
    Mar 18, 2012
    6
    The game definitely needs some work, but most new MMOs do when they are launched. It is enjoyable, the RPG like gameplay definitely works well, but as an MMO it definitely plays like another big named game of the same Genre. A bit disapointing, as to you needing to pay $50-$60 for the game, and having to lay down a starting subscription fee of at least $15. The game is not optimizedThe game definitely needs some work, but most new MMOs do when they are launched. It is enjoyable, the RPG like gameplay definitely works well, but as an MMO it definitely plays like another big named game of the same Genre. A bit disapointing, as to you needing to pay $50-$60 for the game, and having to lay down a starting subscription fee of at least $15. The game is not optimized well, so those who have an older computer or gaming rig may need to upgrade to run this game even on Low settings. They're fixing a lot of the issues, but that doesn't take away the fact that it plays to much like other MMOs. Great, but not astounding. Fun, but nothing new. Worth a check out if you're tired of other games, but definitely not worth playing over others.… Expand
  81. Mundty
    May 7, 2012
    6
    This game is unfortunately no where near as groundbreaking as Bioware portrayed it to be. It stands there with just about every other MMO using a standard cookie cutter approach to combat and gameplay. The voice acting is the only major departure, but unfortunately for Bioware you cannot pin an entire game's success on one noteworthy feature. There's still hope that given enough timeThis game is unfortunately no where near as groundbreaking as Bioware portrayed it to be. It stands there with just about every other MMO using a standard cookie cutter approach to combat and gameplay. The voice acting is the only major departure, but unfortunately for Bioware you cannot pin an entire game's success on one noteworthy feature. There's still hope that given enough time they can modify this game into something much better than what we're seeing today. For now though, this game just isn't worth the $15 subscription fee once you've reached level 50. Maybe Guild Wars 2 will deliver where The Old Republic has fallen short... only time will tell.… Expand
  82. GigaHz
    Dec 20, 2011
    6
    I pre-ordered my game and have been playing it through Early Access. I have been trying to give the game a fair chance, but in all honesty, I feel as if the game is a massive disappointment.

    I'm not sure where to start. The game isn't terrible, it just isn't great. There's something about the gameplay and overarching design philosophy that feels very dated and I don't know why I wasted so    I pre-ordered my game and have been playing it through Early Access. I have been trying to give the game a fair chance, but in all honesty, I feel as if the game is a massive disappointment.

    I'm not sure where to start. The game isn't terrible, it just isn't great. There's something about the gameplay and overarching design philosophy that feels very dated and I don't know why I wasted so much time trying to convince myself that it's acceptable. I'm not so much referring to the mechanics that were ripped from WoW or other MMOs, it just feels as if the team that worked on this game lacked any sort of passion to separate this game from its competition.

    Yes, the game has the standard Bioware cutscenes and they do give a sense of importance to certain quests, but that's basically the only unique thing this game has going for it. And really, there is only so far you can take something like that without it turning into a gimmick. Having fully voiced cutscenes for the majority of quests is a great idea... in theory. After a while, it starts to become a bit ridiculous. I don't care how you act out an unimportant fetch quest, a fetch quest is a fetch quest. You don't need to pretend that I'm looking for buried treasure or Al Capone's vault, I won't suddenly convince myself that your quest offer is less redundant than it already is.

    I also really tried to connect with my character (Smuggler/Gunslinger) to immerse myself in the plot. Despite the character playing out as a glorified Han Solo simulator (which I mean in the best possible way), I must have heard 'I can do it blindfolded!' 3 times in the starting world alone. If they're going to pride themselves on having fully-voiced cutscenes, they could at least be clever about how they recycle dialogue lines.

    As some have said before, the worlds are incredibly linear. As old and criticized as WoW is, at least there is a sense of free-roaming and unique set pieces to differentiate each zone from the next. SWTOR's world design takes uninspired to new heights. It doesn't matter what zone you're in, there is a universal sense of monotony and sterility to everything. It's like the game was designed for corridor fetishists. If you're in an indoor or outdoor zone, everything feels (and is) closed in or restrictive. I can't even think of a single prop or locale in these locations that have stuck out on my mind. If Bioware or EA were seriously looking to keep people playing their game for years instead of months, they should have put more emphasis on the design and aesthetics of these locations. Right now, the only positive description I can think of for these zones is that they are functional, and that doesn't mean much.

    Oddly enough, the Combat system is what I enjoy most for this game. It's not unique either, but at the very least it's fun. I've ran into a few issues with the Smuggler/Gunslinger class. These are not so much glitches as they are poor design choices. For instance, if I'm doing a Heroic instance with others as a Gunslinger, there are times when I am forced to go into cover to activate the abilities that I need. There are also times when I would like to keep my distance on the target and use my portable/holographic cover instead of rolling behind an object. In unfavourable circumstances, I will sometimes automatically roll to a place I don't want to be instead of just deploying my cover. If they were to add in an option to turn off this roll, that would solve my problem, but for now, it's a sloppy mechanic. It's a little ironic that when you're starting out as a Smuggler and you don't have portable cover, it's cumbersome to roll behind an object to mitigate damage taken.

    Everything else feels out of place or tacked-on. PvP doesn't play as good as it could have, Space Combat is just an on-rails shooter with plenty of repeating segments, and while they are pretty useful, the game almost forces you to utilize your companion. Why is it that I have to delegate crafting to my companion instead of crafting items myself? Is working with my hands beneath me? Do Star Wars players have God Complexes? I don't get it. However, I am a fan of sending my companion on side-missions. Only because then I don't have to put up with his spineless, good-for-nothing personality.

    I'm going to go out on a limb and say that The Old Republic is nothing more than a shameless cash grab. Maybe plenty of people who do their research on this game were aware of this already, but I was genuinely optimistic and unaware. Now I know why there were so many CG cutscenes to promote the game instead of actual content.    … Expand
  83. Solitaire
    Dec 20, 2011
    6
    SWTOR je u principu solidna igra. Ne postoji nista u sta bi mogao uperis prst i kazes da ne valja. Kontrole su zategnute, grafika je na nivou, dijalozi dobro izrezirani, borbe drze paznju...
    Medjutim, problem je u tome sto u igri isto tako ne postoji nista sto je stvarno zablistalo, sto je vanserijski. Izuzev dijaloga, sve sto SWTOR nudi MMO konkurencija ima barem na istom nivou, ako ne i    SWTOR je u principu solidna igra. Ne postoji nista u sta bi mogao uperis prst i kazes da ne valja. Kontrole su zategnute, grafika je na nivou, dijalozi dobro izrezirani, borbe drze paznju...
    Medjutim, problem je u tome sto u igri isto tako ne postoji nista sto je stvarno zablistalo, sto je vanserijski. Izuzev dijaloga, sve sto SWTOR nudi MMO konkurencija ima barem na istom nivou, ako ne i bolje. O non-MMO konkurenciji da i ne govorim.
    Sami dijalozi jesu nesto do sad nevidjeno medju MMO igrama, i kada se uporede sa resenjima koje ima postojeca konkurencija (WoW, EvE, LOTRO,GW), ali i buduca (GW2,TSW,TERA), zaista deluju kao nesto impozantno. Medjutim, kad stavis Busmana medju kepece i on ce izgledati kao dzin.

    Dijalozi u SWTORu su jako staticni, zbog cega deluju arhaicno i na nivou onih iz ranih dve hiljaditih. Uz to, ne pomaze im ni jako ogranicen izbor koji stavljaju pred igraca, a koji je postavljen po BioWareovom tradicionalno lobotomiranom kljucu - Psihopata/Patrijarh Pavle uz povremeno "daj jos para". Pri cemu su efekti tog izbora minorni ili zanemarljivi za dalji tok radnje.
    Mrzi me da ulazim dublje u ovu tematiku, ali sve u svemu - iako su dijalozi u SWTORu za MMO standarde zaista impresivna stvar, kada se stvari gledaju iz sveobuhvatnije perspektive, tesko da su oni nesto sto bi zaista moglo da SWToR svrsta medju izuzetnije naslove. U ovoj oblasti, standardi su postavljeni jako visoko, i tesko da bi me SWTORovi dijalozi mogli impresionirati posle verbalnih duela iz Deus Ex: Human Revolutiona ili ultradinamicnog ludila iz Alpha Protocola.

    Realno, SWTOR ce biti, barem u pocetku, komercijalno uspesna igra. Fransiza i pedigre joj to garantuju. Ono sto smo videli iz bete nam pokazuje i da ce biti solidan naslov. Medjutim, u ustima fanova ce ipak ostati gorak ukus razocarenja, jer je BioWareov Kotor MMO imao potencijala da bude nesto mnogo, mnogo vise.    … Expand
  84. nzh
    Dec 20, 2011
    6
    Fun game, worthy of playing through at least once. If this were a singeplayer or coop title, it would be deserving of a higher score. Trying to call this an MMO is the problem. It lacks some of the key features commonly found in other MMOs that are essential to creating a healthy community. The excuse of "they'll be added later" is unacceptable. Many fans have expressed their opinionsFun game, worthy of playing through at least once. If this were a singeplayer or coop title, it would be deserving of a higher score. Trying to call this an MMO is the problem. It lacks some of the key features commonly found in other MMOs that are essential to creating a healthy community. The excuse of "they'll be added later" is unacceptable. Many fans have expressed their opinions about the lack of dungeon system and addon support, only to be met with hostile criticism from so-called "true fans" of MMO gaming. If ToR is to become successful, it will need to open doors for all players. In its current state, it offers very little for competitive players. If anyone is on the fence about buying this game, I say go for it. You get a free month with your purchase, which is plenty of time to playthrough once and experience the main storyline.

    Sorry for the repost, but my original score was meant to be a 6.    … Expand
  85. Tilran
    Dec 20, 2011
    6
    The game is developed well..you can tell hundreds of millions went into this game because it is very polished and the voice overs are well done.

    Unfortunately this is not my cup of tea for a game because it bores me to death. It feels like a single player game that has other people in it. The PvP is awful instanced matches...and is just dull as hell. The dungeons are instanced    The game is developed well..you can tell hundreds of millions went into this game because it is very polished and the voice overs are well done.

    Unfortunately this is not my cup of tea for a game because it bores me to death. It feels like a single player game that has other people in it.

    The PvP is awful instanced matches...and is just dull as hell.
    The dungeons are instanced group missions which are fun...but get soooo repetetive and arent hard.

    Honestly if you spend money on this game...remember that its a single player game and you wont be dissapointed when you realize the same thing.    … Expand
  86. Serpentu
    Dec 24, 2011
    6
    Good job on screwing up the launch by making it unavailable for half the globe.
    You've essentially diminished the interest of many, many players who would've otherwise gladly given you their money -despite- it being an EA published title.
  87. JoeCool
    Dec 25, 2011
    6
    This game is not an MMO, the hole world is instanced, creating a rather empty feel when you play it. You'll run into other players but not a whole lot. Once too many players enter a zone another instance is created and you'll always have the same feel. While that may be good for immersion, it is blasphemy in MMO country. The game revolves around the story. While that story is often quiteThis game is not an MMO, the hole world is instanced, creating a rather empty feel when you play it. You'll run into other players but not a whole lot. Once too many players enter a zone another instance is created and you'll always have the same feel. While that may be good for immersion, it is blasphemy in MMO country. The game revolves around the story. While that story is often quite good, and as a single player game it would certainly have disappointed a whole lot less. However as an MMO you just have to label it the failure it is. If you're look for a Star Wars game, then this is one. If you're looking for an MMO, let alone a good one, better pass on this one.… Expand
  88. Crimsonking58
    Dec 26, 2011
    6
    It seems impossible for this game to stand on it's own. Angry hardcore players comparing it to WoW, rabid Bioware fans assuming its absolute perfection, the treatment this game is receiving is simply unfair. On it's own, without any comparisons to WoW or the existing MMO genre, this is pretty much a mediocre Bioware game with multiplayer capabilities. Which, in thee end, isn't too shabby,It seems impossible for this game to stand on it's own. Angry hardcore players comparing it to WoW, rabid Bioware fans assuming its absolute perfection, the treatment this game is receiving is simply unfair. On it's own, without any comparisons to WoW or the existing MMO genre, this is pretty much a mediocre Bioware game with multiplayer capabilities. Which, in thee end, isn't too shabby, but nothing that will go down in gaming history.

    You can easily get to max level in this game without interacting with a single other player, if that's your sort of thing. After dealing with the typical MMO role-shortages (no heals, no tank, no DPS), I gave up on group quests and flashpoints (dungeons) around level 20, and never interacted with anyone until I got to max level. Did it hinder my experience? Not really. However, upon playing the game solo, I couldn't help but think that the game could've been so much better if they had simply made it a single player game and released it as KOTOR 3. I believe that result could've been the best game of the decade so far. The problem that I faced around level 35 was a lack of memorable characters or situations. I thought hard one night of everything that had happened in the game so far, what characters I had met, the situations I had been in, the plot twists, the character development, all standard Bioware fare. I was disappointed to find that I couldn't remember anything spectacular. Memories of all the fantastic scenarios from Mass Effect 2 and KOTOR came back to me then, and all I could feel was disappointment. Thankfully, the plot picks up quite nicely again around level 40, but never gets fully up to speed. As far as a single player experience goes, it feels long and not that spectacular, but much more entertaining and cinematic than a faceless kill-em-all MMO.

    But what separates an MMO from a standard RPG is one thing: The endgame. I have yet to experience operations (raids) or any heroic flashpoints, but from what I can see they seem cinematic yet standard, like the rest of the game. I don't see where people are coming up with the statement that "there is no endgame", for there are 15 heroic flashpoints, 2 operations, an entire PvP planet, a higher replay value than standard MMOs, crafting, and more. There is certainly plenty to do, but an MMO veteran might not get the same rush as a new player would. It certainly brings back feelings of Burning Crusade WoW if I have to compare it to anything else.

    In conclusion, I believe Bioware has created their most mediocre single player experience to date. But given Bioware's standard of quality, that doesn't mean it's bad. The hours of voice acting and thousands of quests to complete will either bore or immerse you, depending on your Star Wars enjoyment and previous MMO experience. For new players trying to decide between this or WoW, I would go with this, for it will feel much more like the plot-driven games that many are used to as opposed to a faceless trek through 85 levels that WoW feels like nowadays. For veterans, I would steer clear for now. If plot doesn't interest you, and you've already gone through the raiding motions in other MMOs, this will just feel like an elongated single player game with nothing at the end. For now, a 6 for slightly above average. If the end game proves to be as engaging as Burning Crusade was, and Bioware manages to keep content flowing nicely with patches on a regular basis, I'll bump it up to an 8 or a 9. Here's to hoping.    … Expand
  89. NathanScmidt000
    Jan 1, 2012
    6
    Saying that The Old Republic is another World of Warcraft clone is an insult to World of Warcraft. Bioware has basically crafted a single player/co-op campaign experience with PvP arenas, and a virtual lobby. Why not just drop the Lucasartâ
  90. checktheemails
    Jan 3, 2012
    6
    I'm the type of person that has never played an MMO except one month of WoW the first month it came out then I dropped it for fear of addiction. First of all, Star Wars is way too expensive for what it is; it is worth 50 bucks max considering how buggy and unfinished the game is. I am currently a level 40 imperial agent, and I have to say that the game has a problem when the best way toI'm the type of person that has never played an MMO except one month of WoW the first month it came out then I dropped it for fear of addiction. First of all, Star Wars is way too expensive for what it is; it is worth 50 bucks max considering how buggy and unfinished the game is. I am currently a level 40 imperial agent, and I have to say that the game has a problem when the best way to level up and gain gold is to PvP yet the PvP is terribly constructed. There are three maps that you play in PvP warzones and matchmaking is a joke. You get matched with level 50s and level 14s all in the same queues, so basically you have gods running around the maps while other ppl just get owned and are incapable of any combat. Also, the map designs are buggy and in some cases assanine. For some reason they decided to include two air vents in the center of the Huttball map that randomly decide which way to throw you into the air. This means that your enemy can grab the ball, run into the vent and then get magically placed onto a much greater field advantage while you jump onto the vent chasing them and are launched basically into an acid pool. Maps are not supposed to decide winners and losers they are supposed to be the blank canvas that the game is played on. That is one thing they need to remove. Secondly, sometimes you get thrown into a PvP that is already losing just because the team had a few leavers, (ppl leave because their teammates are level 14s, etc.) It isn't a huge deal considering you still get some xp for doing basically nothing but joining the match, but it makes you realize how much the PvP is just a joke. They really need to make PvP cross-server matchmaking such as in League of Legends (hate to say it) where you have a huge pool of players that can be mixed and matched to the best balance instead of just choosing from what they have on ONE server.

    I have to say that when people bring up the character creation, I didn't even realize how much better it could be but having only humanoid characters is a **** disaster. ITS STAR WARS. WHY CANT YOU BE A TRUE ALIEN? FAIL BIG TIME THERE BUDDIES.

    Also traveling around the planets is a pain in the **** ass you have to go through so many air locks and lobbies and lifts before you get there. Cant you just fly your spaceship onto the planet? I mean WTF? DIDN'T THE MILLENNIUM FALCON DO THAT?

    I wish I could give this game a 6.5, but a 7 is too high for something so buggy. Definitely not renewing for another 15 bucks a month I already got jipped paying 60.    … Expand
  91. maddychan
    Jan 17, 2012
    6
    SWTOR is certainly a beautiful game. The story lines and voice acting are just as top quality as promised...
    However, for me it fails on providing enough features: I can find - more entertaining - instances (both for small groups and for bigger ones) in other games, along with a lot more alternative activities if those are not your cup of tea, or even if they are for that matter.
    The last    SWTOR is certainly a beautiful game. The story lines and voice acting are just as top quality as promised...
    However, for me it fails on providing enough features: I can find - more entertaining - instances (both for small groups and for bigger ones) in other games, along with a lot more alternative activities if those are not your cup of tea, or even if they are for that matter.
    The last complain I personally have is about the user friendliness of the interface: since the UI is not scalable, viewing it on a big, high resolution monitor makes it almost impossible to see, let alone read.
    Engaging story lines and high resolution graphics are good and all, but playability still has to come first in my opinion.    … Expand
  92. northwoods21
    Jan 5, 2012
    6
    Graphics 8/10
    Gameplay 6-7/10
    Creative/Original 2/10 PvP 3/10 PvE 7/10 replay value: 5/10 Continued... (accidentally pressed submit on previous one sorry! lol...) Ok here are some very important gripes I think at least some players or ex players can agree with. Since publications like PC gamer and other "non user" reviews are writing nothing but pure gold about this game untarnished in    Graphics 8/10
    Gameplay 6-7/10
    Creative/Original 2/10
    PvP 3/10
    PvE 7/10
    replay value: 5/10



    Continued... (accidentally pressed submit on previous one sorry! lol...)
    Ok here are some very important gripes I think at least some players or ex players can agree with.

    Since publications like PC gamer and other "non user" reviews are writing nothing but pure gold about this game untarnished in any way... I'm just going to focus on the Cons or reasons this game really didn't meet any expectations I had for it.

    1.) character creation does not really let you create a unique character. You set your appearance, pick your race comprised pretty much of human looking people and aliens, pick your class and enter the game. For me, this is the opposite of what any player wants.I want to be able to spend hours thinking how to set up my character template before I even go in the game... and when I enter the game I don't want to be like every other player of my same class/lvl with just a different skin and face appearance. That's what us players call cookie cutter.

    2.) This game does not have a suggestion forums. I'm sorry but I think that's a pretty straightforward sign of how game development is going to go on this game. If your dev team is interested in what the players have to suggest or what their million base community wants from the game, they should have suggestion forums, no excuses.

    3.) The factions empire and republic only vary in storyline and character appearance. Republic fleet/ Empire fleet, the central hub of the game (think stormwind.) look almost exactly identical to eachother. The classes on both the empire and republic are practically mirrored, just like wow's classes.

    4.) There is like 8 sets of endgame pvp gear for any class and its 2 subclasses, aside from some color changes all these endgame pvp sets look the same... So out of 4 classes, and out of 32 endgame PvP armor sets, there is 4 seperate armor models! pure laziness. Endgame pvp'ers should at least have 2 choices of style on their endgame armors... come on.

    5.) the PvP Balancing is laughable. huttball a new pvp gametype for mmos and a lot of fun. the other two consist of a 3 point capture and hold map, and an attack/defend map that plays 2 rounds with teams alternating sides because it is not balanced enough to have attackers/defenders w/ the same advantage play only 1 round without swtiching sides. First off they will put lvl 10's with max level players in PvP matches and boost the lvl 10's stats by a lot... I've noticed leveling characters and playing a lot of PvP that sometimes as you gain levels your character will actually become weaker in a PvP match because you wont get as much as a boost.

    6.) getting your spaceship is exciting, but other than lookin around, exiting ship, and use you nav display/space combat... its kind of like just another zone. Never being able to fully control your spaceship and leisurely fly around and explore is a big letdown. I have very high hopes for space MMO's and they are never met.

    7.) server imbalance on every server. across the board there is about 7-8 empire characters for every 2-3 republic players. So we can throw any decent attempt at world PvP out the window.

    8.) the warzones are limited to 8 vs 8 matches. Truly nobody can call that "Massive Multiplayer"...

    9.) the lightside/darkside character choices do little other than display an imediate cutscene based on your choice. there are only a few items that require darkside/lightside levels and they mirror eachther, so it doesnt really matter which way you go.

    10.) chracter creation, zones, quests, pvp, warzones, flashpoints.... all these things copy wow completely in every way but A lot of the nice features that WoW has developed over the years, such as being able to refund an item you accidentally bought with hours worth of PvP marks, have been questionably left behind.    … Expand
  93. h0tangel99
    Jan 7, 2012
    6
    If you like RPG's and Star Wars, then this is the game for you. If you like MMO's, don't get it. This game feels like a single-player RPG. All the planets are empty due to the amount of instances there are. (Which I heard might be only temporary) Because of this, it's almost impossible to find a group for Flashpoints (dungeons) and Heroic Missions (quests that require a group)

    The story    If you like RPG's and Star Wars, then this is the game for you. If you like MMO's, don't get it. This game feels like a single-player RPG. All the planets are empty due to the amount of instances there are. (Which I heard might be only temporary) Because of this, it's almost impossible to find a group for Flashpoints (dungeons) and Heroic Missions (quests that require a group)

    The story in the game is great, though. It is very intriguing and will make you want t know what happens next. But I'm not joking when I say that is the only positive thing I can say about this game.

    Oh yeah, and 1 more thing, this game looks like it was made in 2003. I know graphics don't matter too much, and it's mostly about the gameplay, but I mean c'mon...A game made in 2011 should at least look somewhat decent. The combat is trite, and the game is just overall boring. I don't recommend it, but if you are a huge Star Wars fan, and love RPG's, then try it out.    … Expand
  94. Delaro
    Jan 7, 2012
    6
    The Graphics are very good and it has a great Story line but that is where it ends. In the end it ends up being just another MMO following in the World Of Warcraft mold, somehow I was expecting something different. Quests are the same as what you expect, except Npc's talk more and dungeon boss mechanics are Blahh, nothing challenging. SWTOR is above the typical Asian grindfest MMO's thatThe Graphics are very good and it has a great Story line but that is where it ends. In the end it ends up being just another MMO following in the World Of Warcraft mold, somehow I was expecting something different. Quests are the same as what you expect, except Npc's talk more and dungeon boss mechanics are Blahh, nothing challenging. SWTOR is above the typical Asian grindfest MMO's that is all I will give it but nothing inventive. If you are bored of the typical MMO scenario then this game will not hold your interest for long.… Expand
  95. SnakeByte
    Jan 8, 2012
    6
    Great game! The combat feel extremely fluid and well balanced PVP for just released game. Sure PVP needs some tweaking but for 3 week old game its more than good and not far from where it should be. I was not very optimistic for this game after the first week 'cos of the bugs and some ability delay issues. But now after 2 more weeks, 4-5 bugfix patches and one major patch coming before endGreat game! The combat feel extremely fluid and well balanced PVP for just released game. Sure PVP needs some tweaking but for 3 week old game its more than good and not far from where it should be. I was not very optimistic for this game after the first week 'cos of the bugs and some ability delay issues. But now after 2 more weeks, 4-5 bugfix patches and one major patch coming before end of January the game future seems very promising - considering how fast bugfixes come and patch 1.1 contents and bugfixes that include patches for most annoying and spread bugs, ability delay improved, flash-point(dungeon) and 4 operation(raid) bosses.… Expand
  96. MisterPants
    Jan 9, 2012
    6
    Average game with some good voiced quests. However, don't believe the marketing hype that it is fully voice acted it isn't. In addition to some mission terminals, much of the dialogue is simply re-used, in many cases where it doesn't make sense, or makes use of alien speech where they can re-use the same voice clips over and over.

    Combat is the usual mmo combat, and nothing original    Average game with some good voiced quests. However, don't believe the marketing hype that it is fully voice acted it isn't. In addition to some mission terminals, much of the dialogue is simply re-used, in many cases where it doesn't make sense, or makes use of alien speech where they can re-use the same voice clips over and over.

    Combat is the usual mmo combat, and nothing original there, though some of the combat animations are enjoyable. PVP combat is terrible. Space combat should have been delayed until they could build a proper space combat game, not some terrible rail shooter. Quests are the standard mix of fetch-it and kill quests, though admittedly that's not a complaint more of an expectation.

    Graphics are decidedly average and lack high res textures. Very limited character generation options. Blocky buildings that are repetitive (if you've played Biowares Dragon Age II you understand what this means).


    Large amount of bugs. Multiple hundred page threads on the customer service website about lag and stutter on systems that significantly outpace the system requirements (people with GTX570's, SLI or Crossfire video cards, 2.4GHz quad cores etc.). This is in addition to the many bugs that exist of mobs spawning in walls, player getting stuck in the environment, quests hanging and not being able to be completed. This is combined with terrible customer service. Having been a part of the release of many mmo's over the years, including some of the smoothest in terms of bugs and stability (LOTRO) and worst (AO/AOC) this game is on the worse side of the spectrum, not as bad as the worst, but a far cry from the best. Multiplayer aspects often seem like an add-on and the focus is definitely on the single player experience. Companions seem to emphasize the single player experience. For a game with a seemingly large population, the worlds seem fairly barren.

    Light and dark side choices seem to have no consequence beyond the graphical of being able to look like a sith (whether you want to or not as the show sith corruption is bugged forcing you to have to reset it everytime you zone). This forces a gaming of the system to get the higher light/dark gear, rather than making dialogue choices that seem appropriate.

    Pros: - storyline quests are for the most part enjoyable
    - the music and sound effects are terrific (both the original John Williams scores and anything they added)

    Neutrals
    - combat is the same old mmo combat
    - crafting is not bad, not great but at least not terribly intrusive

    Cons
    - bugs
    - last gen graphics and poor graphical differentiation
    - space combat is terrible
    - pvp
    - customer service    … Expand
  97. Pendulous
    Jan 13, 2012
    6
    Mediocre is really the best word to describe this game. Its easiest to take things one at a time.

    Sound - This is excellent and truly the best part of the game. Yes, it sounds like Star Wars. The voice acting is also very well done. Story- This section is kind of a conundrum. The class stories are truly interesting. They remind you of great Bioware titles and what you've come to expect.    Mediocre is really the best word to describe this game. Its easiest to take things one at a time.

    Sound - This is excellent and truly the best part of the game. Yes, it sounds like Star Wars. The voice acting is also very well done.

    Story- This section is kind of a conundrum. The class stories are truly interesting. They remind you of great Bioware titles and what you've come to expect. Planet arcs are fairly interesting as well. However, these aspects are only 15-20% of your time. The rest is boils down to "here is why I want you to kill droids". Minor uninteresting characters you never see again distract from the immersion Bioware was attempting to create. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and other single player titles can do this, but in an MMO its just clunky. Flashpoint stories are cool as well, but again the dialogue parts are so far and few between that they don't create a sense of meaning. Gameplay- Many others reviewers are using uninspired and it really fits. Its not that its bad in any way, its just nothing new. And I mean nothing. Combat is exactly like WoW or most other MMO's. Its not that its bad, but its not good for 2011. 2006 it would have been lauded, now its tiresome. The ranged classes cover mechanics are clunky as well and have needed fix since early beta. PvE- Standard PvE fare. Kill boss, collect loot, wait for new instance, repeat. Fights (including hard mode) are not challenging which will probably turn away most hardcore players. PvP- Very far behind the curve. This game will not be an ESport in the foreseeable future, because of a number of questionable design choices. How a AAA MMO expects to not have to deliver arena combat is mind boggling as well. Guild Mechanics- Guild Chat. Ships may come in the future but on launch is not there. Overall this game needed to be launched with more features or years ago. As for the expectations of the current MMO market it meets them, but doesn't justify a Triple-A rating or the price tag (and subsequent monthly fees) in my opinion. Some will love this game, but most of us and especially PvP junkies will want to skip it. The only caveat is the hope of future updates and whenever BioWare gets to adding stuff from the mysterious "wall of crazy".    … Expand
  98. rotator
    Jan 29, 2012
    6
    It is safe to assume the game was targeted primarily to 2 audiences: those who played the old KotORs (superb single player RPGs) back and forth and fans of the MMO genre. Let's see the break down!

    Pros for a KotOR gamer: - The Star Wars atmosphere. - Two distinct walkthroughs: Republic and Imperial. See cons for more... - Quality voice acting and dialogs, class stories are generally    It is safe to assume the game was targeted primarily to 2 audiences: those who played the old KotORs (superb single player RPGs) back and forth and fans of the MMO genre. Let's see the break down!

    Pros for a KotOR gamer:
    - The Star Wars atmosphere.
    - Two distinct walkthroughs: Republic and Imperial. See cons for more... - Quality voice acting and dialogs, class stories are generally good.
    - Slightly improved graphics (compared to the original KotORs).

    Cons for a KotOR gamer:
    - The old skill system is gone. There are talent trees now, which only improve your proficiency in battle: damage output and resistance. No secondary skills like persuade, slicing and others.
    - Combat is realtime MMO style with the usual abilities and cooldowns, no pausing and planning.
    - Dialogs are copied from Mass Effect: no real consequences and you only get a hint about your own lines instead of the full text. No persuading skills except for force persuade.
    - Fully linear story, you visit the planets in a predetermined order and choices have no major impacts on the story. While technically you can play 8 classes with their own story, it doesn't mean it is equal to 8 KotOR games, because the 4-4 Republic and Imperial classes share the same 2 main questlines, which are about 80% of all the quests. Light and Dark alignment has nothing to offer in the long run except for some specialized gear.
    - You can't influence companions' alignment, affection only results in companion quest unlocking and better efficiency at crafting. Also you can't kill off companions you don't like.
    - You can't complete all missions by alone. There are so called Heroics and Flashbacks which require a group of people to work together. Most of the time it is damn hard to find people for that. The multiplayer part of the game feels absolutely unnecessary and irritating.
    - No pazaak, no swoop racing, no slicing. The only minigame is the cheesy, but enjoyable space combat.
    - Most quests are just brainless grinding and courier missions.
    - If you complete every available quests, the game will be way too easy. You will be a bunch of levels above the recommended after the first 2 planets.
    - No same sex romance, if that's your thing.
    - The overall gameplay feels robotic, just completing tasks instead of, well, gaming in a rich world and getting involved in a nice story.

    Pros for an MMO player:
    - The Star Wars atmosphere, is you're into it.

    Cons for an MMO player:
    - Too much cutscenes and slow storytelling will probably bother you while impatiently leveling up. Friends can't help you leveling up faster either, because skipping the storyline and looting high level stuff can result in ban.
    - Auction House is a joke and if you're playing well with the economy, you will just get banned.
    - Except for the voiced cutscenes and dialogs, the game is a carbon copy of World of Warcraft (from around 2008) in almost every possible aspect. Too bad WoW has been improved vastly till then.
    - Endgame is virtually nonexistent with just one raid.
    - PVP is badly unbalanced and requires no human skills.
    - UI is not customizable, no LUA scripting support.
    - Available races are all strictly humanoids (because the "necessary" romancing), not even wookies are playable (not to mention all those exotic species the Star Wars universe could offer). There are virtually no racial abilities.

    General pros:
    - They are working hard on it, with frequent patches.
    - Server and connection is fairly stable for most of the time, download speed is exceptionally good when patching.

    General cons:
    - While the graphics is way below the 2011 standard, you still need a pretty powerful machine for the game.
    - Problems with subscribing. The official website itself has numerous glitches.
    - Patching is done at the same time everywhere, unlucky players can experience server downs at prime gaming times.
    - Customer support is freaking slow, it is taking them days for a simple answer.
    - For a game featuring tons of closeups and cutscenes, the character generator is overly simplistic.

    Final words:
    Star Wars: The Old Republic is offering a very mixed experience. 90% of the game is a World of Warcraft clone and 10% of it is cutscenes and dialogs from Mass Effect. Both the CRPG and MMO aspects are dangerously watered down to accommodate different audiences. Both groups will find a lot of unnecessary things in the game, but also a lack of deepness in their own needs and ultimately nobody gets satisfied. Certainly quite a few people will find out it is just the game for them, but it might prove to be deadly to base a 300 million dollar game to appeal all but the core gamers of the touched genres.    … Expand
  99. AkiTheConqueror
    Jan 28, 2012
    6
    The game is relatively new at this point so alot of the problems that it has can be attributed to the growing pains. Others however are more baffling. Generally I came to expect a degree of quality from bioware games, so thats why I find some missing aspects of the game strange.

    Gameplay: Leveling is actually pretty good, compared to other MMORPGs. Personally it never really felt like    The game is relatively new at this point so alot of the problems that it has can be attributed to the growing pains. Others however are more baffling. Generally I came to expect a degree of quality from bioware games, so thats why I find some missing aspects of the game strange.

    Gameplay:
    Leveling is actually pretty good, compared to other MMORPGs. Personally it never really felt like a drag, even though the formula is very standard, mostly of a variety go there kills/loot that, there is a voiced over story background to go along with all of that, and this makes all the difference.

    The problems start to become apparent once players reach lvl 50. Max lvl is where most of the gameplay in MMOs actually takes place, that where you start to get into big groups of people and raiding very difficult content. What keeps people in the game at this point is the challenge and objectives that are to be aimed for. This can be things like gearing up, getting some rare recipes, all in the drive to progress further to get rare piece of armor and to finally kill that particularly hard final boss.

    The problem with SWTOR is not that there is no end game content, but that its is poorly executed, uninspired and too easy. Arguably the last bit is particularly deadly too a MMO, there is no ammount of content in this world that will keep people happy and occupied if it is too easy. People will blow through it in no time, after that people get bored and bored people leave the game to go play something else.

    I hope that in the future Bioware rectifies this problem.

    Graphics:
    Atmosphere in the game is great and really feels like star wars, but quality of the graphics is rather poor for a game released end of 2011. In a way they are even comparable to WoW, but that game is 7 ears old! I'm not talking about amount of pretty colors on the screen, both games have it in abbundance, what is lacking are the details on character models and armor. It all feels so flat, almost like a reskin of a base character model, this is especially visible on a character loading screen, which shows your toon in its full glory.

    Game features:
    This part is an absolute disgrace. For a game that involved 800 people in its creation I get a feeling that the interface and associated tools were written in year 2000 and never touched since then.

    There are no tools for finding groups except the very basic LFG flag, there are no tools supporting guild beyond giving them option to chat, there are no tools to optimize the interface, no macros...it's like Bioware forgot that they are making a MMO instead of single player game.

    Crafting:
    Can't say much beyong that it keeps you more or less decently geared through the leveling process, beyond that, it is mostly useless.

    PvP:
    I am generally not into PvP aspect of MMOs, preffering to do my PvPing in games like counter strike and TF2, but this is apparently also not in the best of states.

    So here is my score of 6 out of 10, with a big hope that Bioware picks this game up.    … Expand
  100. AtmaTheWanderer
    Jan 29, 2012
    6
    A game with mixed promise at this time. What seems like a rich and deep system of quest issuance quickly devolves into spacebar-mashing your way through dialogues to get another quest to go kill 10 imperials. Basically, SWTOR looks pretty, but it's just a layer of pristine fallen snow covering the toxic waste dump that MMORPGs have become in the wake of WoW.

    The main contributor to my    A game with mixed promise at this time. What seems like a rich and deep system of quest issuance quickly devolves into spacebar-mashing your way through dialogues to get another quest to go kill 10 imperials. Basically, SWTOR looks pretty, but it's just a layer of pristine fallen snow covering the toxic waste dump that MMORPGs have become in the wake of WoW.

    The main contributor to my relatively low rating of this game is the lack of response from the developers, particularly in response to the myriad of exploits, bugs, and general imbalance occurring in the world of PVP. Developers are silent regarding proven faction balance issues between animations (Imperial animations are faster, thus their effects "supersede" Republic players effects. For example, if a Republic player issues a knockback and a an Imperial reacts fast enough, they can render the move irrelevant and knock the republic player back first.). Numerous massive exploits have happened and the developers have taken no action, such as "Ilum Massacre Day". Almost 75-80% of PVP matches have become dominated by sorcerers/sages and bounty hunter/troopers due to glaring balance issues with classes.

    SWTOR can be a fantastic game, but not unless Bioware kicks things into hyperdrive and starts making sweeping changes, and fast. I don't think anyone is foolish enough to believe that there's any chance of this MMO failing in the near future, but there is a great chance of it not being anywhere near as successful as they have hoped and dreamed.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best PC Game of 2011
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
9
#9 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 73 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 73
  3. Negative: 0 out of 73
  1. RPGamer
    Apr 23, 2012
    80
    LucasArts generally exercised greater quality control of Star Wars games than most licensed properties receive, though that didn't necessarily translate into titles that were actually good. I've played a few other Star Wars games in the past, and while the SNES platformers were pretty good, this one is even better. Knights of the Old Republic may just be the best game in the franchise, and succeeds at being a top-tier RPG even if one has no interest in Star Wars. BioWare did the license proud.
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  2. GameCritics
    Mar 31, 2012
    70
    I wound up bailing out on Star Wars: The Old Republic well before hitting the level cap, but not before digging into it more so than any other MMO I've played. Even if it is an unhappy marriage between two wildly different game types, the fact that it kept me hooked for so long at least counts for something.
    Read full review
  3. NZGamer
    Mar 5, 2012
    83
    A good game. It pays excellent homage to the film series (even though it's set before the movies), and is a really solid MMO.
    Read full review
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