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. krkbomb
    Jan 21, 2012
    5
    The storylines and the very low difficulty make this game a blast to play while leveling up, but once you hit 50, there is nothing much to do. Most of the endgame PvE is broken, and the PvP has a horrendous grind and is just poorly designed and dull. I would recommend it as a single-player game, to play through some characters to see the storylines, but once you hit cap you should eitherThe storylines and the very low difficulty make this game a blast to play while leveling up, but once you hit 50, there is nothing much to do. Most of the endgame PvE is broken, and the PvP has a horrendous grind and is just poorly designed and dull. I would recommend it as a single-player game, to play through some characters to see the storylines, but once you hit cap you should either roll an alt or cancel your subscription.… Expand
  2. DnDcHick
    Feb 13, 2012
    5
    Okay, so going in as someone who has never played an MMO before, I can't give a contrasting opinion to the veterans of the genre. However, if anyone else out there is considering picking this up, I would recommend strongly that you think twice. The closest thing I can compare it to is being in an amusement park with a bunch of spoiled, bratty kids running around doing everything they canOkay, so going in as someone who has never played an MMO before, I can't give a contrasting opinion to the veterans of the genre. However, if anyone else out there is considering picking this up, I would recommend strongly that you think twice. The closest thing I can compare it to is being in an amusement park with a bunch of spoiled, bratty kids running around doing everything they can to ruin your fun. The story missions are pretty good, but the combat is bland as all get-out, doing anything takes forever, and the star wars franchise died when the prequels came out. As a bonus, at least this game tipped me off to KOTOR, a game I had never played, but am now enjoying immensely. I would recommend anyone on the fence about this game get the older single-player game instead. I'm having much more fun with it, and I think this MMO will be dead in a year anyway. What a waste of time.… Expand
  3. SnakeTooth
    Mar 16, 2012
    5
    If i had to describe SWTOR in one word, it would be "disappointment" I'm not even a Star Wars fan & this game was a total let down from the get-go. The character creation screen is very limited, everything is pre-set. Want to re-shape that terrible nose you have? Nope, sorry! Pick between these 12 pre-set noses & get on with it! The amount of races is also lacking. We're supposed to be inIf i had to describe SWTOR in one word, it would be "disappointment" I'm not even a Star Wars fan & this game was a total let down from the get-go. The character creation screen is very limited, everything is pre-set. Want to re-shape that terrible nose you have? Nope, sorry! Pick between these 12 pre-set noses & get on with it! The amount of races is also lacking. We're supposed to be in the Star Wars universe but everyone pretty much looks the same. Questing is where SWTOR shines the most, simply because of the voice overs & cutscenes. Having said that, you'll still find yourself going over to "kill X amount & collect Y amount" & it can get abit tendious after a while. This is the first MMO i have played where it felt like i was playing a single player game. Everything is on rails & it's very linear , the game practically holds your hand. The planets are rather terrible, there wasn't many i enjoyed at all, most of them feel "lifeless" & "bland" . For some strange reason, there is not enough ambient music/ enviormental sound in the game whilst you're questing & exploring the planets. Most of the time you will here your footsteps & the noise coming from your speeder. Majority of the enemies stand in a pack of 3 or 4 waiting to be killled. You can only explore so much because there are exhaustion zones, if you conintue to go through them you will die. Everytime you want to go to a new planet you're met with loading screens & copy/paste space stations. All of this leaves the player detatched from the world they're playing in. The combat isn't really exciting. It does the job, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. Ability delay still exists even though it was mentioned in BETA & after the game was released. Although it's not the worse combat i have experienced, it is not the best. The best way to describe it would be "clunky". The companion system is poor. Everyone gets their own healer, dps & tank companion, leading to people not needing others to help them. Most of the 2-man "heroics" & some of the 4-man i could solo myself simply because of my companion. I did not need another player to help me, nor did they need me. Everyone is soloing most of the things on their own. Companions craft for you. You send them on "missions" to collect or craft items, leaving the player feel like they're doing nothing. I like to craft my own things, i like to see my character craft, instead my companions do all the work.

    I could go on & on. PvP is nothing but a stun-fest, open world is non-existent, my first open world PvP encounter was at level 42. The endgame PvP planet is a mess & Bioware has admitted it. End game PvE is terribly easy.

    Most of what SWTOR has to offer is average, leading to an average MMO & a boring game. The only thing worth note is the cutscenes & voiceovers.    … Expand
  4. 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
  5. Paranoia
    Mar 27, 2012
    5
    i played for a month but i dont know what to think about this game, it was fun from the start, but i find it hard getting into the game and play it. It feels like a torture to level up, but afterall it was a good MMO which some people prefer over other games and i respect that.
  6. Wastelander11
    May 18, 2012
    5
    Fun is fuel for SWTOR, when you hit level 50, the tank runs empty. End game content is limited. Leveling up once was rewarding, and exciting. Finding new ways to take down the enemies of varying difficulties became a fun expierance. Once you do all there is to do, there is not much besides souless diagloue and limited character progression. Companions offer little. Creating new charactersFun is fuel for SWTOR, when you hit level 50, the tank runs empty. End game content is limited. Leveling up once was rewarding, and exciting. Finding new ways to take down the enemies of varying difficulties became a fun expierance. Once you do all there is to do, there is not much besides souless diagloue and limited character progression. Companions offer little. Creating new characters is fun for 10 levels, then things start to play repeat. Feels linear. Each class having a different story could hardly hold my interest when dealing with all the rest of the same old diagloue and quests. I wouldn't recommand it for someone looking for a hardcore, and challanging experiance. Big let down.… Expand
  7. DarthPreamp
    Dec 10, 2012
    5
    Bottom line - I played this game for several months; the story/s and voice acting are the best in the business. But this/these great Star Wars stories are eclipsed by Bioware's and EA's money making scheme almost entirely. Story = 10; EA's money grab that is imposed on the ENTIRE design of the game = 0. Score = 5
  8. AlienSpaceBats
    Feb 16, 2013
    5
    It's Star Wars meets World of Warcraft! Players will no doubt get more out of this game if they are 1. insane for Star Wars or 2. love MMORPGs. If that's your cup of tea, jump right in. The Old Republic has done little to convince me to stick around, however. It's not badly made, it's just bland, and throughout I wondered why time was wasted making it an MMO when an excellent single playerIt's Star Wars meets World of Warcraft! Players will no doubt get more out of this game if they are 1. insane for Star Wars or 2. love MMORPGs. If that's your cup of tea, jump right in. The Old Republic has done little to convince me to stick around, however. It's not badly made, it's just bland, and throughout I wondered why time was wasted making it an MMO when an excellent single player game could have been made. I am impressed that the player character is fully voiced (Jo Wyatt, Jennifer Hale, Grey DeLisle) and there is a conversation tree similar to the one used in BioWare's Mass Effect and Dragon Age II but the majority of game time plays out as tedious fetch quests and lengthy, unnecessary and boring point-and-click combat.… Expand
  9. Kimikaze
    Aug 2, 2012
    6
    The game sadly didn't meet my expectations. It has it strong sides and is probably one of the best story based mmo's released, but the characters just doesn't seem that interesting. Still I would say it might be the perfect game for some players who loves the Star Wars universe as it is a polished and solid release.
  10. 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
  11. Rawne1980
    Feb 1, 2012
    5
    Not the worst but certainly not the best game out there. Take away the cutscenes and the voice acting and you have a standard MMO that seems to be missing some of the features expecting in an MMO coming out towards the end of 2011. Had this been a 2004 release it would have been a damn near excellent game, however, it follows the same route as all MMO's except this one is totally linear.
  12. KRob4
    Mar 19, 2012
    5
    I am so disappointed in this game. It is exactly like people say, it's the same old MMO. It's a grind, and worse than most because the worlds, although "open", are supremely linear. The replayability is near impossible past level 20 because all of the content is the same. My biggest issue is the lack of permanence in the game. Absolutely nothing I do in the game effects the world in aI am so disappointed in this game. It is exactly like people say, it's the same old MMO. It's a grind, and worse than most because the worlds, although "open", are supremely linear. The replayability is near impossible past level 20 because all of the content is the same. My biggest issue is the lack of permanence in the game. Absolutely nothing I do in the game effects the world in a greater capacity past 10 seconds. So it's basically a single player KOTOR experience with MP added in. I wanted to love this game SO much...I tried, for months...I tried. But it's a freakin grind...and the PVP is so lollypop that it's a mere distraction from the grind. This is a HUGE fail. I gave this game a 5 because I had a lot of fun for the first 15 levels of a few characters...but once you get into the 20s, it's just the same old. Integrate a permanence, a feeling that I'm effecting the greater world, the greater battle, and I'll come back, but until then, I'd rather play BF3, Skyrim, or EVE.… Expand
  13. Pinchy
    Feb 16, 2012
    5
    Most of the budget went into voiceovers.

    Deadbeat gameplay at 50 that copies a 7 year old game design, with most of what made it good missing or broken.

    Overflowing with fanboys trying to convince you the game is only about reroling new characters over and over - but the game can only add content after 50, FAIL.
  14. dont_be_fooled
    Apr 13, 2012
    5
    As customer I am thoroughly disgusted with the actions of EA/BW Management and incoherent game designers that have lost touch with the player base. Please do not be fooled by those that rate this game a perfect ten, I imagine EA/BW are having their developers up the rating. Until EA/BW management, game designers, and developers start to listen, I foresee this game becoming free two withinAs customer I am thoroughly disgusted with the actions of EA/BW Management and incoherent game designers that have lost touch with the player base. Please do not be fooled by those that rate this game a perfect ten, I imagine EA/BW are having their developers up the rating. Until EA/BW management, game designers, and developers start to listen, I foresee this game becoming free two within two/three months from now. There is several major issues in play here, 1) Game designers do not listen to the community, they sure make a lot promises, such as "it's now our highest priority"; "We'll have this in an update coming soon"; etc. Well it's been four months since the release and the game has only had two major updates. The first was Patch 1.1 in which EA/BW lost close to 300,000 players, then next is the current Patch 1.2 ( which if not fixed soon, will be the deciding factor to when this game goes Free-to-Play. 2) Population issues, during prime-time I did a few tests, logged into several different servers to look at different populations on each server and each of the planets, there was some planets with a mere 7-10 players and others with 30-40 players during prime time except for Fatman, the only decently sized server out of the other 60-80 servers. Server merges are needed, but instead of addressing the issue, EA/BW continues to ignore the community. If you like playing a MMO solo the entire time, not finding any groups to do some of the more "tedious & time consuming" instances, well this game might be for you. 3) Story - It's hit or miss, you either like it, or you do not. After 30, the grind is apparent, the stories lose focus and the position of each quest is put as far as they can on the map that has several objectives. Anything to waste player time I suppose is one of their game models, the Dark side responses get quite old, several repeats of the same four or five responses. For spending close to 300 million dollars on the game, I was expecting quite bit more variety in the choices. Several issues were raised up by key players, even more detail topics such as the Combat Medic/Healer changes by Ruku and several other top healers, but tend to go completely ignored by the one of the lead game designer GZ who literally makes changes without providing valid reasons for the change. I am done listening to their promises for content to be delivered and then reluctantly determining the key feature it is not ready the day of the patch after advertising the updates the weeks beforehand to get players to re-subscribe to the game. Another key feature missing is the looking for group tool, EA/BW stance is against having players use a tool in order find a group for an instance/flashpoint with no basis as to why this is. This game started out casually based, but with the recent patch, that is no longer the case, in order to stand a chance in the game's 8v8 warzones (yes only 8v8, could be same faction vs. same faction, population issues again here) you are now expected to grind for months straight to get Battle Master Gear, and then War Hero gear on top of that. So lets say, you have three alts, each alt would have grind out a full set of Battle gear in order to use that gear to get the next set, they definitely gated this - it is a requirement because the armor has expertise on it, similar to resilience in WoW, Radiance in Lotro, or Keys/Flagging up in Ever Quest. The new legacy system introduced in 1.2 is also quite costly for credits, plan on playing for eight hours a day in order to save up for one or two of the cosmetic/droid/buff, legacies they introduced. Crafting is also terribly designed, having a companion run missions for materials takes the fun out of crafting. There is nothing too great here, many other games are far superior in this area. There is nothing real of great value worth mentioning, everything is bland and generic, no heroic battles, it's all stationary with little to no strategy. No day night cycles, no underwater, constant lag through warzones/player vs. environment content, 1.2 also introduced audio glitches in each of the warzones, I do not see how their Quality Assurance department releases content that is all buggy. Quests still cannot be abandoned or reset, instances and raids are bugged out still since launch, it makes really no sense how this content still gets developed when all these other issues are continuously ignored.

    PLEASE... Please read the official forums to get a consensus of whether or not to purchase this game, EA/BW is all about making promises and not delivering on those, do not be fooled into buying this game without careful review. SWTOR forums (Sort by replies/date and that should give you good idea of how they treat their player base). The game was 6 yrs development, 300+ million budget, final score 5.5, but do your research, do not fall victim to a review done by a critic how has no experience as to what the game has to offer past the level 20.    … Expand
  15. beladrim
    Sep 20, 2012
    6
    Being a Kotor and starwars fan, never have i been so excited about a game like this one. For three years i have followed it's evolution. Untill it was finally released.

    Now i have waited a long to to review it and i wanted to try GW2 before giving my final opinion. When i critic this game, i do so as a kotor fan and an mmo player. As a Kotor fan, the game did "satisfy" me. The    Being a Kotor and starwars fan, never have i been so excited about a game like this one. For three years i have followed it's evolution. Untill it was finally released.

    Now i have waited a long to to review it and i wanted to try GW2 before giving my final opinion.

    When i critic this game, i do so as a kotor fan and an mmo player.

    As a Kotor fan, the game did "satisfy" me. The leveling process in this game is basicly playing Kotor 3, and for that it scores some points. However, this game is not Kotor 3, it's an MMO based on the first instalment of the franchise. Being an MMO, you quicly discover that your actions in this world are without true consequences. Yes you will make choices there and there. Some very hard ones might i add. But in the end, none of the them matter. You have ONE endind to your personal story. And once you are done with it's over. What ever you have accomplished in your story will never be mentionned again nor will affect your experience at level 50. Now... I understand that as an MMO, you can't possibly be the next great sith lord to rules the universe when thousands of other players share this world with you. However, it is worth noting that the MMO nature of this game severly limits the outcome and consequences of your personal story. Which is one of BW's strong points. As an MMO, this is where the game misses the mark. Bioware didn't dare to innovate and break the mold. I know you read this before, but i will say it again. This is WoW in space. The quests are your typical go kill that, and gather 6 rat tails missions. PvP is your typical warzone, open PvP is joke, the game play is slow, characters are unresponsive, animations lag. PvE fairs better, but not much. Every new boss, and operation comes with it's bag of bugs, making the experience very frustrating. The PvE encounters are "interesting" enough, but nothing ground breaking either. Now we have GW2. And while i am not a fan of phantasy (i am a sci-fi geek) i have to say that Arenanet has more balls than Bioware. Yes it's still an MMO at it's core. But this is the first mmo that finally feels "fresh". They are no healers or tanks, you just change weapons (in combat) to either increase your dps, resilience, or utility. The combat is dynamic. It's fast and be really confusing at time. But boy is it enjoyable. They are no PvE raid in this game, just dungeon and world event that keep. The level ajustment system is the what make GW2 a solid AAA MMO. Basicly, you go anywhere in the world, and your level will adapt to the region you are in. This is an amazing feature, in this game the whole WORLD is your playground. Not an instance area, the world is alive and kicking. And this is what every MMO should achieve.

    Starwars was great as i leveled my characters. But past that, the MMO features are just lacking. I honestly don't have high hopes for this game. The only thing that will save it is the fact that is the current Starwars MMO. With million of SW fan, this MMO will be around for the time. But take out the SW lore and the story line questing and you have lifeless, uninspiring game.

    With Dragon age 2, this game is a great disappointment from Bioware.    … Expand
  16. Hamziz
    Jan 11, 2012
    5
    A passable attempt at an MMO, but nothing all that special, either. I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they intend on squashing bugs and adding content as the months pass, but until then, I would recommend that any prospective players do the same - pass.
  17. Razor464
    Jan 8, 2012
    5
    If it wasnt for the star wars license this game would be a major major flop. In my opinion it still will be it will just take a little longer. How a game can go from a smooth running beta to a broken retail client is beyond me. Forget the fact that this is just a bog standard rehash of any mmo you have ever played but with voice acting the main problems lie underneath.

    The engine is very    If it wasnt for the star wars license this game would be a major major flop. In my opinion it still will be it will just take a little longer. How a game can go from a smooth running beta to a broken retail client is beyond me. Forget the fact that this is just a bog standard rehash of any mmo you have ever played but with voice acting the main problems lie underneath.

    The engine is very very poor. i have a hi end rig that blows BF3 out of the water on ultra and my fps in this game is horrific. Bioware fails to acknowledge this even after page after page of forum posts highlighting the issue. There is no AA (really its 2012 not 2001), Textures are crappy and low res. Customer service is non existent and clueless about their own game. Its overrated tosh and i expected more from bioware. It seems like when they got in bed with EA they dropped the ball completely. And dont get me started on how much it is to buy...    … Expand
  18. LilSaihah
    Dec 28, 2011
    5
    A fairly mediocre entry. The game puts forward some good ideas, but it's weighed very heavily down by frustrating bugs, unpolished features, downright backwards design in places, and Bioware being seemingly incapable of telling stories through subtleties.
  19. ABNMP
    Feb 4, 2012
    5
    A vanilla game. You can get similar game play from a "free to play" title. In no way, shape, or form is this worth a monthly subscription. If you haven't been gaming on a PC since 1986, and this is your first foray into the genre, you will probably tolerate it.
  20. bleh910
    Jan 20, 2012
    5
    It's a bad WOW clone. That's all there is to it. They copied WOW and added the BIOWARE dialogue choices and cutscenes that we all love from Mass Effect and KOTOR but it just doesn't work in an mmo.

    PVP in this game is a unbalanced broken mess. All you do is stand opposite of each other and spam abilities at each other. Questing is boring typical crap you can find in any korean free mmo.    It's a bad WOW clone. That's all there is to it. They copied WOW and added the BIOWARE dialogue choices and cutscenes that we all love from Mass Effect and KOTOR but it just doesn't work in an mmo.

    PVP in this game is a unbalanced broken mess. All you do is stand opposite of each other and spam abilities at each other.
    Questing is boring typical crap you can find in any korean free mmo. Go fetch this, find that, walk here and back. It becomes a grind at about level 30.
    Cutscenes are nice at first but after you play through the game they become an annoyance you can't skip fast enough. To many same options to pick from and ugly graphics, bad voice overs, repetitive npcs.

    I can only suggest someone buys this game if they are a diehard mmo fan and must try them all.    … Expand
  21. 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...
  22. homer2324
    Feb 8, 2012
    5
    NOT NOW. maybe later. It is bioware's first MMO following their successes with Dragon Age (arguably?) and Mass Effect. The dev's arrogance can be felt throughout their mannerism. (1) adjustment to classes are made base on the dev's without sound justification - often dramatically reducing the enjoyment of the class in the process; (2) increasing frequent lengthy patch time, fixing very fewNOT NOW. maybe later. It is bioware's first MMO following their successes with Dragon Age (arguably?) and Mass Effect. The dev's arrogance can be felt throughout their mannerism. (1) adjustment to classes are made base on the dev's without sound justification - often dramatically reducing the enjoyment of the class in the process; (2) increasing frequent lengthy patch time, fixing very few bugs each patch (average 3-4 according to patchnotes). 3 patches happened last week, all during European day time; (3) patches often DO NOT address existing bugs in existing content; (4) in-game issues (bug) assistance is non-existent, it takes 3-4 business days for them to reply to any ticket, in the form of an generic form requesting more information, can happen multiple times for the same issue; (5) devs uses a 'triage' system to prioritize issues - bugs and issues are prioritize base on the amount of people complaining AND affected by it. As a result, there is no ETA to be seen for most non-functioning skills/talents/bugs of the least popular classes and 'end-game' content bugs. TO CONCLUDE: this game is obviously trying to focus on short-term capitalization instead of making a fun game.… Expand
  23. 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.
  24. 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
  25. lippmannk1
    Jan 31, 2012
    6
    I will make this short and sweet:

    At the beginning, the game is FANTASTIC. But as levels wear on, and quests, areas, dungeons, armor, and other such things begin to repeat themselves, it loses the "flair" that it initially captures. The whole world starts to seem dull, and nothing brings it to life. Everyone has the same armor at the end, and there isn't anything to do once you hit    I will make this short and sweet:

    At the beginning, the game is FANTASTIC. But as levels wear on, and quests, areas, dungeons, armor, and other such things begin to repeat themselves, it loses the "flair" that it initially captures. The whole world starts to seem dull, and nothing brings it to life. Everyone has the same armor at the end, and there isn't anything to do once you hit level 50 except "daily" quests. Right now, as things stand, this game holds a lot of promise. Bioware needs to get the lead out and fix the game-breaking glitches and errors that completely ruin the experience.

    BOTTOM LINE: The game is not finished, uninspiring, and does not have that "hook" that keeps you playing.    … Expand
  26. robbocroft
    Jul 5, 2012
    5
    I levelled a jedi sage (healer lvl 34) and a Vanguard (tank lvl 30ish) and honestly felt disappointed.
    The novelty of full voice acted quest givers wears off fast. There are no choices in quests and you're soon left with the usual kill x of y.
    Story quests are shallows too. No twists and unlikely characters. As far the game goes it's the usual holy trinity system. Been there, done that.    I levelled a jedi sage (healer lvl 34) and a Vanguard (tank lvl 30ish) and honestly felt disappointed.
    The novelty of full voice acted quest givers wears off fast. There are no choices in quests and you're soon left with the usual kill x of y.
    Story quests are shallows too. No twists and unlikely characters. As far the game goes it's the usual holy trinity system. Been there, done that. My playing experience was hindered by the lack of a LFG tool, now implemented, that basically meant having to suffer ungodly pain to form a group. My advice is pass on the one unless you're a die hard star wars fan. In that case the settings might be enough to keep you entertained    … Expand
  27. CriticAlmighty
    Jan 16, 2012
    5
    Played since head-start. Visually, unappealing. Play style, not nearly as good as Rift. Cut scenes, ugh! (When will you realize that mouth interiors are supposed to be darker than the face!) The areas after the starting zone are uninspired. Animation is OK but path-finding for my companion is herky jerky. Music and sound are awesome. Finally, as a subscriber, I should not be subjected toPlayed since head-start. Visually, unappealing. Play style, not nearly as good as Rift. Cut scenes, ugh! (When will you realize that mouth interiors are supposed to be darker than the face!) The areas after the starting zone are uninspired. Animation is OK but path-finding for my companion is herky jerky. Music and sound are awesome. Finally, as a subscriber, I should not be subjected to queuing. You might want to fix that Bioware. It's not total crap, but feels designed for F2P.… Expand
  28. Raygun
    Dec 22, 2011
    5
    Guess most of 0 point reviews are just really big disappointment "venting". My thoughts are they made mistake of using Hero Engine. Google it and check wikipedia, watch youtube videos too (Faxion Online, Hero's Journey) and see similarities. You cannot do major mmorgp with "Game maker XIV". Of course you can, but certain game engines have a limitations and those limitations are well seenGuess most of 0 point reviews are just really big disappointment "venting". My thoughts are they made mistake of using Hero Engine. Google it and check wikipedia, watch youtube videos too (Faxion Online, Hero's Journey) and see similarities. You cannot do major mmorgp with "Game maker XIV". Of course you can, but certain game engines have a limitations and those limitations are well seen in swotor. Although Bioware has it's usual strong points. Storyline, Music and Dialog voices, but it really falls short of game play. Try it...you yet maybe get kick out of it, but don't except too much. You will be disappointed.
    I predict this game will be a subscription free or f2p sometime end of the next year or two.    … Expand
  29. 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
  30. 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
  31. ltx
    Dec 25, 2011
    5
    Large number of MMO mistakes are weighing this game down, however the experience is propped up by mildly interesting chain of class quests like something out of a single player game, a new direction in MMOs previously only poorly implemented in AoC. The Good: Storyline driven class quests with voice acting, lightsabers, personal ships, companions with some personality that can be dressedLarge number of MMO mistakes are weighing this game down, however the experience is propped up by mildly interesting chain of class quests like something out of a single player game, a new direction in MMOs previously only poorly implemented in AoC. The Good: Storyline driven class quests with voice acting, lightsabers, personal ships, companions with some personality that can be dressed up, dialog options, sound. The Bad: boring combat and gameplay, PvP lacks open world combat, depth and balance, no variety in armor and weapons, outdated graphics, monotone environments and dungeons, zoned and instanced world, lack of polish, lack of focus on social and massive multiplayer features.… Expand
  32. 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
  33. 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
  34. Mogul
    Apr 21, 2012
    6
    To me, this game is a single player RPG with annoying MMO bits tacked on. The single player RPG parts are watered down and wildly outdated, and the MMO parts are fairly terrible. Still, it's kind of fun, and I did enjoy parts of the story and levelling up (even if combat is a fairly bland grind compared to some other MMOs). I did have more fun with this than several other games, even ifTo me, this game is a single player RPG with annoying MMO bits tacked on. The single player RPG parts are watered down and wildly outdated, and the MMO parts are fairly terrible. Still, it's kind of fun, and I did enjoy parts of the story and levelling up (even if combat is a fairly bland grind compared to some other MMOs). I did have more fun with this than several other games, even if SW:TOR was mostly a disappointment for me.… Expand
  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. sobaka770
    Jan 3, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a short version of the review posted on Gamespot Sobaka770. (character limit)

    BOREDOM. This is a feeling that trumps all the talk about the good points of the game. If there's one thing that Bioware does well, it's the story writing and dialogue. In such a huge game as TOR is, there are bound to be the highs and lows in everything but in ensemble the whole of the writing is a solid A and another solid A for voice acting. I see why people would enjoy this game especially during the initial levels when the skills come fast, the quest chain quickly and the main storyline is developing at a frenetic pace. And then there are the 20-s and the 30-s, the levels (out of 50 by the way) when things tend to slow down in MMORPGs and when my love for this game vanished and the veil was torn off my face. This is the time when you start to really loathe the fact that the gameplay mechanics are duplicating those from World of Warcraft (and there can be no discussion on this front) and even more so, there's no improvement whatsoever over them in any way. This is more than playing it safe, this is blatant copying. I guess there's no patent for gameplay mechanics but running the fetch quests and kill the mobs quests was the trademark of vanilla WoW and this game cannot be compared to vanilla WoW. The market just doesn't work like that. Sure the original World of Warcraft had just one raid and several instances and bugs, but at the same time everyone seems to forget that it was innovative in so many areas. It had quite a quick leveling structure , accessible mechanics, and it was streamlined for mass market. Never before crafting, questing, dungeon-running was so simple and attractive. TOR 2011 is neither more accessible, neither more innovative and neither more fun than any other game on this market. There's a lot to be said for main storyline and "gripping" fully-voiced quests. Unfortunatlely, from my point of view, those are not an essential element of the game. I had no problem with reading quest plots before, and fully voiced quest givers while cool initially started to wear out their welcome also towards level 20. As of now things work like this: there's a quest hub with around 5 (more or less) quest-givers. You spend half an hour just talking to them all and then you get 5 generic quests in your log all for the same zone and unless you're particularly invested in the storylines or just very attentive you might remember the reason behind killing the particular mobs on this level. As of now let me just say that I'm yet to see one quest that would break the monotony of mindless slaughter. Sure you can say that Space combat is cool. But it's not tied into any storyline and frankly on the 3d mission the space combat gets boring. PvP is accessible since level 10, and while there are no brackets. the stats scale as to match people in terms of health at least. To Bioware's credit, with proper class balance and maybe some tactics, this can be actually salvaged.
    What can't be salvaged though is the dullness that is the graphic component of the game. This is yet another example of "realistic" brown-gray filter art that makes all the locations look bland. It looks like the best animators and artist were drafted to the ME3 team. Add to it the world which is splintered into subzones and the feeling of the immersion is somehow lost. You can see the effort on the part of the team, in the art-deco style of Coruscant and the ship designs, but once again the spark is missing. The zones are empty and filled up with artificial people you can't even interact with. A good example is the Senate of Coruscant which looks good from afar but you can't walk around it, you can't even climb anywhere around it, therefore the structure looks like a painting. What is worse is when you enter the senate you get the main hall (good) and corridors on each side with same architecture separated as there's only a unique class able to access certain areas. That's not how a cohesive world is created! And here is the main problem with the game. It was not designed as a multiplayer game world from the start. Overall, this is not a good continuation of Kotor. The atmosphere is still there among the plotlines but the feel is certainly not the same. There's a distinct lack of polish (mentioned before unclickable NPCs, empty locations, several simple chat, group and UI functions not available). Compare this not to WoW but to KOTOR the first where you can't go to cantina in Sith uniform on Taris to see what I mean by polish and attention to detail. I only recommend it if you're a die-hard fan of Star Wars, but the KOTOR players will probably be disappointed. At this point even the Mass Effect universe is overall a better crafted and genuinely interesting world compared to the one of TOR limited due to the licensing. If you're new to MMOs , WoW is a better package and I honestly can't recommend this game over it.    … Expand
  37. marinara
    Jan 8, 2012
    5
    Fun single player game with some mmo co-op online. TONS of bugs, bio ware should be ashamed of the shoddy work on this. Virtually every feature has development flaws, gfx error at random intervals, sorting items, skills in lists doesnt work, gear compare only works on main not on companions, no addon support.
    If you want a new knights of the old republic with some mmo aspects and a TON of    Fun single player game with some mmo co-op online. TONS of bugs, bio ware should be ashamed of the shoddy work on this. Virtually every feature has development flaws, gfx error at random intervals, sorting items, skills in lists doesnt work, gear compare only works on main not on companions, no addon support.
    If you want a new knights of the old republic with some mmo aspects and a TON of bugs, this game is fore you.    … Expand
  38. DannyInternets
    Feb 1, 2012
    6
    If this wasn't marketed as an MMO I'd be giving it a significantly higher score. Unfortunately, Bioware thinks that you can simply add some auction houses and call any old RPG "massively multiplayer." The terrible engine, non-fluid combat mechanics, broken endgame, and terrible PvP make this one of the stand-out disappointments in my 25 year history of gaming.

    SWTOR is not a bad game, but    If this wasn't marketed as an MMO I'd be giving it a significantly higher score. Unfortunately, Bioware thinks that you can simply add some auction houses and call any old RPG "massively multiplayer." The terrible engine, non-fluid combat mechanics, broken endgame, and terrible PvP make this one of the stand-out disappointments in my 25 year history of gaming.

    SWTOR is not a bad game, but it's very far from a good one. I refuse to pay $15/month to rent a single player game.    … Expand
  39. Synner
    Dec 20, 2011
    5
    I give this game a "5" simply because it REALLY is a middle of the road game. It's not "bad" ... it's not "good. It's just... meh. If this game were released under any other IP than Star Wars I wouldn't even consider playing it. PvP is boring and undynamic... PvE is formulaic.... the story is interesting but that's about all the game has going for it. Once the story is over I don't seeI give this game a "5" simply because it REALLY is a middle of the road game. It's not "bad" ... it's not "good. It's just... meh. If this game were released under any other IP than Star Wars I wouldn't even consider playing it. PvP is boring and undynamic... PvE is formulaic.... the story is interesting but that's about all the game has going for it. Once the story is over I don't see myself staying.… Expand
  40. 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
  41. greywolf00
    Jan 12, 2012
    5
    Think single player game with on okay story and a monthly subscription. If you weren't an altolic in WoW this game provides limited replayability, no more than 10 or 15% of the quests are class specific and the stories aren't amazing. As far as MMOs go, as much as it pains me to say it, WoW does everything better. Once you hit 50 there is no more story. PvP is basic and more generic thanThink single player game with on okay story and a monthly subscription. If you weren't an altolic in WoW this game provides limited replayability, no more than 10 or 15% of the quests are class specific and the stories aren't amazing. As far as MMOs go, as much as it pains me to say it, WoW does everything better. Once you hit 50 there is no more story. PvP is basic and more generic than WoW. It boils down to the normal PvP / Raid gear grind that has driven so many of us away from WoW but in a much less polished and much less original wrapping.… Expand
  42. 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
  43. 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
  44. Daisai
    Jan 16, 2012
    5
    After 1 month of playing this game and leveling a character to lvl 50 and reaching valor rank 40 i can give a proper review on the current state of the game.

    The game is a polished piece of crap. They have made some fundamental mistakes in this game that prevent any sort of proper gaming. Leveling a character to max level in a mmo is only a way to learn to play your class, the real game    After 1 month of playing this game and leveling a character to lvl 50 and reaching valor rank 40 i can give a proper review on the current state of the game.

    The game is a polished piece of crap.
    They have made some fundamental mistakes in this game that prevent any sort of proper gaming.

    Leveling a character to max level in a mmo is only a way to learn to play your class, the real game starts and should be focused on max level.
    It seems Bioware doesnt know this and has made the way to max level more fun then the content at max level.

    The community support is non-existent.
    There is no support for teams who play pvp together, for a game which is released at the end of 2011 this is unacceptable.

    Bioware has also made sure that world pvp is being prevented in many ways.
    Instancing many group quests, locking up city's and capitals from the other factions is one of the ways that Bioware used to prevent world pvp.

    Also making separate quest areas for both factions in neutral planets is also a way to prevent world pvp.

    Also placing insane npc's with huge amount of health in simple taxi areas is a other way to prevent world pvp.

    Also the netcode in the game is pathetic, playing as a melee class pvp is simply impossible.
    Server running out of sync is also something that happens alot.

    So pvp this game scores a 4.

    So much about pvp time to move on to pve.

    Pve this game is reasonable and scores about a 6, without having a proper LFG system in a game from 2011 is just something that prevents this game from getting a good score.
    Sure you can spam LFG for ages to form a group like WoW 5 years ago.
    Only games evolve over time and this game doesnt have a LFG system and this is unacceptable for a game from 2011.

    So overall, if you arent sure if you should play this game best thing to do is wait a couple of months and see how the game evolves.
    Chances are this game is going to fail if it doesnt fix its core issues.

    So if you want to buy this game or not depends on how much you want to play this game and for what.

    If you play mmo's for pvp then pass on this game, its not a pvp game without proper esport community support.

    If you play this game for end game pve content then its best to wait a few months before playing this game.

    If you play this game to carebear around leveling up alts and do nothing at level 50 then this is the game for you.    … Expand
  45. 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
  46. 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
  47. 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
  48. tttsssrrr1
    Jan 6, 2012
    5
    This is about as much time, money and effort as you can put into a game and still have it come out average. Underneath the veneer of storyline and the glossy Star Wars theme lies what will strike anyone as instantly familiar. This isn't always a bad thing, but in the case of Star Wars, it is. I just don't think many people wanted a Star Wars game that felt like Warhammer Online, butThis is about as much time, money and effort as you can put into a game and still have it come out average. Underneath the veneer of storyline and the glossy Star Wars theme lies what will strike anyone as instantly familiar. This isn't always a bad thing, but in the case of Star Wars, it is. I just don't think many people wanted a Star Wars game that felt like Warhammer Online, but that's what we ended up with.

    The PvP in this game is bad. The best solution they could come up with for healers is to put a 30% healing debuff to all PvP based combat. The actual combat is clunky and unresponsive. Stopping and starting movement is not registered and communicated crisply. Every class has a plethora of crowd control abilities, roots, and interrupts that will make the briefly entertaining PvP warzones into a mind numbing, headache inducing experience in even the best of circumstances.

    End game feels like a chore. The dailies are not entertaining. The heroics are too easy. PvP victory is determined by levels, team comp and gear. Skill in this game is based more off of understanding how your class works and targeting the right enemy and there is not really a lot of room for stellar individual play.

    I did not find the storytelling to be interesting. I just hope that I can enjoy Mass Effect 3 after being subjected to SW:TOR's abuse of BioWare's storytelling mechanic. In fact, once you get to end game, and you have to go through daily quests and daily flashpoints and you see that same story over and over again... you can't tap that spacebar quick enough.

    The talent trees are pretty much the standard "This is how you'll build and you'll get 1 or 2 discretionary points to waste at the end" that WoW is trying to move away from. Stats are already very inflated... SW:TOR is going for short term success by hitting the MMO sweet spot way too early. My level 50 has a 32% crit chance without any raiding. The mirrored classes don't really feel successful. The two faction system is so tired and boring. It basically forced them to come up with some pretty cheap gimmicks trying to come up with enough content for 8 individual stories spread out across 50 levels of content and two different factions. The talent on this game feels like it was spread out way too thin.

    If you buy it, you'll play it and you'll like it for a little bit, but that feeling you get when you are playing a solid and exciting MMO title won't last long, and in the end, this game is going to feel very transitory. If you are burned out on the standard MMO formula pioneered by WoW, there is not a lot going on here that is going to rekindle your interest in the genre.

    Even in World of Warcraft, you'd put in the effort to gear up because you know the next grand challenge is just around the corner, but what grand challenge does the Star Wars universe really offer that is so exciting to look forward to? The story before and after this little slice of time is already told. It's nice to be apart of something big, but the Star Wars universe is so big, you get lost in it. In the end, I just don't think this was a good way to design a Star Wars MMO and it sounds like a lot of people agree with this feeling.    … Expand
  49. 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
  50. 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
  51. 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
  52. 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
  53. R_O360
    Dec 26, 2011
    5
    It is no secret at this point that Star Wars: The Old Republic is a traditional MMORPG, much like Everquest and it's astoundingly popular predecessor World of Warcraft. SWTOR plays it safe and literally uses almost the entire basic formula of these traditional MMOs with little too no innovation or inspiration. But I think we all know the question is, does it work? I mean, if it ain'tIt is no secret at this point that Star Wars: The Old Republic is a traditional MMORPG, much like Everquest and it's astoundingly popular predecessor World of Warcraft. SWTOR plays it safe and literally uses almost the entire basic formula of these traditional MMOs with little too no innovation or inspiration. But I think we all know the question is, does it work? I mean, if it ain't broken don't fix it right?

    Nope...sorry, that is very, very wrong. One of the main issues with SWTOR is the fact that it is a game completely based on a gimmick, and that gimmick is "the story driven MMO". I hate to break to all potential players, but it is not a revolutionary shift in the genre.    … Expand
  54. Cixi
    Dec 22, 2011
    5
    This is an overrated game imo. The world ain't really "open", it's just a bunch of planets with linear quests that's placed so u can do them in a linear sequence. There is never really any soul to the maps either, I seriously can't see me going back to an earlier explored place when I been there once. And as people keep on saying, the combat mechanics is just exactly what u expected if uThis is an overrated game imo. The world ain't really "open", it's just a bunch of planets with linear quests that's placed so u can do them in a linear sequence. There is never really any soul to the maps either, I seriously can't see me going back to an earlier explored place when I been there once. And as people keep on saying, the combat mechanics is just exactly what u expected if u played any other mainstream mmo. The character creation doesn't leave any chance for chars that actually differ from another char, except in body size. Like who wouldn't like to have at least have an small alien option and a big alien option, its the Star wars universe ffs, the possibilities was limitless but still BW/EA chose options that all are human-like in every single way.

    But with this said, I like to say that I understand why some people like it, but I also understand why people don't like it. And if the game is given some time, BW might actually fix a lot of downsides with very interesting endgame content.    … Expand
  55. 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
  56. 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
  57. ImmoralAtheist
    Dec 22, 2011
    5
    Very Lifeless world. Bad graphics. Linear/boxed enviroments. "holy trinity". Cliche bioware stories (the witcher has better storytelling). Uninteresting crafting. No interesting (real) open world pvp. Mob's still follow the aggro ring principle.
  58. 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.
  59. 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
  60. Pitt90
    Dec 30, 2011
    5
    Well, I have a mixed response to this game. I pre-ordered, and was given access on 12/14, and have been playing a huge amount since then, so that's what this review is based upon.

    The Pros It's really pretty. The graphics are delightful to this ole' guy's eyes. I have a two year old computer and have all my settings on high and it runs really well. I've heard lots of complaints from    Well, I have a mixed response to this game. I pre-ordered, and was given access on 12/14, and have been playing a huge amount since then, so that's what this review is based upon.

    The Pros

    It's really pretty. The graphics are delightful to this ole' guy's eyes. I have a two year old computer and have all my settings on high and it runs really well. I've heard lots of complaints from people about FPS, and I believe them, but so far I haven't experienced. The story is also really good, and I enjoy the voice acting, although, yes, a few responses are clearly repeated from time to time. "Give me the whole story, and more slowly this time" was said by my Jedi Knight more than once on the way to level 35 (my highest so far). So that's a little frustrating, but minor.

    The Cons

    Of course there are bugs, and while the game is reasonably solid in all crucial aspects at roll-out, there are a few game destroying bugs that have not been addressed. First of all, Customer Service sucks ... I mean, rotten, smelly eggs. Perhaps they weren't prepared for the onslaught, but it's nearly impossible to get real, substantive help. Reports take days to get responses to, and when you do, it's automated and canned and not helpful. Calling the 800#s are just as bad.

    But the clincher for me? At lvl 35, I decided to redo my character. Yes, I'm crazy, but I had a sense of how the game is played now, and wanted to do it over and "fix" my mistakes. So I sent some items and all my cash to an alt and deleted my guy, remaking him with the same name. I received all the items and cash fine on my alt, but when I mailed it back to my new main, it disappeared into the ether. To the tune of 83,000 credits worth of two weeks work. I cannot get a response or help from the CSRs. Apparently there's an issue where if you remake a guy with the same name, problems happen. There's a thread on the website where many people have had the same experience, and yet it's still not listed as one of the "Known Problems" so that you don't do this by accident. Nor has it been fixed. It's very disappointing, so beware of that. It's nearly killed the game for me. I don't mind starting over, I do mind all my work going to into the ether and not getting help from a game I'm paying for. From the responses some people have received (I am not one of them, since I haven't received a non-canned response), its' like the CSRs think all people are scamming them and won't help get anything back.

    It's this kind of problem, and utter lack of response to fixing it by the CSRs and techs, that make me unable to give this game a high rating. It's unfortunate, too, because it has the makings of something really good otherwise.    … Expand
  61. Chlodwig
    Mar 17, 2012
    5
    Mass Effect meets MMO meets Star Wars. And while this sounds like it almost HAS to be a 10, it's not. Not by a long shot.

    The MMO part is old. There is simply nothing new, everything has been here before in MMO land. It's the same point-and-click interface that we've known since the days of Everquest and that was already stale in WoW. The only "new" part is that the boring stuff (like    Mass Effect meets MMO meets Star Wars. And while this sounds like it almost HAS to be a 10, it's not. Not by a long shot.

    The MMO part is old. There is simply nothing new, everything has been here before in MMO land. It's the same point-and-click interface that we've known since the days of Everquest and that was already stale in WoW. The only "new" part is that the boring stuff (like selling craploot) is dumped on your sidekick. Yes, every class is a pet class and everyone got a sidekick. Which sounds great, hey, while I go and play the game, I send the drone to do some boring menial work. Nu-uh. Imagine Warlock without blue blob. That's how efficient you are without your sidekick. So, in a nutshell, what it means is that everyone is a pet class. And the whole "genuinely new concept" ends right there.

    Then, the Mass Effect part. A metric ton of dialogues, a storyline with a detail level that is unparalleled in the MMO world... which is nice until you do some group quest for the n-th time and still have some guy in your group that doesn't skip the cutscenes that you can by that time recite verbatim because you have heard them n-1 times. And who doesn't know that choosing the "wrong" answer leads to even more and even longer dialogues.

    Then there's that idea, just like in Mass Effect, that you may forge your character's path with his answers to dialogues, join the "light" or "dark" side, make friends or enemies... which is really exciting until level 10 when you get your first sidekick and notice that your answers affect your sidekick's opinion about you. And his opinion in turn affects his efficiency. And the difficulty of the game is geared to having a more or less "loyal" sidekick. So can the idea to "choose your own path", you better choose the path your sidekicks want you to. The idea that you can choose your character's "light or dark" path falls flat on the face here.

    Oh, to be fair, you can "buy" their love with gifts. If you can afford them. I foresee a nice source of income for goldsellers in the days to come.

    So what's left when you strip the new game smell is a standard MMO without too much that makes it stick out from the crowd, neither negatively or positively. It's a solid MMO, mostly balanced (for PvE at least), with mostly working quests and a lack of serious endgame content, just as you would expect from an MMO that's fresh on the market. If you like Star Wars or if you liked the story elements of Mass Effect and like MMOs, you should give it a spin, if you're just looking for a new and fresh MMO with new elements that aren't staler than a week old loaf of bread, look elsewhere.    … Expand
  62. 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
  63. 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
  64. cidgrad01
    Jan 10, 2014
    6
    SW: TOR is ultimately a disappointment. It’s not going to satisfy the hardcore MMO player and single player gamers are not going to want to continually pay the sub or microtransaction fees the game requires to progress. It was a good attempt at making a hybrid genre RPG but suffers from a few critical failures.

    I’ll admit that I have enjoyed playing this game a great deal and have sunk    SW: TOR is ultimately a disappointment. It’s not going to satisfy the hardcore MMO player and single player gamers are not going to want to continually pay the sub or microtransaction fees the game requires to progress. It was a good attempt at making a hybrid genre RPG but suffers from a few critical failures.

    I’ll admit that I have enjoyed playing this game a great deal and have sunk more hours into it than I care to admit. I played through the stories of five different classes to reach max level and enjoyed them all. If you plan out your characters’ crafting trees, you can have some fun with making your own gear and keep your weapons & armor stocked with strong mods, which makes leveling much less of a grind.

    As someone who mainly prefers single player games, I liked the mix of the MMO elements. I never felt required to group up with other players, but you can reap rewards in tougher areas if you do. I liked the companions, dialogue choices and side missions, as well. If you love Star Wars and the original Old Republic games, you’ll love the narratives for these characters, made all the more interesting by being able to pick light or dark side choices as you play. My Sith Sorcerer, for example, was actually kind of a nice guy.

    PvP was an absolute blast in this game, too. When it first released and they had way too many servers and not enough people, it quickly got terrible due to unbalanced population pools. Once they consolidated the servers, though, it came back better than ever. PvP is where I’d typically gain the bulk of my leveling XP to avoid having to do the same PvE sidequests I’d already done on one or two other characters. I’m surprised to say that it never got old. It was always fun to force leap & stun someone in Huttball right as they were crossing the last fire pit to the goal :)

    Unfortunately, the poorly implemented MMO side catches up before long. For me it is the totally lifeless environments. They are so big and many look nice, yet there is almost nothing to do in them. For example, there is a gigantic casino in one world whose only purpose is for you to visit briefly for a cutscene if your chosen class story requires it. Why not have some sort of gambling system in place to let players win (or lose) in-game currency? Why not have some adaptation of Pazaak, the card game from earlier KOTOR games? And there is no social hub to speak of. There are cantinas and things but again, nothing to do there, so nobody is ever around. What happens is that most people end up congregating around the PvP area in the faction HQ and wandering around in circles or AFKing, waiting for the queue to pop.

    Then there’s the ruthless implementation of the F2P model, which crushed everything I liked about the game. I get that they have to make money but my problem is that if you were an original customer who bought the game and paid sub fees for several months, you get no reward for that. You still have to purchase “cartel coins” to buy an unlock (or pay more sub fees) simply to show your head gear or have more than one quickbar to use, the same as any schlub who DL’d the game for free yesterday. That stings.

    There is a fun game lurking inside SW: TOR, but you have to claw through several layers of frustration & hidden fees to find it. And if you want a "real" MMO, you won't find it here. I have some good memories of time spent playing this game and I would like to play through the remaining stories I didn’t experience yet, but I’m done spending money on it. There are too many other games out there with one-time fees I can play.    … Expand
  65. 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
  66. aatassi
    Jul 31, 2014
    5
    What ruins this game is fight and action. The interface or background during fight is awful. Doesn't matter if you play pve or pvp. Besides that, the cinematic was very nice. Graphics is better when we zoom in. I liked the innovation and different style. A lot of idea. Different from others MMO and WoW. Some people will like this game.

    Good things : story lines, cinematic, graphics    What ruins this game is fight and action. The interface or background during fight is awful. Doesn't matter if you play pve or pvp. Besides that, the cinematic was very nice. Graphics is better when we zoom in. I liked the innovation and different style. A lot of idea. Different from others MMO and WoW. Some people will like this game.

    Good things : story lines, cinematic, graphics (zoom in), sound, no need for classic quests

    less : game play, fight, action, movement, background, skills interface, too mush dialog

    it is free to play now.

    Game play : 4/10 , Graphics 6/10, Background 6/10, Lifetime 6/10, Sound 7/10    … Expand
  67. DeDoctor
    Sep 17, 2018
    6
    SWTOR is a good MMO as a new player: great stories and pretty fun game-play. But I've been playing this game for 5 years now and yes, it does give out new updates pretty much every month, it still has little to no content, unless you count the few raids, an alright amount of flashpoints, but you'll get to the point where you'll redundantly do them over and over again, and the PvP that isSWTOR is a good MMO as a new player: great stories and pretty fun game-play. But I've been playing this game for 5 years now and yes, it does give out new updates pretty much every month, it still has little to no content, unless you count the few raids, an alright amount of flashpoints, but you'll get to the point where you'll redundantly do them over and over again, and the PvP that is pretty much broken, but let's admit, no MMO will ever get PvP right. The F2P is a bit restricted, but you do get 1-50, so basically all the class stories. Also, most of the time it doesn't even feel like a MMORPG.

    Summary: In all, it's an alright game. Fantastic for new players, but once you play for quite a while like I have, it gets stale and you go on to better games.    … Expand
  68. 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
  69. 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.
  70. 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
  71. pennstateguy
    Apr 26, 2013
    6
    Great Storylines, Great Gameplay, Great Class Balancing, Good PVP

    Think this game lacks is end game. End Game Raiding semi challenging, End Game Ranked Style PVP terrible as it deals with primary server versus a global characteristic. Once you get into ranked you start to realize you and one other team are truly competitive amongst the random pugs that try and play. This game needs    Great Storylines, Great Gameplay, Great Class Balancing, Good PVP

    Think this game lacks is end game. End Game Raiding semi challenging, End Game Ranked Style PVP terrible as it deals with primary server versus a global characteristic. Once you get into ranked you start to realize you and one other team are truly competitive amongst the random pugs that try and play.

    This game needs an arena concept wher eyou can play a 1v1, 2v2, 5v5 game play like deathmatch versus objective play as well as possibly a capture the flag style of play or even a guild versus guild concept like int raditional guild wars 1. That and if you could include a dodge roll this game would be uber amazing and it be crosshair based attacking versus tab targeting    … Expand
  72. 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
  73. yo_mama_so_fat
    Oct 23, 2014
    6
    Huge Star Wars fan. HUGE. This game could have been great, majestic even, but for some or other reason Bioware just didn't bring it home this time. It's a damn shame actually.
  74. zombieman00
    Mar 1, 2015
    5
    While undoubtedly fun and well put together, the ill mannered community and lack of moderators drove me away in the end. This game is a roach motel of Star Wars excitement for every potty mouthed gamer who can afford it. It also chases after the casual gamer market too heavily by fully exploiting capitalist agendas with the Cartel Market and pay to play options (mo' money mo' money moWhile undoubtedly fun and well put together, the ill mannered community and lack of moderators drove me away in the end. This game is a roach motel of Star Wars excitement for every potty mouthed gamer who can afford it. It also chases after the casual gamer market too heavily by fully exploiting capitalist agendas with the Cartel Market and pay to play options (mo' money mo' money mo money!!!) Character progression as a result seemed cheap and too fast, sacrificing memorable game play moments for a quick release of endorphins. Even though a lot has changed since release I felt that the character customization system was too restrictive for an mmo. I don't hate the game and I won't say it sucks, but I stopped playing due to poor chat moderation, players that seemed immature or anti-social, a gameplay experience that felt fast and cheap, and corporate greed? maybe? I want to play and like this game but each time I come back to it one of the aforementioned reasons causes me to quit in a flash of fiery rage.… Expand
  75. 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.
  76. 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
  77. 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
  78. 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
  79. 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
  80. bluejay3463
    Feb 1, 2012
    6
    If you overlook the numerous bugs and incomplete elements, you still have a game that has terrible graphics, serious faction balance issues, a mostly useless crafting system, and a broken end game.

    Some of these issues can be fixed with time, but the faction balance is an issue of quality of content as well as balance and can not be fixed easily. This contributes to the broken end game.    If you overlook the numerous bugs and incomplete elements, you still have a game that has terrible graphics, serious faction balance issues, a mostly useless crafting system, and a broken end game.

    Some of these issues can be fixed with time, but the faction balance is an issue of quality of content as well as balance and can not be fixed easily. This contributes to the broken end game.

    Of particular note is how bad everything looks. The graphics are pixelated and blurry, and the armor designs are amazingly bad. I was shocked to see a game released in 2011 that had graphics this poor. The armor, particularly the end game, high level pieces, are so bad it's laughable. Truly amateurish.

    The only positive is the story based leveling. Grinding has been mostly removed from the game.    … Expand
  81. 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
  82. lalaland4
    Dec 22, 2011
    5
    This game is mediocre at best. The first turn off was the horrible character creation and how little you can customize appearance. Next was the horrible graphics. My PC can run most of the latest games on high settings and I can barely run this game on low without shadows. And it's not like state of the art graphics by any means, just a bad engine. The interface is pretty good but isThis game is mediocre at best. The first turn off was the horrible character creation and how little you can customize appearance. Next was the horrible graphics. My PC can run most of the latest games on high settings and I can barely run this game on low without shadows. And it's not like state of the art graphics by any means, just a bad engine. The interface is pretty good but is pretty much like WoW with a star wars skin. Also there is nothing innovative for an MMO in this game at all besides the addition of voice acting which isnt that great its just like a quest giver reading off the objectives to you and gets annoying very fast. For the "most expensive game ever made" it is pretty average and I don't see it having a lasting community or following. It is definitely not a "WoW killer" and is absolutely not worth paying $15 bucks a month. Needs major improvements.… Expand
  83. 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
  84. 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
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. Cell1e
    Jul 8, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am rewriting my review. I think this game does not deserve the very high score I gave it initailly. Pros- The voice acting and cut scenes are way cool! I find the stories and quests a heck of a lot more interesting and meaningful with the cutscenes and choices of responses. The crafting system is interesting but VERY expensive! The armour crafting does not let you make visually unique armours. Some romances are such a bonus and are done quite well so far, although they are triggered by the affection system which is easy to raise with gifts so I managed to get most of the romantic convos quite early and have been waiting a while for the next lot to trigger now in part two. Some roamnces are truely awful and must have been written by idiots.
    It amazes me that there are so many beginning stories and storylines, way to go Bioware! The effort you put into this really shows. Gameplay/fighting is mostly good, I love the smuggler close combat moves, slap across the face, kick between the legs and gun whip, hehe.:D You are never forced into PVP. There are pvp choices and places but you dont have to worry about being attacked while you are out doing your main mission quests and side quests. You are never forced in group play either, thank goodness! Why some mmos insist on people being in groups to complete quests is beyond me. I am a solo player and refuse to pay for a game I can't play my way in. Bioware recognise people have different play styles and have gone out of their way to accomodate this. I love the space ship! But I need a quick way to get there! CC needs a heck of a lot more options. For a mmo it is sorely lacking. I am hoping too there will be a barbershop or beauty salon in game too! Oh and companion helmets? Id like the option to hide those! The textures and armour designs are truely a let down wiht most of the outfits/armours looking like they were drawn by a 7 year old with a felt tip pen. Good grief in this day and age I would think standards should be a lot higher for textures, designs, colours and other choices. Details are so important. The female armours are nasty. Well a joke really.
    I have levelled a good few characters to middling levels but have got frustrated with the lack of money, the awful grind to level.
    I wont go back until Biowore starts improving character customisation and perhaps makes the legacy system less of a money sink as well as the levelling. I could never afford with any of my characters to get the hugher driving license. Crazy!    … Expand
  88. 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
  89. 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
  90. 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
  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. 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
  93. 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
  94. rlilewis
    Dec 28, 2015
    5
    The "story" and dialogue are what the game is advertised on but it's the worst part. NPCs are trying to make up BS reasons to convince you that you need to complete the usual generic MMO fetch quests or kill X or this quests, no one gives a crap yet you're forced to sit through lines and lines of dialogue.

    The dialogue wheel has absolutely no connection to what the character actually    The "story" and dialogue are what the game is advertised on but it's the worst part. NPCs are trying to make up BS reasons to convince you that you need to complete the usual generic MMO fetch quests or kill X or this quests, no one gives a crap yet you're forced to sit through lines and lines of dialogue.

    The dialogue wheel has absolutely no connection to what the character actually says, nor does it even matter 90% of the time you can just mash random buttons during dialogue and it'll all come to the same conclusion. Role playing my arse!

    There are portals that prevent you from going places unless you have the right quest so forget exploring, not that you'd really want to anyway since there's nothing to find except more mobs to grind.

    Game runs like ****

    Combat is terrible, usual MMO tab targeting where the tab will select the least useful target and stupid global cooldowns.

    Absolute waste of time, just avoid. Shows the true nature of Bioware now, terrible "story", utterly meaningless dialogue that for the most part has no consequence and these dumb good/evil meters.    … 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. 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
  97. 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
  98. 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
  99. Allions
    May 4, 2012
    5
    My first review was: "This is a fantastic MMO in my opinion. The game mechanics are the same of many others with some new things. Of course is very similar to Ultima Online and in particular to World of Warcraft BUT: 1) it's Star Wars. If you're a fan you must buy this game. 2) There are some new stuff, like companion, story class questline, voice acting for every quest, light/dark side 3)My first review was: "This is a fantastic MMO in my opinion. The game mechanics are the same of many others with some new things. Of course is very similar to Ultima Online and in particular to World of Warcraft BUT: 1) it's Star Wars. If you're a fan you must buy this game. 2) There are some new stuff, like companion, story class questline, voice acting for every quest, light/dark side 3) Nice graphics for an MMO I played wow so much but i think this is a better game for who like the wow style MMO. 4) Non all grinding quest system"
    After a month of playing, i drop my score down to 8. It's good but it's just another wow style MMO. The plot and the quest are nice... but it takes too long toi grind the levels! And many quests after the 30 level are annoing. Not worth 14â    … Expand
  100. 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
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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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