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. Bellicose
    Feb 10, 2012
    3
    Requires Origin. Automatic fail as far as any sensible person is concerned. Beyond that, this really shouldn't count as an MMO. It's a single-player game with multiplayer content.
  2. FattyMooMooMan
    Jan 22, 2012
    3
    All I can say is that EA/Bioware dropped the ball bigtime on this game. It starts out with the promise of being the new big MMO but fails to deliver on its promises. The graphics engine is dire and on the 3 systems I have seen it running on it has issues with random frame-rate drops, hitching and poor resource loading (the PC I am writing this on runs most PC games just fine - Deus Ex HR,All I can say is that EA/Bioware dropped the ball bigtime on this game. It starts out with the promise of being the new big MMO but fails to deliver on its promises. The graphics engine is dire and on the 3 systems I have seen it running on it has issues with random frame-rate drops, hitching and poor resource loading (the PC I am writing this on runs most PC games just fine - Deus Ex HR, Eve Online, Payday: The heist, etc but fails to run SWTOR smoothly all of the time on even the lowest settings). There are also major balance issues - playing a scoundrel (smuggler) alongside a family members Sage (Jedi Consular) there were obvious imbalances between the two, with the smuggler being woefully underpowered, playing a commando (trooper) felt like driving a juggernaught through the mobs in the game - serious easymode. There were also issues with mission bugs, game crashing, areas not loading up properly. This game needed a lot more time in development before it was released. My rating of 3 is generous and thats only because I like some of the ideas the game has - though not in the games current state.… Expand
  3. tazzon22
    Jan 4, 2012
    3
    At lvl. 40, 20 levels past the time i turned off all movies and becan extremley board of this wanna be mmo , rpg. It actually fails at both, the combat is verry lame, just point and smash hot keys, no pesky tatics to worry about. It was suppose to be a great story, really? give me a freaking break..blue sun and justicar? hope you trekkies didnt play the vastly supperior game mass effect.At lvl. 40, 20 levels past the time i turned off all movies and becan extremley board of this wanna be mmo , rpg. It actually fails at both, the combat is verry lame, just point and smash hot keys, no pesky tatics to worry about. It was suppose to be a great story, really? give me a freaking break..blue sun and justicar? hope you trekkies didnt play the vastly supperior game mass effect. Me and me2 were great DAO is also stellar, but DA2 was god-awful and now with swtor is another failure , bioware has ben loosing alot of points latley, thankfully i have Skyrim to play untill a real mmo comes out ..GW2.… Expand
  4. Larux18
    Jan 26, 2012
    3
    I am so pissed right now with Bioware, I generally don't give games this low of a score but they screwed it all up! Everything that is story related is now completely screwed up! Every story element related to KOTOR here is awful, how they decide to show Revan in this game is also extremely disappointing! The gameplay here is good but now that the story has screwed up everything there isI am so pissed right now with Bioware, I generally don't give games this low of a score but they screwed it all up! Everything that is story related is now completely screwed up! Every story element related to KOTOR here is awful, how they decide to show Revan in this game is also extremely disappointing! The gameplay here is good but now that the story has screwed up everything there is not a purpose to play this game, this game is no more for me. Thanks to this game KOTOR 3 will probably never be made! Thanks for nothing Bioware!… Expand
  5. gdrl
    Dec 20, 2011
    3
    SWTOR is a Single Player/Co-op RPG with an Internet Chat system that you buy and then have to pay a monthly subscription for to connect with friends or random people. I do not see the Massive in this title.

    Bioware should've released this as a Co-op standalone game like Borderlands and released DLCs and maybe even saved some money. Maybe.
  6. Aosonie
    Dec 20, 2011
    3
    I didn't give this game a poor score because I thought that it was a bad game. I gave it a poor score as I it was uninspired, unimaginative and most importantly unfinished. Firstly, they use the exact same user interface as World of Warcraft down to every detail. But sure, everybody does that, I mean WoW wasn't even the first to use it's UI right? Except Bioware have taken it further andI didn't give this game a poor score because I thought that it was a bad game. I gave it a poor score as I it was uninspired, unimaginative and most importantly unfinished. Firstly, they use the exact same user interface as World of Warcraft down to every detail. But sure, everybody does that, I mean WoW wasn't even the first to use it's UI right? Except Bioware have taken it further and also copied over WoWs class system and talent system as well as most of their classes being very close copies of classes in WoW. The one selling point of this game that makes it different is the fact that it has dialogue for every mission instead of a box of text which typically isn't read. Whilst this is potentially a fantastic idea it has not been implemented particularly well as I feel that the writing is poor in most cases and the poor animations of characters in the cut scenes is very off putting but despite it's flaws I still think it is a solid addition. However, a dialogue system is not something that will make an MMO (a game who's success is dependent on long term players) successful. As everything else about the game is so familiar to WoW it is likely that a lot of their players will be attracted to the game. However, although the groundwork for a WoWlike game has been set fairly well there is a huge lack of content for players to partake in once they have reached level 50 (the maximum level). Now, for some players this may not be a problem as the story is enough of a drive to level other classes to go through their story, much like a single player game. However, when there are players on role playing servers reaching level 50 before the game has even been officially released and outside of leveling there is very little content you have to ask yourself: how much longer are people going to be playing this game before they run out of things to do and move on?

    By no means would I say that this is a bad game but it is not a finished game and whether you like it or not first impressions mean everything with MMOs. If players burn out on the game within the first month and are left with nothing else to do it isn't likely that they will be subscribing for a second month and if there are enough players who run out of things to do before enough new content can be added then this game is just going to sit on the bench with it's buddies Warhammer Online, Aion and Age of Conan. For now I've decided against buying this game but maybe in a years time if they still have a reasonable playerbase and have had enough time to add content I will consider buying it.    … Expand
  7. Altairzq
    Dec 20, 2011
    3
    This game is half single player and half mmo but doesn't seem the MMO part will be enough to keep it intereseting in the long run. Since i'm mostly interesetd in the MMO part and not the story I give it a 3.
  8. Sethisto
    Dec 20, 2011
    3
    SWTOR is very much a WoW clone, but not of the current version. This game seems to emulate somewhere near the end of Vanilla WoW. The quests are pretty much all "kill x creatures/ kill x boss/ click x items", there really isn't much variation. This, I usually don't mind though. It's a system that has worked multiple times. SWTOR throws a wrench into the equation though, by giving youSWTOR is very much a WoW clone, but not of the current version. This game seems to emulate somewhere near the end of Vanilla WoW. The quests are pretty much all "kill x creatures/ kill x boss/ click x items", there really isn't much variation. This, I usually don't mind though. It's a system that has worked multiple times. SWTOR throws a wrench into the equation though, by giving you absolutely ridiculous distances to run between each objective. Be prepared to enter/exit the same MASSIVE jedi temple 10 times for a single quest line, and the NPC you need is always in the farthest room in the back. While the environments are excellent looking, this is not an enjoyable experience, at all. The PVP Is pretty much the same as what you have all done for years. I played a Jedi consular/shadow, and it literally was my rogue in wow, no different at all aside from a few ranged force powers. The queues are quick though at least! They added voice overs and cutscenes to every single quest, but you can only make "go collect 5 elixirs" so interesting. It's a nice touch, but by level 20, I was just spamming space bar and selecting dark side responses to get through them. The main story quest is neat, but be prepared to grind if you want to focus on just that. Space fights are fun, and a neat addition, but it really doesn't make up for everything else. The game is just so ridiculously linear. If something like this is allowed to be successful, we are doomed to another decade of really bad WoW clones.… Expand
  9. Mhyth
    Dec 20, 2011
    3
    Having followed the development since 2008 and participating in beta since mid 2011, Bioware's xmas season offering is a lump of coal considering the diamond it could and should have been. The voice acting and good storylines throughout the game do not compensate for the overly simplistic and unchallenging gameplay, repeditive environments, and utter lack of innovation or even depth inHaving followed the development since 2008 and participating in beta since mid 2011, Bioware's xmas season offering is a lump of coal considering the diamond it could and should have been. The voice acting and good storylines throughout the game do not compensate for the overly simplistic and unchallenging gameplay, repeditive environments, and utter lack of innovation or even depth in character development, itemization, crafting, PvP, or any aspect of MMORPG gameplay. If you're a big Star Wars fan you'll recieve far more entertainment value spending the same amount of money on more books and materials than just going through the motions in this unspectacular MMORPG.… Expand
  10. Sgtcrispy
    Dec 20, 2011
    3
    Had high hopes for this game, but today they were dashed. One of my biggest issues with the game is the morality system. It has the same issues I thought Mass Effect series had. There's no gray area, you're either a raging sociopath or a heroic god who can do no wrong. It's not even a morality system, it's a point grind. For example. In the game there is a quest where you haveHad high hopes for this game, but today they were dashed. One of my biggest issues with the game is the morality system. It has the same issues I thought Mass Effect series had. There's no gray area, you're either a raging sociopath or a heroic god who can do no wrong. It's not even a morality system, it's a point grind. For example. In the game there is a quest where you have to find medical supplies that were taken from the military. You find the culprit, who actually took the supplies to help refugees at the refugee camp. It turns out however, that somebody took the supplies from her. She will tell you where the person that took the supplies went if you take the supplies back to her. At this point I had two choices if I wanted to get the supplies back to the military. Lie to her. Or put a gun to a nearby kid's head and hold him hostage. I chose to lie. Upon getting the supplies back to the military officer I was rewarded with fifty dark side points. Wait, what? Both sides are gray, and there's no real right or wrong answer I think. People are hurt and injured and both factions need the supplies. So, why do you get awarded with the obvious bad or good points? Especially since you need a certain amount of these points for gear. The entire system turns it from a morality game to a currency game. Why should someone be punished for being neutral or in the gray morality like most actual people are? Instead, you're forced to be a one dimension piece of wood. There are other issues I had with the game that generally just left me bored but that was one of the main ones I had. Overall this game isn't completely awful, but it's just so bland and dull I can't find it enjoyable. Hopefully BioWare will fix the numerous problems this game has. I find that unlikely however, as any legitimate complains are buried under pages of BioWare fans crying that they're just a WoW fanboy or console trash and this game is too difficult or deep for them.… Expand
  11. Mackeh
    Dec 22, 2011
    3
    I have been playing MMO's for 9 years and love world PvP, Exploration and immersion, so if you are interested in these aspects of SWTOR then read on.

    Firstly I am a huge SW fan and so TOR was something I have been looking forward to playing for a long time indeed. I have played it to level 26 and the first two days were amazing, I was loving the combat and the space ships and space    I have been playing MMO's for 9 years and love world PvP, Exploration and immersion, so if you are interested in these aspects of SWTOR then read on.

    Firstly I am a huge SW fan and so TOR was something I have been looking forward to playing for a long time indeed. I have played it to level 26 and the first two days were amazing, I was loving the combat and the space ships and space station. The controls are a little clunky but those things can be ironed out so no problem.

    The zones in SWTOR are actually planets, you have to fly your own ship to the planets when you move from zone to zone and I personally love this immersion. The problems start when you get out your spaceship and realise that each planet is a series of instanced boxes, you literally can not jump on your speeder and ride around the entire zone, it's dreadful. I was on tatooine and pointed my speeder south and tried to explore, I hit an invisible barrier after 500 yds WTF???

    So with the shocking zones comes the shocking world PvP, there is none basically, I have not seen a single Empire player on any of the three contested planets I have been questing. And on that bombshell I will end this review, there is no point discussing the other aspects of the game because without huge populated worlds to explore and world PvP this game imo does not qualify to be called an MMO. It's certainly not massive that's for sure.    … Expand
  12. theJexster
    Dec 22, 2011
    3
    After anticipating for 3 plus years this game was a complete disappointment. In beta, and on into launch this game has continued to underperform. Shallow unimmersive, limited, under underwhelming. I love Star Wars, and I love MMORPGs, and I wanted to love this, but the second I saw the pathetic attempt at character creation I knew this game was a shell of what it should be. From then onAfter anticipating for 3 plus years this game was a complete disappointment. In beta, and on into launch this game has continued to underperform. Shallow unimmersive, limited, under underwhelming. I love Star Wars, and I love MMORPGs, and I wanted to love this, but the second I saw the pathetic attempt at character creation I knew this game was a shell of what it should be. From then on it was one let down after another as the game began to unveil itself. Planets felt dead, small, and tiny. Ships were big, but lifeless and completely stagnant. The classes had all been done better somewhere else (either in other real MMOs or in the Star Wars single player games). The story (which was said to be the most developed feature) was not the 8 unique experiences we were expecting. It is 8 starting stories that merge into the same overall story once you begin to level past 15. The PVP feels like any Xbox FPS, not a massive War. The animations were underwhelming. The space hubs make the planets pointless. It feels more like a game where you log in, pick your instance, load it, clear it and re-peat. It does not feel like a MMORPG.… Expand
  13. penface
    Dec 22, 2011
    3
    I understand that perhaps not all of the quests are fetch quests, but due to the very nature of MMOs, it seems to be the case for the most part. And while Mass Effect introduced the dialog wheel, Dragon Age 2 soured my opinion of it permanently, as it seemed to angle you into inevitable conflicts instead of allowing you to craft your way through them with at least some illusion of choice.I understand that perhaps not all of the quests are fetch quests, but due to the very nature of MMOs, it seems to be the case for the most part. And while Mass Effect introduced the dialog wheel, Dragon Age 2 soured my opinion of it permanently, as it seemed to angle you into inevitable conflicts instead of allowing you to craft your way through them with at least some illusion of choice. You know, like an RPG. And perhaps saying that Revan was "retconned" was over stepping my boundaries a bit. Perhaps I should say that their handling of his character, arguably the most important in their series, is very poor. I mean, they're only writing the book so they can force Revan in to this game. The fact that he was suddenly "being controlled by a Sith lord the whole time" is a bit weak and destroyed all hope of getting any deeper plot threads than "You are Sith or Jedi, there is no in-between." So, Revan was being controlled all along? No more trying to strengthen the Republic through war so it would know how to handle future conflicts, walking the line between Jedi and Sith and defying all masters before ultimately going off to fight the true Sith that may soon plague all the galaxy--not because he is a Jedi or Sith, but because it is the correct thing to do for the salvation of all species? Nope, he was being indoctrinated the whole time by Sith and just mindlessly fought the Republic and just happened to lose, all in the name of some other Sith Lord.

    While we're on the topic of Revan, it really steams me that he's even in the game. This is not to provoke anger, I'm asking honestly because I would like to know: Is there any reason given by the book that he's still alive centuries after his time? The fact that you have the option to kill him at as a MID-RANGE level is mind boggling. Showing his face and giving him a voice and otherwise peeling away all sense of mystery around Revan just feels like such a bummer to me.

    And maybe species all looking the same is nitpicking, but I still feel like Bioware is just being lazy when it comes to this. After setting the bar high game after game, they just decide to recolor humans, throw some spikes or headtails on and call it a different species? I mean, look at this. If their heads were blocked out, it would be impossible to even tell these races apart.
    http://www.wikiswtor...layable_species In short: This is a shoddy attempt to steal WoW's audience and it's so called "Voice acting", it's golden ticket to being more than the average MMO, is poorly written and even more poorly acted.    … Expand
  14. Darthultros
    Dec 22, 2011
    3
    This was supposed to be a great game, but Bioware fall short on this, here is why: Lazy

    This is perhaps the biggest misstep. Bioware and Evil Arts cut corners by licensing the HeroEngine instead of developing their own. Now, as a developer professionally, I would normally say "Good for them," but it is painfully clear not much money went into developing this engine into something for a    This was supposed to be a great game, but Bioware fall short on this, here is why: Lazy

    This is perhaps the biggest misstep. Bioware and Evil Arts cut corners by licensing the HeroEngine instead of developing their own. Now, as a developer professionally, I would normally say "Good for them," but it is painfully clear not much money went into developing this engine into something for a AAA MMO. As of 9/2011, the engine still does not support multiple cores nor a 64-bit client. Even WoW supports multiple cores and a 64-bit client.

    This is sloth, and the fact that BW/EA did not bother to invest in the backbone of this game. Players will burn through your content and dialog. And when they get into the routine of playing the repetitive parts of the game, they will really start to notice how little was put into this engine.

    Ignoring your users

    The community management sucks. The interaction is canned corporate responses. There is no detail, the only admitted problem is Taris and that's only because quite literally hundreds of players have fallen into a figurative black hole on that world. This is a poor way to treat your community. To treat them like children. As if giving them information is something they could not handle. Your customers are not asking you to cater to their every whim (well, most of them), but they do enjoy having information that allows them to make informed decisions... like... do they actually need to upgrade, or do you have a really crappy, inefficient engine that you'll eventually patch and do we just suffer or spend our money to get new hardware. Stuff like that. This smacks of pride.

    Being greedy

    Another major misstep here was the revocation of a grace period and only reinstating a small span of time after the community set you on fire for it. Given the insanity of the postal services during this time of year, the seven day grace period would have shown forethought and consideration. Can't let those players play an extra week! They could be giving us money instead!

    Given the fact that this is EA, if the cost of maintaining a viable player base, due to initial craptacular implementation or lack of project planning, costs more money, they are going to court the players until they at least make ends meet so they can save some face in front of the investors.

    One of the reasons WoW did so well was that Blizzard had all its eggs in that basket. SCII and D3 were not coming out for a long, long time and SC:Ghost was scrapped. They had to stick it out and make it profitable and look at it now. Be sure, if EA can figure out the numbers to make their enterprise more profitable that does not involve SWTOR (in the short term), they'll cut this project quick.

    Fostering anger in their community

    This one is on the community management again. They foster this environment. Poor details, poor handling of users, poor customer service. Closing duplicate threads with the snarky "Go here" as if to hide the sheer number of pissed off people. It all contributes to the community's anger at how this is being mishandled. Eventually, that anger is going to translate into people not staying past the free 30 days.

    WoW Clone, Family Guy Style

    This game is WoW without all the bells in whistles. It starts out sleeker than WoW, but is missing things that are pretty integral to WoW's success during the end of Vanilla and Burning Crusade. A solid end-game, both PvE and PvP. Better community tools like a group finder (I mean a group finder, not a cross-faction hullabaloo) and so forth. Three years and 100 million dollars for a watered down WoW clone with an exhaustible story and thoroughly abused IP.

    Engorging your servers

    I chalk this up to servers. Yes, everyone has launch issues, but given the fact that they put us through that painful EGA, you would think they would have put in the infrastructure to migrate your character to a different one, put in some server caps to prevent qs and everything else. Nope, not happening. So instead they have engorged themselves on players and we are all suffering for it.    … Expand
  15. kirkkh
    Dec 23, 2011
    3
    I'm horribly sad at how much this game sucks. It's so upsetting. I was so excited. I even had the logo on my phone and pc wallpapers. But crap, whatever, I admit it. :(

    Why? I dunno. Boring and lifeless? It's just not fun. Sucks, sad face :(
  16. Omnius
    Dec 23, 2011
    3
    I wanted to like this game. I really, really did. But in the end, instead of a true successor to the excellent Knights of the Old Republic series, I got a Star Wars game with medicore graphics, sluggish, repetitive gameplay, and hours upon hours of voice acting delivered by one of the most lukewarm casts of actors I've ever had the displeasure to be trapped in a digital room with.

    To    I wanted to like this game. I really, really did. But in the end, instead of a true successor to the excellent Knights of the Old Republic series, I got a Star Wars game with medicore graphics, sluggish, repetitive gameplay, and hours upon hours of voice acting delivered by one of the most lukewarm casts of actors I've ever had the displeasure to be trapped in a digital room with.

    To say that it is a WoW clone is a bit too derisive, but not all that far from the mark. For a game and IP with such potential, it is immensely disappointing to see a product that has taken absolutely no risks, has little innovation to speak of, and somehow manages to let down expectations at practically every turn. SWTOR brings absolutely nothing to the table that has not been done before, and better, by previous MMOs or single-player RPGs.

    In regards to story and dialogue which have, in the past, been a golden seal of Bioware craftsmanship, SWTOR is the perfect example of how far this previously illustrious developer has fallen. Excessive instancing, badly coimpressed sound files, and flat-out fanfiction-quality writing mar nearly every conversation from sidequest to "epic" class story.

    The worst part of it all, perhaps, is that it falls to the individual users to make these criticisms, while "official" reviewers are buried in threats of boycott from EA and out-and-out bribery for a high score. Not to mention the multiple, and documented, cases of Bioware employees posting their own reviews as supposedly impartial and unaffiliated users on these forums.

    In short, a perfect microcosm of so many of the problems that plague the modern gaming industry. A disappointment for Star Wars fans and MMO players alike, please do yourself a favor and don't be taken in by the hype. Spend your time playing other, better RPGs, and lament the loss of the KotOR 3 that could have been.    … Expand
  17. Nexmanus
    Dec 24, 2011
    3
    The game itself is ok as mmoâ
  18. Greever
    Dec 24, 2011
    3
    Despite really wanting to enjoy this game, I find it hard to even just log in and play the beginning levels. Graphics are really poor, combat is tiresome, the classes are uninspired and the quests are just the same old thing as every MMO before it. If this were a MMO from 2000 it would be passable, but for one from 2011 it's shockingly bad.
  19. Cavissi
    Dec 25, 2011
    3
    A very bland single player game trying to be an MMO. Bioware should have just made Kotor 3 and focused on story and cutscenes, instead you get a worse version of Kotor mixed with a worse version of WoW. The combat is very uninspired, the voice acting is pretty mediocre, and the conversation aspect of getting quests is interesting but the quest themselves are just fetch and kill 30 of thisA very bland single player game trying to be an MMO. Bioware should have just made Kotor 3 and focused on story and cutscenes, instead you get a worse version of Kotor mixed with a worse version of WoW. The combat is very uninspired, the voice acting is pretty mediocre, and the conversation aspect of getting quests is interesting but the quest themselves are just fetch and kill 30 of this quests. If you enjoy the story you will enjoy playing through the game, but as far as an MMO, it is a watered down WoW in every aspect.… Expand
  20. Wackywoo
    Dec 26, 2011
    3
    Very disappointed. I wanted to like this game, but sadly this is not the MMO I was looking for. In design school I always wondered why there was a "risk taken" component on project evaluation sheets. Can't a design be good without taking risk? Maybe.. but more than likely it will be unimpressive. BioWare took no risks. They played it safe all around. The result is unimpressive. LookVery disappointed. I wanted to like this game, but sadly this is not the MMO I was looking for. In design school I always wondered why there was a "risk taken" component on project evaluation sheets. Can't a design be good without taking risk? Maybe.. but more than likely it will be unimpressive. BioWare took no risks. They played it safe all around. The result is unimpressive. Look no further than the uninspired character creation. It has lazy written all over it, with all races being practically human. Hair options are multiplied by adding option A to option B and calling it option C. In game, mobs simply stand still, waiting for you to come and kill them. This, combined with uninteractive environments, leaves the game feeling lifeless. What is perhaps more concerning are the absurd critic reviews. Mediocrity should not be praised. The reviews themselves list many shortcomings, however they give the game a near perfect score. Makes me wonder if they have shared interest in the game's financial success.… Expand
  21. panther4000
    Jun 7, 2012
    3
    When i saw the trailers for this game, i thought this might be the game of the year. But after playing it, found it to be like any other mmo. The main story seemed pretty good, but the way the xp is set up you can't do just the main quest, you have to do a lot of mondaine side quest that they try to give feeling but the quest being the way it is made any feeling turn into board-um. I gotWhen i saw the trailers for this game, i thought this might be the game of the year. But after playing it, found it to be like any other mmo. The main story seemed pretty good, but the way the xp is set up you can't do just the main quest, you have to do a lot of mondaine side quest that they try to give feeling but the quest being the way it is made any feeling turn into board-um. I got to level 20 and could not stand to play it anymore. Unless you are a huge fan of mmo's and star wars, don't buy this game.… Expand
  22. Fourdee
    Dec 28, 2011
    3
    After reading all the mixed feedback regarding this title, i finally purchased the game to decide for myself. In short, i have now received a refund for the game. Hopefully the following information will save further players like myself £44.99 for probably the worst MMO (Lobby game, this isnt massive) game ever. The gameplay (what really matters!) = Extremely Poor, i've playedAfter reading all the mixed feedback regarding this title, i finally purchased the game to decide for myself. In short, i have now received a refund for the game. Hopefully the following information will save further players like myself £44.99 for probably the worst MMO (Lobby game, this isnt massive) game ever. The gameplay (what really matters!) = Extremely Poor, i've played over 3 years of WoW, 3 years of Planetside, various other MMO's, even the free ones. Swtor's gameplay is extremely linear and basic, its an insult to anyone who has played WoW. There is no "skill" or sense of achievement from the gameplay mechanics what-so-ever and it quickly becomes boring. You have to stand still, wait for the game animations to catch up, then you are able to start attacking/casting. Once in combat, you are simply pressing the same buttons which all seem to do the same thing and stand there and take any damage which is simply thrown at you. There is no reward for experienced players in this game. The voice-overs are great on the other hand, however, you will spend 90% of your playtime in the actual gameplay, and, as above, this really does get boring quick.

    Champions online, was more enjoyable for gameplay mechanics than this game, and that is now free!

    As others have said, "AAA" titles with 150-300million budgets should never be able to release a game like SWTOR and simply rely on the Star Wars franchise and marketing to satisfy its customers.

    Speaking as an experienced gamer, i beg anyone with sense, do not waste your money on this game. Try World of Warcraft, that game is worth you time and dedications to which you will spend hours upon hours of your time enjoying the gameplay, you wont with SWTOR.

    A major letdown, a insult to PC gamers, a good idea of where the gaming market has gone in releasing poor gameplay titles with hugh budgets and storylines.    … Expand
  23. Zankiesko
    Jan 15, 2012
    3
    Welcome to the World of Warc--Err, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Star Wars is clearly pandering to the World of Warcraft crowd. Instead of trying to innovate anything or add interesting features to the game, Bioware simply made a World of Warcraft clone. Unlike Rift, though, that at least brought a little bit of innovation (in terms of the soul swapping), Star Wars brings nothing. StarWelcome to the World of Warc--Err, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Star Wars is clearly pandering to the World of Warcraft crowd. Instead of trying to innovate anything or add interesting features to the game, Bioware simply made a World of Warcraft clone. Unlike Rift, though, that at least brought a little bit of innovation (in terms of the soul swapping), Star Wars brings nothing. Star Wars' combat system feels like Bioware fell into the problem that amateur developers often do. That issue is that you become fond of a bad system because you've been exposed to it internally so frequently. The combat somehow took WOW's formula and simplified it. Star Wars removed auto-attacks; But then they added it as a button you have to press. That's right, the game that talked about how boring auto attacks are has you hit auto attack instead. I do not believe Bioware understands why people didn't like auto attacks.

    The class system lacks any sort of "heart" and just feels like Bioware sat down and copy-pasted the talent trees from World of Warcraft. People will be up in arms about this, but the reality of it is that you can pick many trees from Star Wars and find an exact version over in World of Warcraft. Sith Sorcerer, for example, has the "Lightning" tree, which is almost copied talent-for-talent from the "Elemental" tree in the shaman class in World of Warcraft.

    To make things worse, you will run into things such as vendors, which have drop down menus for options like "Sort By..." Great addition; Except they don't do anything. If you select "Only Show Usable" as a Level 17 Bounty Hunter, Level 50 Lightsabers will still show up on the vendor. You're not able to use level 50 lightsabers at level 17, and you aren't able to use lightsabers as a bounty hunter. The auction house is a nightmare to deal with, and makes EverQuest 1's original instantiation of the Bazaar system seem like the crowning achievement of MMO auction houses. Somehow, Bioware managed to do so little R&D into a comfortable user interface for an MMO that it feels like this may be the first MMO with an auction house.

    You will frequently run into mouse problems that require you to reload the UI every time. You'll find yourself being permanently stuck in cover as a sniper, but you can't use any of the abilities that require cover while doing so. You're now unable to do anything except stand there and die.

    The UI is fine for a single player game. Sadly, this is not a single player game. It is nightmarish healing with such an egregious UI. Aion's UI was bad, but it was 10/10 material compared to Star Wars' UI.

    Now, everything isn't negative. Star Wars made it possible to send your pets to gather resources for you. You're also able to gather resources yourself. So, you'll be able to level your gathering professions while doing something else or even being offline. This is a feature that seems like it was added purely for convenience and, in the current age of MMOs where "difficulty" means "tedious", a change for convenience is a change for the better.

    Sadly, this then draws attention to the crafting system. The crafting system takes the boring nature of WOW's crafting and mixes it with the RNG rage-inducing system from Aion. There are a ton of patterns out there. The problem, though, is that you either need to train them from the NPC or learn them from reverse engineering. Reverse engineering is akin to WOW's disenchanting, but your profession determines what you can do this to. An armstech can only reverse engineer guns of the types that they can create. An armortech can only reverse engineer armor of the types that they can create. You'll have crafting patterns that are green. When you craft it, you have a chance to get a critical (superior) version of it. You can then reverse engineer these items in hopes of getting a new pattern. This is how you'll learn most of your patterns. By the way, it is mind numbing. As bad as other MMO crafting systems were, Star Wars takes it to the next level. Star Wars makes Eve Online's crafting system feel immediate and closer to "instant gratification". With guns sometimes taking over 40 minutes to craft and gathering missions taking your companions well over an hour, the game's crafting system somehow manages to take more time than Eve Online's.

    "This is not the game you're looking for. Move along."    … Expand
  24. manahound
    Dec 29, 2011
    3
    In a nutshell: I'd had high hopes for this game. I got into early access (though apparently not early enough to realize what a vapid waste of time/space the game is:/). I even went so far as to purchase the collector's edition, thinking the game would be fantastic. I was regretfully wrong. Like others have said, this is not an MMO - nearly everything is instanced (making the world feelIn a nutshell: I'd had high hopes for this game. I got into early access (though apparently not early enough to realize what a vapid waste of time/space the game is:/). I even went so far as to purchase the collector's edition, thinking the game would be fantastic. I was regretfully wrong. Like others have said, this is not an MMO - nearly everything is instanced (making the world feel oddly empty, save for the "lobby" areas). This wouldn't bother me, but later on, you'll be unable to progress some story lines unless you can find a group (which seems to be harder than it should be). The character creation is boring and outdated; 4 main body types and more or less a handful's selection of faces, hair styles/colors, etc. The gameplay is the same rehashed skill-less clickfest that every MMO released within the last 10 years have been (just Star Wars flavored). The graphics are greatly disappointing. I started playing RIFT while waiting for this game, and guess I was greatly spoiled with the large, beautiful, lush, open environments. The graphics in SW:TOR are lackluster, even with all the settings maxxed out. The players are the same rude **** you may have gotten used to in WoW; people getting in your face if they're questing in the same area and you kill a mob that aggroed on you becauase they feel they have a right to every mob in that area. The game also has some billing issues; many credit cards will not work due to the way things are setup. That forces you to buy game cards (definitely not the cheapest option). So here I am with a $150.00 statue and $30/60 extra days worth of game time. I'd rather have my $180 back. Please don't think I'm just whining; I made a mistake and will deal with it. I am suffering buyer's/subscriber's remorse and if I can save someone else the same, I would like to. This game is not worth the time and money, even at $50 dollars plus subscription. If you want to play a great MMO with fantastic graphics, play RIFT. If you love WoW, but would like to play a Star Wars-themed game, keep playing WoW and play KOTOR on the side. Thanks for reading; have a nice day everyone.… Expand
  25. Katharsis
    Jan 19, 2012
    3
    Linear, online single-player RPG with no endgame content outside of repetitive "flaspoint" raids and broken, unbalanced PvP. But it's Star Wars!!! ........
  26. scabbycakes
    Dec 30, 2011
    3
    I don't have enough space to write any good things, which there are a few, but:

    The ugly:
    -Biggest one: There is very little in the way of avoiding crap quests you donâ
  27. Ludna
    Jan 2, 2012
    3
    The game is not bad, but only due to the story questline and voice over. The rest is hugely disappointing.
    The largest issue what drives me off is basicially no freedom in character development. The attribute mechanics is a joke, only one attribute determining everything. Force Power depends on Willpower ? Not for a Warrior, then your Strength determines Force Power. Silly. And the    The game is not bad, but only due to the story questline and voice over. The rest is hugely disappointing.
    The largest issue what drives me off is basicially no freedom in character development. The attribute mechanics is a joke, only one attribute determining everything. Force Power depends on Willpower ? Not for a Warrior, then your Strength determines Force Power. Silly. And the attribute is based on the class, no choice. All other attributes are worthless for a given class. I need to stick to a certain weapon type (single, double, or two-wiedled) again based on class. No free selectable weapon and armour feats, boring. The combat mechanics is to clicky, but that is maybe a matter of personal taste. In general the entire gameplay mechanics is to simple for me. I guess, Bioware wanted WoW players tp play SWTOR and I think that is what's going to happen. Straigtforward mechanics, no thinking required, clear roles. I have got some experience in Ultima Online, Lotro, DDO, EVE and 2 weeks trial in WoW. I like system in DDO most. Still tehre are classes and races, but a lot of options to shape a character. Also all quest run in the instances, so there is no kill x of y. Every attribute (Str, Dex etc.) has actually an impact on the Character. So, it's my Charackter after all. The dungeons are well designed. So, I would opt for more instances in SWTOR and more teamplay required. The graphics works for me, nevertheless the design feels steril. One don't need top nothc graphic to transmit the right impression.    … Expand
  28. elcritico
    Jan 2, 2012
    3
    To sum it up with a quote from the game loading screen: "a Bioware employee will never ask you for your password".

    If you're looking for something different than World of Warcraft, note that this game is a bland copy down to the loading screens.
  29. Gummbeh
    Jan 11, 2012
    3
    I'm stunned that this game was released. How can an MMO in 2011 be released without this like a guild bank, no server forums, non-bracketed PvP (e.g. level 10 players can queue in against fully PvP geared level 50 players). Keep in mind there are not bugs. These were left out by design.

    All that being said, the leveling process is quite fun and makes it easy to ignore some of the more    I'm stunned that this game was released. How can an MMO in 2011 be released without this like a guild bank, no server forums, non-bracketed PvP (e.g. level 10 players can queue in against fully PvP geared level 50 players). Keep in mind there are not bugs. These were left out by design.

    All that being said, the leveling process is quite fun and makes it easy to ignore some of the more laughable design decisions. The problem is that eventually you hit 50.    … Expand
  30. Malthques
    Jan 12, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. *Spoilers in text will be marked with *SPOILER*

    Gameplay rates at a completely average 5, due to using a tried and tested method of most of it's predecessor MMOs. This is without taking the massive delay into account, praying for those who still keeps playing that it will be fixed one time.

    But one of the games major selling points was it's focus on story, and damn was I disappointed: The writing feels so uninspired, that I simply stopped caring about any and every conversation in the game after approximately 10-15 minutes. Added on to this, the major arc was horrible too: *Spoiler* No matter what side you'll pick, the Empire loses.*end spoiler* Added to this, the terrible distinction between dark side and the light side of the force is even worse than the three prequel films.And playing an MMO where you and 2,999,999 other players are the chosen one, really isn't that entertaining.

    Another selling point was that it is a fully voiced game, and that it is. But badly voiced. When you're not wondering why three guys in the same scene is voiced by the same guy, you're wondering how they tortured the voice actors to make them sound so uninspired.

    In my final comments I will quickly mention the graphics and make a prayer for the BioWare dev team that graphics will never be the main point of a video game. Because if it ever will be, they will probably all end up in a guillotine.    … Expand
  31. Breeti
    Jan 15, 2012
    3
    It's really just a poorly redone version of WoW circa 2005. I'm sure with time it can be developed to something better, but how they ignore the progress of 6 to 7 years in the genre and expect to be a sucess I do not know. I guess they are banking on brand recognition being enough to carry them for the first 2 years.

    I've cancelled my sub after I just could not get into the mindless    It's really just a poorly redone version of WoW circa 2005. I'm sure with time it can be developed to something better, but how they ignore the progress of 6 to 7 years in the genre and expect to be a sucess I do not know. I guess they are banking on brand recognition being enough to carry them for the first 2 years.

    I've cancelled my sub after I just could not get into the mindless running and having constant load screens any time I went back to my ship. Hopefully they will correct some of the glaring flavor of life issues with game in the coming months. I may check it out again if i see some progress there. Otherwise i see it as a massive failure.    … Expand
  32. Jp1979
    Jan 19, 2012
    3
    Buggy game..HORRIDLY terrible customer service. Broken mechanics system, pop horridly imbalanced. Tested this game since beta. Things are now worse. The entire game feels like it wasn't even tested before release. Customer service speaks broken and hard to understand english. Game graphics even on a mid range vid card are still tearing. FPS/lag issues have increased since the "fix" itBuggy game..HORRIDLY terrible customer service. Broken mechanics system, pop horridly imbalanced. Tested this game since beta. Things are now worse. The entire game feels like it wasn't even tested before release. Customer service speaks broken and hard to understand english. Game graphics even on a mid range vid card are still tearing. FPS/lag issues have increased since the "fix" it patch from 1.1 screw up. Wow feel and set up regarding skill tree's classes. End games boring bland at best. I can't even go on about this pile of crap..Anyone interested in buying this game..do yourself a favor use your 60 bucks and get skyrim..or pay a bill..or fill up your gas tank..least you'll get more use / self satisfaction out of the money used then wasting it on this junkpile. think I'm gonna give my game and account over to a druggy across the street for a cig..bout all this games worth with how screwed up it is..And I'm not even going back to wow I hate that game now to.… Expand
  33. Ustil
    Jan 21, 2012
    3
    Not usually a SW fan a friend convinced me to level with him and so I agreed to trial and tried to like it for his sake. This did not happen however. What I ended up getting was a poorly disguised WoW clone with little to no innovation for the genre and a few steps back. It is also a very ugly game and the textures and model work would not look out of place in a game of several years ago.Not usually a SW fan a friend convinced me to level with him and so I agreed to trial and tried to like it for his sake. This did not happen however. What I ended up getting was a poorly disguised WoW clone with little to no innovation for the genre and a few steps back. It is also a very ugly game and the textures and model work would not look out of place in a game of several years ago. Race choices are the same human shape with one special head feature/colour. Want to play as an interesting race? Too bad! Firstly, the acclaimed quest dialogue. After a brief cutscene and a chat with someone I promptly forgot, where I had to choose an option that had zero effect other than the next line of flavour text, I was sent into the MMO standard Kill X amount of Y because I said so quest. Then it happened again. And again. "Within minutes of starting the game you're doing things you wouldn't expect to be doing in other MMOs" is an outright lie. No, you're not. It's boring like every other MMO. On the first planet this is OK, it's initially pretty cool to have all this dialogue and OK to have a slow start. Midway through the second planet though, when things didn't pick up, the poorly written story, reused lines and the occasional voice actor change mid-dialogue grated on me so much I spent the entire rest of my time pressing space bar to skip through all of it, pausing only to select the comedy option or the ones that give me light/dark side points because otherwise conversation has little to no effect (indeed I can only remember one instance of a choice having any effect outside of the same conversation and no quests having any lasting effect) which makes me question why the dialogue wheel is even there, it could easily be replaced by an â… Expand
  34. Whookares
    Jan 21, 2012
    3
    This game had a lot of potential but unfortunately it was released early and many key features were not thoroughly tested. Cheating in this game is rampant and customer is some of the worst I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing. I have repeatedly reported credit farmers for a week straight several times and day and nothing was ever done. These people were allowed to operate withThis game had a lot of potential but unfortunately it was released early and many key features were not thoroughly tested. Cheating in this game is rampant and customer is some of the worst I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing. I have repeatedly reported credit farmers for a week straight several times and day and nothing was ever done. These people were allowed to operate with impunity and when I attempted to interfere with their credit farming I was the one who ended up suspended. The lag is terrible in this game and the pvp is a borefest. I have seen finger painters create more interesting art than what is found in this game. All in all I am very disappointed with this game and its abject failures in all the important areas needed for a successful MMO.… Expand
  35. Wakes
    Jan 21, 2012
    3
    I've played many MMO's such as Rift, Aion, and WoW to name a few. WoW is the only one I ever really stuck with. I'll start out with my first impressions of the game on launch day. The character creation was a nice change of pace from WoW's very limited creation screen. However, once I delved into it I was quickly aware there are really not many options at all. You can choose between 4 VERYI've played many MMO's such as Rift, Aion, and WoW to name a few. WoW is the only one I ever really stuck with. I'll start out with my first impressions of the game on launch day. The character creation was a nice change of pace from WoW's very limited creation screen. However, once I delved into it I was quickly aware there are really not many options at all. You can choose between 4 VERY limited body types none of which are particularly appealing to me from the male char standpoint, so I choose to make a female character. I logged into the game, and the graphics seemed very held back to put it lightly. The aesthetics of the graphics engine are there for the most part, but it didn't feel 100% like I was in the Star Wars universe. I made a Sith Inquisitor, so I started on the planet Korriban. The first thing that happens is you get off a ship that lands half glitching through the landing pad. The dialogue was a very very nice change of pace being able to actually hear what you need to do, and understanding the impact it has on the characters was very cool, initially. After getting done with the first conversation the focus of my attention became the UI. The UI is nearly 100% fixed with almost 0 customization options. The keybindings always reset when using new characters, and for the first 2 hours of playing the game I could not get over how clunky and weird jumping was. I always hop around in all the MMO's I've played, and I was never so bugged by how weird the jumping is. The help menu tutorial options always pop up no matter what and you must click and exit each and every single one to put them away. About 2 hours into the game(about level 7 - 8) It became very clear very quick the questing dialogue did nothing but mask the standard MMO grind. The majority of quests(aside from the main planet quest chain and class quests) are just the same go kill this / collect 20 of these for me quests. The voice acting was good, but I never really paid much attention to it outside of my class quests. It was very obvious several voice actors were reused throughout the game in the sideline questing, and the responses from my own character became very repetitive and confusing. My choices were made always to either gain companion affection or Dark Side points. It really didn't feel like I was making choices rather than just choosing the ones that improved my score for the aforementioned options. I would often choose options I had previously gained companion affection with, and I would not gain any at all. After finishing Korriban, I used the space bar liberally throughout the rest of the game. The companion system was amazing. First getting your companion at the end of the planet made you feel invincible, but as the game progressed having a companion present was almost mandatory to complete quests. The TLDR summary of my questing experience to 50 is: Standard MMO grind with a lot of phasing and a bit of flavor in the class quests. At 50 my repertoire of known bugs and issues with the game had expanded greatly. PvP is nearly unplayable with Ability delay, class imbalance, gearing, and playing with many players below 50. There is no competitive small scale PvP which makes gearing up seem pointless. However, even if it is pointless it can also be nearly impossible. PvP gearing is based on 'random' gear boxes. You have only a small % chance to actually get anything AND it can be the same thing you may have already gotten. These issues with PvP, UI, and Aesthetics are all easily overlooked. My main issue is with the patching and updating process SW: ToR uses. I am currently unable to log in the game as well as many others for various reasons. For all of these reasons I have unsubscribed my account, and I am waiting(at the very least for them to update the patching process so I can play the game) to resubscribe. Overall, the game is very fun with some really good highlights to it, but they overlooked a lot of serious red flags. I am a huge fan of Star Wars, but I am not a huge fan of throwing money at a game I can't play and the refusal to help the thousands of us who can't as well. This almost alone is the reason for my poor review of the game.… Expand
  36. Zic
    Jan 22, 2012
    3
    I levelled a Jedi Guardian up to lvl 50. Levelling was pretty good, and the game would probably have received a high score from me if it was a single player game. Its an MMO though and thats why I unsubcribed it now :(

    What I found lacking: - No LFG/LFR, having played WoW since early 1995 I just dont want to go back to the way WoW was before LFG. Some ppl say that destroyed WoW, but    I levelled a Jedi Guardian up to lvl 50. Levelling was pretty good, and the game would probably have received a high score from me if it was a single player game. Its an MMO though and thats why I unsubcribed it now :(

    What I found lacking:
    - No LFG/LFR, having played WoW since early 1995 I just dont want to go back to the way WoW was before LFG. Some ppl say that destroyed WoW, but for me it enhanced it greatly.
    - No mods/macros, I really like to change the UI to the way I like it, and the standard UI is far far away from my preferences.
    - Graphics IMO is worse than WoW, lots of copy/paste and same colors everywhere. If you take a low level Jedi Guardian and a lvl 50 guardian you probably cant tell the diffence on the gear. Most that changed during levelling up was the colors or if the hood was up or down.
    - Too many buttons to push. With Jedi Guardian atleast I had to have all 4 bars present and a lot of them had to be used during different fight. Would have preferred lower CDs and 4-5 buttons to push instead.    … Expand
  37. Mickslick
    Jan 24, 2012
    3
    Just to confirm my experience, this is not a true MMO, it is a single player game with the ability to group with others. and a very average to sub par single player game at that. The world is linear, massively instanced, no feeling of openness or exploration whatsoever. Absolutely no environment t of "choice", you pick a class and are totally guided along a story line and path. SomeJust to confirm my experience, this is not a true MMO, it is a single player game with the ability to group with others. and a very average to sub par single player game at that. The world is linear, massively instanced, no feeling of openness or exploration whatsoever. Absolutely no environment t of "choice", you pick a class and are totally guided along a story line and path. Some enjoy the voice overs and cut scenes, but after a while they are seriously annoying and you wind up spending more time watching cheesey dialog in lieu of actually playing a game and making your own way. I really don't want to have to wade through a third rate Saturday morning cartoon when trying to get to some content. Oh, almost forgot to note that the space combat is a joke, seriously, they threw in some rail based space stuff that I was playing back in 1996 that is repetitive, boring and annoying.… Expand
  38. Elgalad
    Jan 30, 2012
    3
    An unremarkable and unoriginal MMO. The only unique thing about SWTOR is the voice acting which is, for the most part, well done. Otherwise, every other aspect of the game, from pve content to customization to crafting is all standard fare or even pretty lacking in entertainment value. There's very little replay value, either.

    This game could have been so much more, but it's clear    An unremarkable and unoriginal MMO. The only unique thing about SWTOR is the voice acting which is, for the most part, well done. Otherwise, every other aspect of the game, from pve content to customization to crafting is all standard fare or even pretty lacking in entertainment value. There's very little replay value, either.

    This game could have been so much more, but it's clear the designers aimed at making an outstanding single player experience and disregarded nearly everything that has traditionally made multi-player games successful. Given the immense possibilities available in this IP, this is most unfortunate.

    There may still be the potential here for some future improvement, but as it stands now, there are many better alternatives available, most of which require far less of an investment in player time and $.    … Expand
  39. Afterforever
    Feb 1, 2012
    3
    Yes, this game is more innovative compared to FPS. Mr. Ohlen is the biggest joke in the entire game development industry. The game is built around amateurish 3D engine for hobbyists. Frankly, if it succeeds that tells a lot about modern day gamers and how can they be easy duped into buying vaporware.
  40. orca9999
    Mar 16, 2012
    3
    First I am more and more convinced that pro critics are either A. only rating on technical merit, or B. Paid off by the big name games.

    I did the Beta of this and kept my mouth shut, as was expected. I did not buy the game. They sent me a 7 day free trial, so I thought "why not. Maybe it got better:" But no it did not. So this is nothing more than a total rehash from other MMOs. Bit    First I am more and more convinced that pro critics are either A. only rating on technical merit, or B. Paid off by the big name games.

    I did the Beta of this and kept my mouth shut, as was expected. I did not buy the game. They sent me a 7 day free trial, so I thought "why not. Maybe it got better:" But no it did not.

    So this is nothing more than a total rehash from other MMOs. Bit better graphics, a bit of fun with cut-scenes. nothing much really here.

    Future world but yet they still try and add time sinks. Run run run, fight , run run run, another boring fight. I never felt emerged. I never felt like I was nothing more than a bot in a large scale universe of bots.

    There is no community. a few months from launch and I am 95% of the time in a zone alone.

    Hell some lesser MMO titles felt more alive after a year than this does in a few months.

    It is like all the right elements are there, but they lead to nothing.
    Hell the first was better than this thing they have created.    … Expand
  41. moorejs99
    Feb 8, 2012
    3
    Where to begin? If this was a single player game released in 2007, it might get a 7. But as an "MMORPG" released in late 2011? What a mess. A brief rundown:

    Graphics/presentation: The voiceovers are well done. But they get BORING and insipid after a while...you spend as much time in cutscenes as you do in the game. The graphics are, in a word, abhorrent. The terrain/object models are OK,    Where to begin? If this was a single player game released in 2007, it might get a 7. But as an "MMORPG" released in late 2011? What a mess. A brief rundown:

    Graphics/presentation: The voiceovers are well done. But they get BORING and insipid after a while...you spend as much time in cutscenes as you do in the game. The graphics are, in a word, abhorrent. The terrain/object models are OK, but the textures are awful, making the entire game look equally bad. There is no excuse for something this ugly in 2012.

    Gameplay: Nothing special. Not good, not bad- it's just like every other game in the genre, only much, much easier. Rolling an alt is all there is to do if you hit the level cap, and once you're made 1 for each faction, it's just painful to play through the same garbage all over again. Good thing they made it about a casual 2 week stroll to max level, huh? I won't even talk about space combat- it's so insanely silly and poorly done it's not worth it. You're basically playing the 80s arcade came Tempest. Awful. Questing is an on-rails experience. You have no choices. There are light and dark side options, but none of it makes a shred of difference. Skills are typical, boring, cookie-cutter. Nothing to see here that hasn't been done far better a dozen times.

    Performance: The Hero engine is, in a word, trash. It's ugly and lor resolution, yet it chugs like a pig. Everything you do is delayed while the engine thinks about it. Just dreadful.

    User Interface: No mods. You can't move elements or change colors. It's hideous. Enough said.

    Customization/Roleplay: There is an "RP" in "MMORPG", but you won't find it here. This is 1012, and get this: There are ZERO ways to make a unique looking avatar. There are 4 body types: Bobblehead, linebacker, hulk, and fat sloppy git. No sliders for height, weight, muscle tone, nothing. Not a single facial feature can be adjusted- you pick one of the pre-made looks, choose on of the 20 ish terrible hairstyles, layer on some low-res terrible scars or tattoos, and there you are. INEXCUSABLE. Period. Beyond that...the world is completely static. Nothing can be interacted with. You can't sit in a chair or on a bench. The emotes look like they were animated in freeware by a blind teen. Housing? None, unless you count your starship..that is identical to every other starship for players of your class, and can't be customised in any way. It's useless other than a single storage cabinet. Other players can't come on board, either, because your entire hangar is a solo instance. It sucks.

    That's enough, I guess. There is a LOT more wrong with this train wreck, but it's been covered ad nauseum. This is by leaps and bounds the most disappointing, shoddy, half hearted and tossed together attempt at a game I've seen in years.    … Expand
  42. raidet
    Jun 8, 2012
    3
    Entirely lacked the spirit and atmosphere of WoW by allowing you to see the mishmash of (poor) wiring under the board. Lots of stuttering of the graphic engine, lots of artificially convoluted and lengthened journeys to increase play time, underwhelming visuals, repetitive space railshooting sections, unresponsive controls - the list goes on. It all comes down to lack of the requiredEntirely lacked the spirit and atmosphere of WoW by allowing you to see the mishmash of (poor) wiring under the board. Lots of stuttering of the graphic engine, lots of artificially convoluted and lengthened journeys to increase play time, underwhelming visuals, repetitive space railshooting sections, unresponsive controls - the list goes on. It all comes down to lack of the required development effort. Everyone expects some bugs when an MMO first launches, but this had no polish whatsoever. The lack of effort shone through and overshadowed immersion into the world. I had more fun with STO. I no longer subscribe to either.… Expand
  43. kronosiii
    Feb 23, 2012
    3
    The game itself is not a full completed mmo. Leveling areas are instanced not allowing over 5 people on YOUR same planet at a time. No end game exist at all, once you played the single player story you are basically done with the game. It seemed like it tried to enter new grounds but it was not the correct way to do so. Majoring in story and not paying attention to gameplay and end game isThe game itself is not a full completed mmo. Leveling areas are instanced not allowing over 5 people on YOUR same planet at a time. No end game exist at all, once you played the single player story you are basically done with the game. It seemed like it tried to enter new grounds but it was not the correct way to do so. Majoring in story and not paying attention to gameplay and end game is the true killer to this game. I won't even say it is worth a try, the game should be free to play with so many problems with it. The game might of been great if it focused on single player aspects with co-up added but it is anything but an mmo.

    I myself am A big star Wars fan and found myself disappointed with how this game played out. Normally I will eat up anything star wars related, but this game is all levels of embarrassing.    … Expand
  44. JediL1c1ous
    Feb 26, 2012
    3
    I feel somehow disconnected with the world after reading "critic" reviews and playing this game for myself. Are these people getting paid or something? Are the reviewers new to the MMORPG genre? I was so underwhelmed with this game that I stopped playing after hitting level 12. Now I feel that I'm missing something that everyone else is supposedly seeing. Maybe I'm just tired of thisI feel somehow disconnected with the world after reading "critic" reviews and playing this game for myself. Are these people getting paid or something? Are the reviewers new to the MMORPG genre? I was so underwhelmed with this game that I stopped playing after hitting level 12. Now I feel that I'm missing something that everyone else is supposedly seeing. Maybe I'm just tired of this genre. Someone needs to change it up from the same old formula. Games like Tera and Guild Wars 2 appear to be on the right track.… Expand
  45. snoobrouf
    Mar 5, 2012
    3
    not bad until lvl 50 but then...nothing ... the space vaccum :)

    graphics suck, space travelling and fighting are horrible, quests are ok, pvp is resumed by a kind of futur sport game like speedball, craft is useless and too easy,

    well... for a ctrl+c ctrl+v of wow, it's a fake mmo and star wars game... bring us back the swg style !
  46. Biowarelol
    Mar 7, 2012
    3
    Another example of terrible Bioware development. -The worst writing you could imagine, quests, class stories make no sense whatsoever
    -Complete lack of class balance, no combat log to hide that flaw
    -Terrible performance -There's nothing unique about races you can choose from: there's human, human with implants, green human, blue human, red human, bald and pale human, human with horns.    Another example of terrible Bioware development. -The worst writing you could imagine, quests, class stories make no sense whatsoever
    -Complete lack of class balance, no combat log to hide that flaw
    -Terrible performance
    -There's nothing unique about races you can choose from: there's human, human with implants, green human, blue human, red human, bald and pale human, human with horns. Only Twi'leks are somehow unique.
    -There's no point in playing on pvp servers, because each zone is designed in such way that you will almost never meet players from the other faction while questing.
    -The game was supposed to be an innovation, refresing breeze in MMOs. Instead, this is just another WoW clone, with NOTHING new or creative.    … Expand
  47. Nichtswisser
    Mar 8, 2012
    3
    This game teaches a lesson everyone should learn. It's the lesson that **** can be transformed into gold, at least in the minds of man (and women), with enough advertising money. It really is amazing what enough propaganda (advertisement = product propaganda) can accomplish. I mean it's supposed to me a massive multiplayer game, yet uses an outdated engine which can not handle massive atThis game teaches a lesson everyone should learn. It's the lesson that **** can be transformed into gold, at least in the minds of man (and women), with enough advertising money. It really is amazing what enough propaganda (advertisement = product propaganda) can accomplish. I mean it's supposed to me a massive multiplayer game, yet uses an outdated engine which can not handle massive at all. When things get "massive", you can count the fps with the fingers on one hand. And pretty much everything else is somewhere between below average and average in this game with exception of the soundtrack and the star ware license..Oh yeah, and the pvp, that is outright terrible. With input delay from hell and balancing apparently done by the dark lord of the sith himself. Basically all sith abilities with extremely few exceptions are superior to their republican counterpart. Add to that all the other advantages the empire side has and it's pretty clear why the republic side is outnumbered like there is no tomorrow on most servers. Avoid at all costs and wait for Tera or Guild Wars 2.… Expand
  48. bluesnacks
    Feb 21, 2014
    3
    Uninteresting, your choices mean nothing. I was excited for this game to come out, but quickly realized what a mistake that was. A $15 sub fee for almost ZERO content or bug fixes, but lo and behold they're working on a robust nickel and dime F2P for even more money, and guess what comes out then? Everything. Everything they can nickel and dime you with is on the store, things they refusedUninteresting, your choices mean nothing. I was excited for this game to come out, but quickly realized what a mistake that was. A $15 sub fee for almost ZERO content or bug fixes, but lo and behold they're working on a robust nickel and dime F2P for even more money, and guess what comes out then? Everything. Everything they can nickel and dime you with is on the store, things they refused to put out or make when it was a P2P game.

    But more about the game: The PvP is horribly unbalanced, it always has been. The developers seem incompetent and unable to make proper fixes.

    The free to play is lacking: EVERYTHING COSTS MONEY, EVEN TO SUBSCRIBERS. THERE IS ALMOST NO POINT TO BEING A SUBSCRIBER BECAUSE IT STILL COSTS MONEY AFTER THE SUB. This is completely asinine to me.

    The story, well, the story. Any choice you make in the story has no consequence. Kill the guy or don't kill the guy. The jedi next to you will still be like: "cool, let's go." I mean, wtf. I just murdered this dude, there blood all over you. It's like this the whole game, no matter what you do, you just go to the same part of the quest as the other choices with the same dialogue. It sucks.    … Expand
  49. coop667
    Mar 22, 2012
    3
    Do not be fooled into buying this game. This game is a giant flop unless you enjoy playing an MMO by yourself. Technical support is atrocious unless you enjoy calling India and the end game content is non-existent.
  50. Bellsup
    Mar 30, 2012
    3
    If I view this game as a solo play then I would give it a 8. But as a MMO its a different story. If the company that made it is not BioWare then my score would be a 7. I truly expected the suns and the stars out of them. Instead all I got was a chip out of the same old dull block. For those who have not yet played this yet my advise is to wait. The old republic is now more like a solo RPGIf I view this game as a solo play then I would give it a 8. But as a MMO its a different story. If the company that made it is not BioWare then my score would be a 7. I truly expected the suns and the stars out of them. Instead all I got was a chip out of the same old dull block. For those who have not yet played this yet my advise is to wait. The old republic is now more like a solo RPG with multiplayer option added in.… Expand
  51. Stumptail
    Apr 29, 2012
    3
    A slickly-produced but sadly linear and uninspiring MMO, this game is basically a poor man's WoW with lightsabers. Bioware made, perhaps, a savvy marketing choice by sticking to a cookie-cutter model, but it leaves a lot to be desired. It's clear that critics were in love with the "Star Wars" portion of this game long before it hit the shelves, and a number of reviews seem to give it aA slickly-produced but sadly linear and uninspiring MMO, this game is basically a poor man's WoW with lightsabers. Bioware made, perhaps, a savvy marketing choice by sticking to a cookie-cutter model, but it leaves a lot to be desired. It's clear that critics were in love with the "Star Wars" portion of this game long before it hit the shelves, and a number of reviews seem to give it a free pass for that reason.

    Character creation has the same limits most MMOs have. If you had any hopes of a game that would transcend the usual Tank/Healer/DPS paradigm, you'll quickly be disappointed. For some people, hitting the same "rotation" over and over with reliable roles for everyone that are not to be deviated from is fun. For me, it feels like factory work. And Star Wars leaves you feeling its painful redundancy at every step. This is a matter of taste, but for all the hype surrounding this game, you'd think they could do better than use the same MMO model everyone else feels compelled to use.

    There's little or no variety as to how you can equip your character. For instance some classes of Jedi are dual-wield, some single, other double-bladed. This isn't a far cry from how other MMOs do business, but in the world of Star Wars, it feels as though you should have more of a choice. Again, the cookie-cutter approach may appeal to most people, but it's a sad reflection on the possibilities of the franchise. The ease with which you can blow through most of the missions solo makes for a fairly dull environment. The servers are poorly populated - clearly Bioware overestimated the cache Star Wars might have had. It's genuinely difficult to group at times. I don't mind solo, and sadly, it seems the clear alternative for Bioware to address the issue will be to increase the number of group-specific levels.

    Space combat is an utter joke. In you space mission, you have only the ship you are assigned at one point in the game and are led along a flight path during which you shoot as much as you can without getting blown up. It's nothing but a sad arcade mini-game, not an opportunity for players to buy new ships, fly around at will or actually get a sense of being in space. Star Wars Galaxies, for all its flaws, at least recognized that this was a crucial component.

    I quit after about 3 weeks and don't think I'll look back. If you're into staid, generic MMOs that don't challenge you too much, then you might like this. It's hard for me to imagine what kind of major overhauls they'd end up doing to make thins game worth my time, but I doubt they will. Bioware is a changed company in recent years, and rather than giving us an exciting new KOTOR offering, we're left with a lifeless ripoff with great sound effects. Disappointing.    … Expand
  52. ryinca
    May 1, 2012
    3
    Let me start by saying I was eagerly awaiting this game ever since it was first announced and had faith that Bioware would truly deliver an innovative take on the MMO genre. Unfortunately, what they delivered was a cookie cutter version of WOW with a slightly improved story line and voice over work. The fact that critics are creaming over this title only shows the influence and marketingLet me start by saying I was eagerly awaiting this game ever since it was first announced and had faith that Bioware would truly deliver an innovative take on the MMO genre. Unfortunately, what they delivered was a cookie cutter version of WOW with a slightly improved story line and voice over work. The fact that critics are creaming over this title only shows the influence and marketing dollars that EA wields over the mainstream gaming media. I really wanted to like this game and played my Sith Warrior to level 50 only to find myself grinding through boring dailies and PVP battles that almost always took place in the Hutt Ball arena due to the huge disparity between Republic / Empire players. Seriously, don't waste your money on this title - even the 1.2 update that Bioware swears includes the bells and whistles they wanted to have ready at launch, has been a miserable flop and added very little incentive to continue subscribing.

    Buyer beware    … Expand
  53. Gixer1976
    May 9, 2012
    3
    Waited with anticipation for this MMO to be released, bought the game, installed it.... cried at the character creation nonsense!! You can play multiple races ... just as long as they are humanoid but different colours....ok so i created a character then cried some more at the linear cookie cutter combat system cloned straight from every other mmo circa 1990. Graphics and textureWaited with anticipation for this MMO to be released, bought the game, installed it.... cried at the character creation nonsense!! You can play multiple races ... just as long as they are humanoid but different colours....ok so i created a character then cried some more at the linear cookie cutter combat system cloned straight from every other mmo circa 1990. Graphics and texture resolutions are shocking for a game released in 2011, Considering the amount of money spent developing this game, its a very poor attempt. I guess all the money went on paying voice actors, i would have preferred Bioware to spend the money on a decent game engine and better combat system, decent quest lines and customizable characters. I used to be a big fan of you Bioware, you let us down with this....However if you are 8 years old or Korean, you will love this MMO.… Expand
  54. caralho
    May 10, 2014
    3
    The only thing this game has going for itself is the class story questlines. Some of them are decent, while others are meh. Other than that, it's a waste of money. It's simply amazing how can devs keep a game like this alive by simply milking their unsuspecting fanbase of drones. There is so many wrongs in this game that I won't bother listing here because its pretty much everywhere. EAThe only thing this game has going for itself is the class story questlines. Some of them are decent, while others are meh. Other than that, it's a waste of money. It's simply amazing how can devs keep a game like this alive by simply milking their unsuspecting fanbase of drones. There is so many wrongs in this game that I won't bother listing here because its pretty much everywhere. EA should be ashamed to dump so much money (over 200-300 million dollars I think) on this pile of garbage. I think they are still trying to break even.… Expand
  55. Jraptor
    May 20, 2012
    3
    When almost everyone was a kid, they dreamed about being a Jedi, or occasionally Sith. We dreamed about wielding a sword made out light/plasma/whatever. We dreamed about being able to use the force and being a near unstoppable force for good.

    The Old Republic gives you the exact opposite. In fact, it gives you something worse than the George Lucas Prequels. First off: Somehow the clone    When almost everyone was a kid, they dreamed about being a Jedi, or occasionally Sith. We dreamed about wielding a sword made out light/plasma/whatever. We dreamed about being able to use the force and being a near unstoppable force for good.

    The Old Republic gives you the exact opposite. In fact, it gives you something worse than the George Lucas Prequels.

    First off: Somehow the clone trooper armor is in the republic, despite the fact that it's a long time before the Clone Wars.

    Second: Star Wars was not fit to be an MMO. Galaxies proved that.

    Third: The quests are boring and time consuming. I only got one of my ten characters past the starting world

    Forth: I don't know if this applies to all, but when I paid sixty dollars for the game, it didn't come with a subscription. I paid a total of a hundred dollars to start up an MMO and keep it for four months... A waste.

    Fifth: As many have stated previously, it has the exact same gameplay as almost any other MMO. Like many games, it is good, but quickly becomes repetitive, boring, and useless. It's not worth the sixty bucks.    … Expand
  56. kuehnau
    Nov 18, 2012
    3
    Please keep in mind, I am reviewing this game after the "free 2 play" model has been implemented. As a free to play user you will constantly be punished for your status. The game is severely limited to what free users can do in game. Experience rates are jacked up, vendor costs are higher, drop rates are lower, you cannot use cargo holding (banking), join groups, start guilds, trade withPlease keep in mind, I am reviewing this game after the "free 2 play" model has been implemented. As a free to play user you will constantly be punished for your status. The game is severely limited to what free users can do in game. Experience rates are jacked up, vendor costs are higher, drop rates are lower, you cannot use cargo holding (banking), join groups, start guilds, trade with players, mail players and much much more. As a free to play user, there are much bigger, better, well managed free to play MMORPGs you can find. Don't waste your time on this.… Expand
  57. The-S
    May 28, 2012
    3
    Essentially this is a single player game (with an option to play with others), using dated graphics with a giant voice acting budget.

    As an MMO, there is nothing new here and some puzzling design decisions (no customizable UI?). Graphically, average. Levelling up? Average. Story? Depending on your class, it can be quite good. Essentially what you have is a average MMO with a good    Essentially this is a single player game (with an option to play with others), using dated graphics with a giant voice acting budget.

    As an MMO, there is nothing new here and some puzzling design decisions (no customizable UI?). Graphically, average. Levelling up? Average. Story? Depending on your class, it can be quite good.

    Essentially what you have is a average MMO with a good story. However, when you factor the rumored budget the game had and the fact that it's Star Wars, average doesn't cut it. My advice (if you just HAVE to have Star Wars): Play the class you like for the first month, then cancel and montior it for patches.    … Expand
  58. Archibald
    Jun 8, 2012
    3
    After playing this game with a level 50 character on both sides I have to say it really wasn't that fun or amazing as all the critics say it was. A majority of my experience was utter boredom and repetitiveness throughout the story and game play. I don't get what is fun about having a majority of the quests be about killing a certain amount of cut and paste enemies. Heck I love actionAfter playing this game with a level 50 character on both sides I have to say it really wasn't that fun or amazing as all the critics say it was. A majority of my experience was utter boredom and repetitiveness throughout the story and game play. I don't get what is fun about having a majority of the quests be about killing a certain amount of cut and paste enemies. Heck I love action games but this game had too much fighting in it and not enough areas to chat with players or do other activities. The other activities are honestly a joke. Space combat and crafting must have be low priority in production....along with combat and the games visuals/ animation. The only thing I enjoyed was the stories of the classes. Just a big disappointing experience overall.… Expand
  59. lostsideproject
    Dec 15, 2012
    3
    This game is buggy. Free to play players cannot submit a help ticket. This is a strategy to get subscribers. They let you play until issues inevitably arise, then, the only way to get help is to pay up. Bingo. Another subscriber. When my game kicks me out to windows at the last part of a group instance and I cannot do any other quests because of the order of things being locled up, itThis game is buggy. Free to play players cannot submit a help ticket. This is a strategy to get subscribers. They let you play until issues inevitably arise, then, the only way to get help is to pay up. Bingo. Another subscriber. When my game kicks me out to windows at the last part of a group instance and I cannot do any other quests because of the order of things being locled up, it makes the game unplayable. Get the bottom-line board room execs out of my gaming experience. They are most certainly the main characters in "The Old Republic".… Expand
  60. pheroras
    Jul 31, 2012
    3
    SWTOR has been hyped as a 'Story Driven' MMO. I admit that story is the best feature of the game. The major problem with this is that the main Class story is a bit thin, merely serving as a pretext to hop from one planet to the next. The story in SWTOR is nothing like the story of KOTOR and is not even as good as that of the somewhat baffling KOTOR II. Planet quests are largely presentedSWTOR has been hyped as a 'Story Driven' MMO. I admit that story is the best feature of the game. The major problem with this is that the main Class story is a bit thin, merely serving as a pretext to hop from one planet to the next. The story in SWTOR is nothing like the story of KOTOR and is not even as good as that of the somewhat baffling KOTOR II. Planet quests are largely presented in the 'story' rubric with voice acting and animation cut scenes, but these are typically disconnected and provide little if any overarching theme. *It would be great if the studio had the resources to tie these secondary story quests into an overarching whole, since these comprise more content than the Class story in the leveling process. Another minor gripe is that I have to always wonder why I can pilot an interstellar space craft before I can pilot my scooter. I get my spaceship at level 15, but I can't use my scooter until I am level 25. Something seems backwards in this sort of progression but it is only one of the many illogical things that break the continuity of the game. There is now a free trial up to level 15. These early levels seemed like some of the best in the game, though perhaps they would be judged mediocre in contrast to other games. I can't see recommending the game as it is on a pay to play basis.… Expand
  61. KaliberX
    Jul 8, 2012
    3
    I played SwTor from 0 to max, and well it has nice Quests for some Classes. But all in all it's just another MMO on the Market with the same Stuff like others (WoW, EQ etc) nothing new except the Voice Over.
    You are not free in that Game, all the Way to the max is totally straight. Even the choices between Dark or Light does not changes the Story. Only thing why i give the Game a 3 was    I played SwTor from 0 to max, and well it has nice Quests for some Classes. But all in all it's just another MMO on the Market with the same Stuff like others (WoW, EQ etc) nothing new except the Voice Over.
    You are not free in that Game, all the Way to the max is totally straight. Even the choices between Dark or Light does not changes the Story. Only thing why i give the Game a 3 was the PvP in some Way.    … Expand
  62. Aralakh
    Jul 12, 2012
    3
    The Old Republic is a prime example of a game that has suffered from being over-hyped. The anticipation for its release was so intense and so prolonged that for many it built expectations that simply weren't realistic. As someone who had been looking forward to an Old Republic MMO before SWtOR was even announced, I can say that I probably let myself get sucked into that hype train withoutThe Old Republic is a prime example of a game that has suffered from being over-hyped. The anticipation for its release was so intense and so prolonged that for many it built expectations that simply weren't realistic. As someone who had been looking forward to an Old Republic MMO before SWtOR was even announced, I can say that I probably let myself get sucked into that hype train without giving it much thought. That said, the game does some things right.. The story-driven questing and voice acting really make you feel immersed in the Star Wars universe, and that's fantastic. Unfortunately, once you reach max level it all comes to a screeching halt. It's quite clear that BioWare aimed for the longevity of this game to focus on players creating alts and playing through the stories over and over, and that's just not realistic. Though each individual class has its own unique story, you're still faced with doing the same bland area quests and visiting the same environments over and over, and that gets repetitive and old very fast. The end game is nothing memorable, with a few varied raid dungeons that I assume are meant to keep us occupied until the next content patch (which are released at a horribly slow pace, and even when released are very lacking). As an example, my own operations group cleared the newest raid on hard-mode within two weeks of its release.. Now what? We sit around for months paying a subscription until the next piece of content comes out to do it all over again? No thank you, BioWare.… Expand
  63. BlackPhoton
    Sep 9, 2012
    3
    When the creators of SWTOR entered E3 with their ''parade'' I knew that this game will go down the same road as ME3 did. In short this game is not worth the price and you have to be a heck of a Star Wars fanboy to be able to play this game. The game basically is singleplayer story/dialogue, but with an useless multiplayer added on. I did enjoy the Sith Inquisitor and the Bounty HunterWhen the creators of SWTOR entered E3 with their ''parade'' I knew that this game will go down the same road as ME3 did. In short this game is not worth the price and you have to be a heck of a Star Wars fanboy to be able to play this game. The game basically is singleplayer story/dialogue, but with an useless multiplayer added on. I did enjoy the Sith Inquisitor and the Bounty Hunter story, but the rest especially all the republic stories are boring. Not to mention that there is a bug in the Inquisitor and Trooper story that can get you stuck and you would have to replay everything. I don't know why did the designers think that putting countless abilities that do the same thing would be a great idea especially talking about the Inquisitors many lightning attacks. The environment and the graphics are slim and very laggy due to the garbage that gets dropped in to your RAM. I guess the creators expected that most of the player population will be at their capitals so they made them huge, but everybody spends their time in the fleet causing massive lag there. Talking about lag, EA has turned most of it's servers down and will be using them for their next repetitive FPS game. Leaving the most laggiest servers for SWTOR, no matter how fast is your internet or your PC you will be experiencing fatal lag. The great promise of this being the next gen MMO that will destroy WOW was all an advertisement by EA as the same for other games that EA had over hyped, but differently than ME3 or BF3 where players buy a copy once, SWTOR has a monthly payment that players stopped paying after the first month. This has caused a financial disaster for EA, actually this may be the greatest financial disaster ever. 155 million dollars the largest production cost in history of gaming and it certainly hasn't paid off. The game isn't worth buying especially when you have to buy it through Origin and play it trough Origin. In a nutshell I hope this will destroy EA for good, cause ME3 and BF3 have been disasters for EA too, the cost of mass advertising exceeded the benefits. SWTOR, ME3, BF3, MOH, NFS, SC, Sims, EA Sports after all this everybody is the looser EA , the market, developers and the players. EA tried to benefit from false advertising, but it hit them the hardest. Goodnight Electronic A$sholes!… Expand
  64. you_aint_Z
    Aug 29, 2012
    3
    Bleh. It was moderately fun and exciting for the first 15-20 levels or so but the game became stale at an alarmingly quick pace after that. For some reason I stuck with it until my toon hit his mid 40's but the game was an ultra grindfest. The support team was and is awful. The Dev team really didn't come through on there promise for frequent content updates. This game should have beenBleh. It was moderately fun and exciting for the first 15-20 levels or so but the game became stale at an alarmingly quick pace after that. For some reason I stuck with it until my toon hit his mid 40's but the game was an ultra grindfest. The support team was and is awful. The Dev team really didn't come through on there promise for frequent content updates. This game should have been free to play from the start.… Expand
  65. ousmokeit2
    Jan 25, 2015
    3
    they try to nickel and dime you to death want bigger bags buy coins want extra action bar buy coins. and the pvp stinks they put lvl 30-59 in the same war zone and all the lower people get raped by the higher lvls so very uneven playing field! gets old very fast! lag is bad! unless you are a huge fan of star wars find another game!
  66. Kalfear
    May 18, 2013
    3
    Very Highly anticipated game that sizzled out and now is in F2P hell. The game is pay to win now as anything truely interesting is purchased in the cash shop rather then quested for in game. Its PVP is bargin basement warzone concept despite having Mythic (creator of DAoC) designing the PVP.

    The base game 1-50 is great and the voice acting is fantastic. But soon as you hit max level    Very Highly anticipated game that sizzled out and now is in F2P hell. The game is pay to win now as anything truely interesting is purchased in the cash shop rather then quested for in game. Its PVP is bargin basement warzone concept despite having Mythic (creator of DAoC) designing the PVP.

    The base game 1-50 is great and the voice acting is fantastic.
    But soon as you hit max level the game fizzles out.

    I played for 13.5 months from release to after first year and saw many empty promises and broken promises come and go.

    I had a 50 Trooper, 50 Bounty Hunter, 50 Sage, 50 Scoundrel, and 50 Jedi Knight and was closing in on hitting level 50 Sniper and Inquisitor. So not like I didnt play this game completely before coming to my final conclusion.

    Anyone interested in this game, do yourself a favor, play 1-50 in F2P and then move onto the next game.
    Avoid buying any Cartel items as they are not needed and only designed to grab more money from Subscribers and F2P players in the short term.
    Title would have been better off as a Single player game KotOR3 or designed by a different developer and distributor.

    I wanted to love this game
    All I ended up is hating EA to the point I will not support their company anymore.    … Expand
  67. TsukasaHiiragi
    Jan 7, 2018
    3
    Severe server lag
    Microtransactions
    Cookie Cutter Content Gets boring FAST Bugs and Issues Awful Awful Awful - I gave this a chance twice now to see if it has matured over the years, it's just gotten worse and now full of micro-transactions. The game is just uninspired with cut and paste content all over the place, cookie cutter content is par for the entire game. At least    Severe server lag
    Microtransactions
    Cookie Cutter Content
    Gets boring FAST
    Bugs and Issues

    Awful Awful Awful - I gave this a chance twice now to see if it has matured over the years, it's just gotten worse and now full of micro-transactions. The game is just uninspired with cut and paste content all over the place, cookie cutter content is par for the entire game. At least games like WoW which are far older, still try to innovate to bring new and decent content to the table, SWTOR is content to nickle and dime you constantly, give you piece meal content thats not only either broken, buggy or downright archaic in nature.

    But what can you expect from EA? The problem with the game is that its boring, very slow pacing which seriously weakens the experience, this is Star Wars - its a fast paced universe, this game is exceptionally slow, and that isn't the lag either.... trust me, that lag is severely noticeable - and is perhaps the #1 reason for dying in the game.

    Lets also talk about the bugs, its got issues. It took me the best part of an hour doing research, and editting the ini files just to get the game to run properly due to its infamous resolution bug.    … Expand
  68. chris_1_s
    Sep 22, 2014
    3
    I was highly disappointed in this game, it didnt feel at at all like Knights of the old republic 1 or 2 in terms of story or pacing. This might seem harsh but it felt like a WOW knock off. For me it got old and repetitive real fast. Would have VERY much preferred Knights of the old republic 3.
  69. Wahfuu
    Oct 24, 2014
    3
    Hilariously broken, buggy, and seemed to seek only on trying to pillage some money from people burned out of WoW through a starwars mask. Quality varies extremely between class stories, voice acting is just bad, and when I hit max alot of encounteres were bugged beyond belief. The worst raid looting system I've ever seen, too. Haven't played it in a long time, might be better. Probably isn't.
  70. Demonscream
    Jun 30, 2015
    3
    If you are looking for a story based PVE game this is a good one. Each of the 8 base classes (4 Republic and 4 Empire) have their own story. The 8 story’s alone make it a worthwhile game to play. Fully voice acted make it a blast for anyone looking for an immersive game.

    Do not play PVP in this game. Your skill has no effect on PVP, only the flavor-of-the-month class has any effect on    If you are looking for a story based PVE game this is a good one. Each of the 8 base classes (4 Republic and 4 Empire) have their own story. The 8 story’s alone make it a worthwhile game to play. Fully voice acted make it a blast for anyone looking for an immersive game.

    Do not play PVP in this game. Your skill has no effect on PVP, only the flavor-of-the-month class has any effect on PVP. PVP is an exercise in futility, with the team with the most fotm classes winning. Bioware has no concept of class balance, and over nerf and over buff constantly. They use their own metrics instead of listening to their player base or even playing their own game.

    PVE Score 7
    PVP Score 0

    Final Score: 3    … Expand
  71. Grize
    Jun 22, 2022
    3
    The Game is good is fun and hard if you want it to be hard. The character customisation is ok armor is better. The Ops are fun in a group you can talk to recommend that you try the hard mode or nightmare but get the right group, Gear and numbers (us Starpass) before. The solo stories are good not all but most of them. Same with the dlcs. The only real problem is that sometimes the optionThe Game is good is fun and hard if you want it to be hard. The character customisation is ok armor is better. The Ops are fun in a group you can talk to recommend that you try the hard mode or nightmare but get the right group, Gear and numbers (us Starpass) before. The solo stories are good not all but most of them. Same with the dlcs. The only real problem is that sometimes the option you pick is not what you say or do. But here comes the problem. Annoying gearing, Market all over the place, Dead and toxic pvp rank (Whatever you do not try it, People will just call you bad for being a newbie and literally send hate and no one will help you get better except a guild that is not toxic. Or YT and guides) Gold spammers, Recruitment spammers, corrisant chat, easy solo difficulty and the worst Slow and not mutch or interesting updates. The game really has slowed down by this point and it is sad. I had lots of fun… Expand
  72. BWill9886
    Jan 17, 2023
    3
    This review score reflects the game as it sits today. The only reason it isn't lower is due to the base game's quest lines for the different classes. I enjoyed even the weakest ones and would still recommend people try them out. The reason it isn't higher is because of the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion.

    KOTFE (as it's often referred to) made this game feel like a chore and    This review score reflects the game as it sits today. The only reason it isn't lower is due to the base game's quest lines for the different classes. I enjoyed even the weakest ones and would still recommend people try them out. The reason it isn't higher is because of the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion.

    KOTFE (as it's often referred to) made this game feel like a chore and feels unapologetic in wasting your time. The storyline is incredibly lazy. One of the few things this game had going for it was some of the writing, so that really hurts it. The writers never met a deus ex machina they didn't like. The gameplay is often plagued with poor pacing and glitchy interactions. Trash mob spawning is absolutely maddening and unnecessary. Character dialogue and growth is sometimes fine, but for the most part only fit for bad fanfiction. You can forget about making any hard choices or the few choices you do make mattering at all.

    It's such a shame that so much Star Wars IP has been ruined by the desire for a quick buck. Add this to the list of wasted potential with The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker, etc.    … Expand
  73. Cavadus
    Jan 4, 2012
    2
    If you're a veteran MMO player TOR offers nothing for you. All of the gameplay and systems are absolutely archaic and ripped verbatim from World of Warcraft, the graphics are unimpressive, and the combat gameplay is incredibly stale and dull.

    The game doesn't feature a single sandbox element and dictates every variable of your character's existence. Also, the character creator and space    If you're a veteran MMO player TOR offers nothing for you. All of the gameplay and systems are absolutely archaic and ripped verbatim from World of Warcraft, the graphics are unimpressive, and the combat gameplay is incredibly stale and dull.

    The game doesn't feature a single sandbox element and dictates every variable of your character's existence. Also, the character creator and space combat are so bad that Bioware must be ashamed.

    The lone PvP world is horribly broken and routinely exploited. Open world PvP offers absolutely no rewards of any kind and the bulk of PvP is shoved into instanced warzones where a mechanic called "Bolster" allows low level players to get absolutely demolished by max level players.

    All in all there's nothing new in TOR and the gameplay is so old that you could read Greg Vederman articles and swear he was talking about this game.    … Expand
  74. ookami
    Jan 11, 2013
    2
    I was motivated to try it after it went F2P. After experiencing how heavy handed (and ridiculous) they are with what you can do as a F2P player I subscribed for a month. Playing a Sith Marauder I found the storyline quite enjoyable.. I admit it was hard for me at first because I played SWG Online on release and I kept comparing, I know they are different games but its still the same IP toI was motivated to try it after it went F2P. After experiencing how heavy handed (and ridiculous) they are with what you can do as a F2P player I subscribed for a month. Playing a Sith Marauder I found the storyline quite enjoyable.. I admit it was hard for me at first because I played SWG Online on release and I kept comparing, I know they are different games but its still the same IP to me. Anyway, while it took some time - I warmed up to SWTOR. The plus side is the storyline which is quite enjoyable, and if you focus on that, it is worthwhile. Regretfully in the end I must say that the storyline is the only thing I enjoyed.

    I suppose I should say I did not engage in PVP... I never do, in any MMO I've involved myself in, I generally avoid PVP whether SWG, WoW, EVE, LOTR, etc. Anyway, back to my cons on SWTOR. The space missions are entirely guided, you cannot really control your ship, and you'll find the map has only about 3 varieties, it got boring quickly. The environments are just boring and uninspired I really couldn't care what planet I was on. In most MMO's I can pick an area or world that I enjoyed. WoW - I loved Darkshore and Stranglethorn Vale (Before Cataclysm which I hated), SWG - Corellia... You get the drift..

    One thing that really killed it for me was it did not allow me to play a middle ground Sith. At ALL times I was REQUIRED to play light or dark. Even some of my choices, while I thought were just good strategic choices, were considered evil, or good... seemed to me to be a massive hole in the storyline process, despite certain... revelations in the game that I won't mention . They further press this point in your equipment as certain items and relics can only be equipped if you are one side or the other... this was not how I wished to play my char, and yet was forced to do so I could equip certain items.

    Other issues I had were minor but significant to me, like not being able to create my own waypoints on the map... Bioware's classic conversation selection was a killer for me too where your char does not say what you actually wish them to. I really mean this, you select the option for your char to say, "That doesn't work for me." and your char says, "You have failed me for the last time!" . I'm thinking... "waht?" Misspell on purpose.

    After my month ran out I chose to transition back to F2P. I chose to do this because there were other games I wanted to play though I had intended to at some point come back and try other storylines, happily thinking I would again subscribe. By this time I was maybe level 47, had not finished the storyline yet. To my surprise the heavy handed status returned. Although I was considered "preferred status" I could no longer have a title, all my rested XP that I had saved up was removed, my Piloting lvl 3 skill was downgraded to level 2 (after putting down a lot of credits for an extra 10% speed oooooh... ) some other skills that I obtained and spent a lot of credits on were removed or downgraded. My purple items I had obtained... nope, you don't benefit from those enhancements anymore. Heck, I couldn't hide my helmet any longer. This was so over the top for me that I just detached from it, I uninstalled the game, and will never touch it again. Bottomline is if you are willing to suffer and persevere through the nonsense of F2P then you can enjoy the storyline. For me I won't come back because beyond the storyline its just uninspiring and the heavy handedness of their F2P/Subscription system is over the top.. This game could have been so much better. If I could, I would give the storyline a 10... but everything else a 0, so I've compromised and given a score of 2. It is storyline, and nothing more.    … Expand
  75. lobstilops
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    The year is 2011 and yet we are getting a game that could have been released alongside World of Warcraft. SWTOR in essence is not a next gen MMORPG. It is a slight overall improvement on the old and dying traditional MMO experience. I played the beta and was pretty disappointed. I expected more from Bioware and in all honesty was wishing they would stray from the traditional style ofThe year is 2011 and yet we are getting a game that could have been released alongside World of Warcraft. SWTOR in essence is not a next gen MMORPG. It is a slight overall improvement on the old and dying traditional MMO experience. I played the beta and was pretty disappointed. I expected more from Bioware and in all honesty was wishing they would stray from the traditional style of MMORPG's. Alas this isn't the problem. But hey, if you like World of Warcraft with star wars textures, characters, quests etc. This is the game for you! Have fun blowing 15$ a month. I'll be gladly waiting for Guild Wars 2, a game actually trying something new.… Expand
  76. Grazl
    Dec 29, 2011
    2
    This game lack of everything that make a game fun, it lacks of creativity, fun and diversity. The character customisation is nearly nonexistent, so everybody look nearly like everybody ... the game takes what worked for other big MMOs and doesn't change it at all, so if your MMO just get you bored, you'll get bored as well if you play this. the only thing that interests people is that:This game lack of everything that make a game fun, it lacks of creativity, fun and diversity. The character customisation is nearly nonexistent, so everybody look nearly like everybody ... the game takes what worked for other big MMOs and doesn't change it at all, so if your MMO just get you bored, you'll get bored as well if you play this. the only thing that interests people is that: this is a star wars game.… Expand
  77. bugbear1
    Jan 15, 2012
    2
    One thing, that completely boggles the mind, is the number of solid 10 scores for this game that have been written by reviewers with singular postings or less than a few, at this observation. While it's true, any number of postings will NOT validate opinion, nor assuage present bias, it MAY, however, raise questions as to motivations of those posters that have chosen ONLY to review thisOne thing, that completely boggles the mind, is the number of solid 10 scores for this game that have been written by reviewers with singular postings or less than a few, at this observation. While it's true, any number of postings will NOT validate opinion, nor assuage present bias, it MAY, however, raise questions as to motivations of those posters that have chosen ONLY to review this game. For comprehension of this line of inquiry, when evaluating any review, please also click "All this user's reviews" at the lower right of the review pane. --In this manner, YOU, the reader, might better evaluate any writer's credibility; or, at the very least, track their opinion-swings through a number of reviews in order to assay the weight of their stated views.
    *STAR WARS:TOR might be better named: STAR WARS: THE TIRED OL' REPUBLIC as the game hews fairly closely to timeworn gaming conventions and staid mechanics; which, under the present condition of the game, might be what retains subscribers, as familiarity often breeds complacency. In other words, with so much rehash going-on in SWTOR; rampant bugs, missing features, incomplete features and broken gameplay concepts such as SWTOR's PvP design, players would, nominally, leave in droves if it were not for the comforting constraints of familiar gameplay design abstracted from nearly every MMO released prior to SWTOR. Simply put, SWTOR attempts to crib nearly every worthwhile idea from practically every other worthwhile MMO that has been released in recent memory. Which, in the singular case of SWTOR is a magnificent conceit!?! SWTOR, in one sentence, might better be described as a "SINGLEPLAYER GAME with limited Coop, chat pane and a monthly sub." While it is true the world of SWTOR is heavily instanced, sharded, loaded with quest-hubs, and only linear, it does embrace the tenets of Lucas' constant micromanagement of the Star Wars universe. With limited player-choice, minimal exploration, linear questing augmented by timesinks and poor implementation of many mmo-style tools such as, practically, nonexistant guild tools, SWTOR raises the bar to enjoyment. Frankly, SWTOR runs poorly on much modern hardware, would NOT run well on an i7 with 8 gigs of DDR3 sys ram and a GT335 vid card with 1 gig of vram, Win7 64 bit. (This machine does run FFXIV on medium, RIFT on medium to high and WOW maxed.) On a tower, a Q6600 with 4 gigs of sys ram, GTX280 with 1 gig of vram, Win7 32 bit, the game ran with FPS in the playable range, although frequent swings were apparent. Screen tearing, artifacts, missing AA, glitchy with hitching, frequent CTDs and massive LAG are readily apparent, as well. Input lag, server lag, EVEN with 30Mbs ISP speeds strongly point to unoptimized netcode and client. Admitted memory leaks also plague the game.
    *The game's not finished, not optimized, feature incomplete and poor feature implementation marrs the fun!    … Expand
  78. hailey
    Dec 26, 2011
    2
    A truly mediocre experience. If you want WoW with a different name, play Rift, as it is an infinitely better constructed game than TOR. This game has the quality of pre launch World of Warcraft with the storytelling of Dragon Age 2.
  79. kofelovr
    Jan 20, 2012
    2
    Making a MMO out of a RPG was just the wrong decision. Another disappointment for KOTOR fans. Hopefully, EA will start listening to their customer base and tailoring their games to meet the desires of their customers. This was just a grab for quick cash using Bioware's long-standing good name.
  80. Kanye
    Jan 29, 2012
    2
    Released a bugged piece of **** as any EA game. Horribly optimized, I would drop below 30 fps in high settings on a machine that runs BF3 on ultra. Most features are a copy of WoW, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself. But being a massive budget MMO, this is really a disappointment.
  81. darkcerb
    Feb 27, 2012
    2
    I can forgive the lack of content, it is after all a brand new game.

    What I can't forgive is a game engine that would be outdated 4-5 years ago that struggles desperatly and in vein on a decent rig, a complete lack of innovative features we've come to expect from the genre i.e a decent auction interface, decent grouping tool and cross server pvp. The full voiced questing system will WOW    I can forgive the lack of content, it is after all a brand new game.

    What I can't forgive is a game engine that would be outdated 4-5 years ago that struggles desperatly and in vein on a decent rig, a complete lack of innovative features we've come to expect from the genre i.e a decent auction interface, decent grouping tool and cross server pvp. The full voiced questing system will WOW you until you realize that there are only three quests, destroy objects, kill dudes, loot dudes no escorts bombing runs or vehicle sections to be seen and to top it all off your actions have no effect on the world whatsoever so all that wonderful fluff every npc vomits into your ears is wasted.

    To say the gameplay borrows from wow implies any work beyond cutting and pasting was involved right down to the trees of each class being re-written tooltips.

    If you want kotor 3 then this is your game, if you want a star wars mmo with a beautifully and handcrafted story for your class and easy to jump into group play then tough cookies because this isn't it.

    This will of course come across as harsh but to have my expectations raised so high only to be shattered into a thousand poorly copied world of warcraft pieces feels like a betrayal and a waste of my money.    … Expand
  82. Tata
    Nov 18, 2012
    2
    Whenever I played this game (which wasn't much time) I thought "Where did all the money go when they made this game?". If you're planing on trying this game out, try to memorize your first hours as well as possible. The game feels fantastic at the start, but it goes drastically quickly downhill. The starting area was a blast (For the Imperial Agent, atleast), but once you get to the secondWhenever I played this game (which wasn't much time) I thought "Where did all the money go when they made this game?". If you're planing on trying this game out, try to memorize your first hours as well as possible. The game feels fantastic at the start, but it goes drastically quickly downhill. The starting area was a blast (For the Imperial Agent, atleast), but once you get to the second planet, it becomes repitive very fast. The only thing that kept me playing on the second planet was a quest line concerning the major character of the KOTOR games. If we're already at the setting; Despite being the most expensive game ever made, the world is as unchanging as possible. No matter what you do during your quest, they make little, but mostly no change to the world around you. The optimization is also bad. Despite not having great graphics, some place (Dormund Kaas wilderness, for example) stutter so much that you feel like you're playing Witcher 2 on Ultra graphics, but the graphics are still medium. The combat can be very unresponsive, both because of lag and bad coding. The dialogue the Mass Effect wheel choice system despite it not belonging in the Old Republic games completely. You can also exit dialogues anytime you want, which makes it feel like casualized "Ohh, I angered the character, let's push ESC and try another dialogue option.". It's obvious they made an "MMO" because of one reason: money. The multiplayer part is either bad or non-existent. And this is the point where we have to ask: Wouldn't have it been better if they made an RPG that would have worked and everyone anticipated instead of an MMO that turned out a financial disaster because the developers had no idea how to make an MMO? In fact, maybe a KOTOR3 wouldn't have worked, either. They completely raped the story of both KOTOR and KOTOR 2 and tried to make a contiunity to those despite the game being 300 years later after those games. About the Free to Play option. It's extremely restrictive, a lot more than, let's say, LOTRO. In fact, I could do more in the Free Trial version than I could in the Free to Play version (a monumental WTF, if you ask me.). The only exception is the fact that you can get to maximum level, but the repititveness makes work of it that you don't get there.… Expand
  83. Winterwolf
    Jan 2, 2012
    2
    The main question I ask myself when judging a game is: Am I having fun? The longer I played this game, the more I had to admit to myself that I wasn't.

    The game certainly isn't all bad. However the good bits and pieces it does have, have to be seen in context of the game as a whole and how much they add to the fun because there seem to be plenty of bad design decisions that break the    The main question I ask myself when judging a game is: Am I having fun? The longer I played this game, the more I had to admit to myself that I wasn't.

    The game certainly isn't all bad. However the good bits and pieces it does have, have to be seen in context of the game as a whole and how much they add to the fun because there seem to be plenty of bad design decisions that break the immersion or are just annoying. For example, like any MMORPG, you will spend a lot of time running around, doing quests. For something so central to the gameplay, it is incredible how boring it was made. The quest design seems archaic. I wanted to experience the story but in the end the quest design stopped me playing. People mention the fully voiced NPCs. I found that this novelty grows old really quickly and wanted to skip the dialog. It also seems that this will make adding new content slow and costly - no criticism, just an observation. If you are going to buy this game, see it as something to tie you over until the next big game comes out, not as a long term MMO investment. You may enjoy this for a few weeks but probably get bored. I can only see the most die-hard KotOR or SW fans play this long-term. The bad gameplay design makes it hard to recommend it to anyone.    … Expand
  84. vahn
    Oct 20, 2013
    2
    I want to start saying that I barely played this game completely: I wasn't able to reach level cap and I wasn't able to do much of stuff or test anything. Infact, this lack of playing is why I wanted to review: I never played this game when it was released (I was never a fan of Star Wars) so my experience is mainly from a f2p perspective. And as a f2p, this is by far one of the worst II want to start saying that I barely played this game completely: I wasn't able to reach level cap and I wasn't able to do much of stuff or test anything. Infact, this lack of playing is why I wanted to review: I never played this game when it was released (I was never a fan of Star Wars) so my experience is mainly from a f2p perspective. And as a f2p, this is by far one of the worst I ever played. It has almost EVERYTHING locked or limited for a f2p player so many that I can't even start mentioning it would take all the characters for this review, however for few examples we have: no bank, no inventory expansion, limited access to loot from "instances" (or flash points), limited access to pvp, limited amount of money you can have, no rested exp, limited customization for your character (only 3 races available, you can't show your titles or take off your helmet, limited amount of emotes), also your spend much more for doing simple things and have other limitations in communications (you can't whisper or trade), and my favourite: skill bars limited to two.
    In other words, this is why I made this review: SWTOR potentially turns off anyone who dares to get closer and, unless you have lots of money, you'll suffer from anything because "you have to unlock". Sure it's not impossible to play as a free player and it's not entirely unplayable. But then...why do I have to play it? I know better f2p games that do limitations but are more than affordable and at least won't drive you crazy for every single limitations they will give you; my guess is because it's Star Wars and so for those who love the lore, the atmosphere, the universe itself will just want to enter for feeling like a true Jedi. Infact I dare to say the game itself IS good, although it doesn't innovate: it plays like World of Warcraft (almost literally) which means that if you despise WoW, this game is already not for you, but for the rest is actually interesting and even if I don't mind the SW universe I wanted to get into it. But the limitations just turns me off everytime and I'm sorry if I might be unfair: if you want to play a good f2p, really, look somewhere else since unless you pay a subscription (which is somewhat better considering all of the little stuff you have to buy, you can easily reach a subscription fee every month). If you want a good Star Wars game, maybe this will do despite the limitations. I just couldn't appreciate it to the fullest.
    PS: if you're willing to subscribe, give it a 7-8.    … Expand
  85. DontBeNasty
    Sep 12, 2019
    2
    It has a story, or rather stories, fully voice acted, allegedly not all of them good. I say allegedly, cause I could not bother to keep playing. And I really tried to push myself through it to get that Star wars narrative RPG satisfaction I got from the previous entries. The game can be summarized as a very typical MMORPG in which you typically run around unnecessarily vast, nonIt has a story, or rather stories, fully voice acted, allegedly not all of them good. I say allegedly, cause I could not bother to keep playing. And I really tried to push myself through it to get that Star wars narrative RPG satisfaction I got from the previous entries. The game can be summarized as a very typical MMORPG in which you typically run around unnecessarily vast, non interactive empty maps doing chores in a world that feels more like an appointment to the doctor's office than a game with a narrative that reacts to you. In addition I have absolutely no faith in the narrative centric expansions. They are not, nor they will ever become KOTOR 3 and I would never drop money on an MMORPG.… Expand
  86. RexxRacerX
    Dec 22, 2011
    2
    For anyone interested in an honest opinion and some analysis on the game Star Wars the Old Republic. There are good and not so good elements to SWTOR at launch, and I'll try to list out the pros and cons below this general statement. Overall, SWTOR is a fun experience to start, and is familiar to anyone playing the run of the mill MMO these days in the interface. Some (OK, honestly MOST)For anyone interested in an honest opinion and some analysis on the game Star Wars the Old Republic. There are good and not so good elements to SWTOR at launch, and I'll try to list out the pros and cons below this general statement. Overall, SWTOR is a fun experience to start, and is familiar to anyone playing the run of the mill MMO these days in the interface. Some (OK, honestly MOST) design choices are extremely clunky and poorly implemented, however offer a glimmer of hope in the spirit of what they were trying to achieve. Other things, like the layout of quest objectives, planet design, and items that I consider to be pure time sinks are not well received by me, and ultimately will turn me off from this game in short time. The voice over gimmick gets tired after about level 20-25, and while it was a great idea, again it was not pulled off in execution in my opinion because it becomes a tedious chore for all but the main story quests after some time into the game. Also, it feels like the voice over addition severely gimped the development of the actual gameplay itself, and SWTOR does not feel like a complete game, let alone polished and ready for release by any stretch. In my opinion, the last 5 years have seen many MMO's come and go, and the bar has been set higher than was achieved here, and I agree that it feels like a regression in a certain respect from other offerings in the genres.

    Here are some things that I really like about the game:
    The companion idea - Having a useful companion like a pet from other MMO's for each class is a great idea, and overall is implemented well.
    Companion questing/skills - Again, great idea and overall implemented well.
    Companion able to be sent on errands to sell your junk, again great idea, but not novel considering there are at least 2 other active MMO's that have this functionality.
    Having a ship that has customization options - great implementation and necessary to build upon KOTOR legacy.

    Things that ultimately will push me away if not addressed and fixed:
    -Design of the instances make it feel like you are isolated and either alone, or with very few people. This is not worthy of a subscription in it's current state with the limited social interaction and sharded state of the servers. Oddly enough, even though the game is sharded and feels empty often times you will get to a quest node, or assassination target and have to wait for a respawn or reset.
    -Conversely, there are queues on many servers at launch, and it is very disappointing to wait in an extended queue to get into what feels like an empty game.
    -Poor UI Design. No options to move, customize, or resize. Pop up windows are exclusive in some cases and feels very clunky as a interface. Positioning of some windows is just utterly silly.
    -No options for macros or addons.
    -Poor design of the game in general. I'm talking about the quests and nature of running back and forth 800 gazillion times for rewards, which I thought the industry standard was set better years ago.Also, stairs leading to nowhere, completely empty buildings, and a almost useless navigation system with the current map and location finders.
    -Lack of quest options and dynamics. All quests are basically go kill x of these, loot x of those, or click x of these. Where are the usable objects like turrets? Dynamic environment changes? Mount quests? Again, the bar is set higher then this game has achieved.
    -Loading screens for new zones is another thing that is odd to see in this day and age.
    -Getting stuck. If your game has a need for a /stuck command that I've personally had to use a dozen times in a week after 5 years of development, something is clearly wrong.
    -Lack of Avatar customization options. Character creation is very disappointing, and again I thought the bar was set higher.
    -Poor PVP options.
    -More time sink items than a bantha has fleas. No sprint until lvl 10, no mount until lvl 25, again I thought we were past this type behavior.
    -No voice over IP options. Again, it feels like a regression.
    -Questing on a rail, lack of replayability. Each class has a separate story line, but eventually that's used up, and the side quests are very tedious and not unique.

    I'm sure I could nitpick and find more, but these are the glaring items that will ultimately cause me to quit playing this game. For now, I'm engrossed by each character class story and I sincerely hope that many of these items get addressed and fixed or redesigned.

    I score the release of the game a 2 because I feel like the companions are done so well that it warrants a couple points on it's own, all other aspects need some serious rework for this game to not end up in the F2P trash heap.    … Expand
  87. Thunderballs
    Dec 22, 2011
    2
    This game was a rushed, crapfest. Not worth rating. It's just nothing you havent seen before. It is a single-player game hiding in an MMO title. Interface is atrocious. Mechanics are awful. PvP is imbalanced. Companions create distress between parties. Lacks the major features that make WoW such a successful game - dungeon finder, raid finder, pvp queuer, organized talent system. It'sThis game was a rushed, crapfest. Not worth rating. It's just nothing you havent seen before. It is a single-player game hiding in an MMO title. Interface is atrocious. Mechanics are awful. PvP is imbalanced. Companions create distress between parties. Lacks the major features that make WoW such a successful game - dungeon finder, raid finder, pvp queuer, organized talent system. It's basically a downgrade from playing WoW.… Expand
  88. Gayben
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    The Old Republic oesn't feel like an MMO. The only aspect of the game I enjoyed were the cutscenes and dialogue options I experienced when I was playing solo. Even the dialogue system is screwed up. If you wish to be an evil sith you must be cruel to everyone and show no empathy to even the characters you may have grown close to. The game's combat is extremely bland and fighting is aboutThe Old Republic oesn't feel like an MMO. The only aspect of the game I enjoyed were the cutscenes and dialogue options I experienced when I was playing solo. Even the dialogue system is screwed up. If you wish to be an evil sith you must be cruel to everyone and show no empathy to even the characters you may have grown close to. The game's combat is extremely bland and fighting is about all you will be doing. You have a sort of campaign that is set for you based on your class that you get to play through. As a sith I found the story interesting but the vanilla wow style quests I had to do in between made it not worth playing. Not worth my money or any one elses. Bio-ware made another streamlined MMO, the only difference between in and other MMO's that have come out the past couple years is the large amount of cutscenes and voice acting.… Expand
  89. SpaceNinja
    Dec 21, 2011
    2
    I regret buying this game. This game brings nothing new to mmorpg genre and considering its a p2p game i had to give it a negative score. Its just another WOW clone. Maybe its a little bit better then wow but wow is 8 years old game for god sake. And yeah no real space combat .
  90. Sylvenna
    Dec 29, 2011
    2
    This game has a lot of potential however in it's current form is nothing worth purchasing. Seems to me Bioware / EA released this game too early only in effort to collect people's subscriptions while they then finish polishing the game off, adding features and fixing bugs that should have been in at launch. The questing is completely unique and unlike any other MMO I've ever played,This game has a lot of potential however in it's current form is nothing worth purchasing. Seems to me Bioware / EA released this game too early only in effort to collect people's subscriptions while they then finish polishing the game off, adding features and fixing bugs that should have been in at launch. The questing is completely unique and unlike any other MMO I've ever played, however as with an MMO, questing is only a means to an end to which this game is severely lacking. Almost no UI customization (can't even resize the existing UI, which I would argue is just awful), no combat log, just a standard LFG channel (no tool like in Wow), no achievement, Legacy mode (which was hyped up by Bioware) is "coming soon", no macros and seems no support for 3rd party add-ons in the near future at all, combat is incredibly clunky as can be seen from numerous youtube videos where the game prioritizes combat animations over cooldowns, forcing you to wait for an animation to finish before you can use another ability.

    I could go on and on about what this game is missing and why it's lacking but in the end it doesn't compete with other MMO's out right now for features and content. Maybe in 3-4 months it will but I'm not paying a subscription fee to hope.    … Expand
  91. BucketsAtUltra
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    I am not enjoying this game at all as a fan of KotOR 1 and 2. The animations are stiff, the voice acting is mediocre at best, and the combat is nothing original. Having the zones instanced makes it feel empty and devoid of life. And when you do actually see groups of people the game is so horribly optimized the game will completely crap itself. Not to mention that they bent my favoriteI am not enjoying this game at all as a fan of KotOR 1 and 2. The animations are stiff, the voice acting is mediocre at best, and the combat is nothing original. Having the zones instanced makes it feel empty and devoid of life. And when you do actually see groups of people the game is so horribly optimized the game will completely crap itself. Not to mention that they bent my favorite story aspects from KotoR's 1 and 2 and bent them over the table for an un-lubed anal pounding. This game could get better with time but as of right now it is below average at the very best. I really wish KotOR 3 was made instead of...this.… Expand
  92. celerity321
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    When I heard about this I was disappointed by the fact that they would be turning my beloved KoTOR into an MMO, but, I gave it a chance. Sadly it proved my fears right. Gameplay wise it is a poor WoW clone at best, except it's even more dumbed down. The graphics are just pathetic for a game coming out in 2011, it barely looks like an upgrade over KoTOR. And don't get me started on theWhen I heard about this I was disappointed by the fact that they would be turning my beloved KoTOR into an MMO, but, I gave it a chance. Sadly it proved my fears right. Gameplay wise it is a poor WoW clone at best, except it's even more dumbed down. The graphics are just pathetic for a game coming out in 2011, it barely looks like an upgrade over KoTOR. And don't get me started on the "story". Grade school writing, combined with an utter mangling of everything in KoTOR just led to me hanging my head in shame with bile creeping up my throat.… Expand
  93. Happytrails
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    Am level 32 and this game leaves a lot to be desired. TOR has easily the shallowest character creation i've ever seen for a supposed 'AAA' title. The Star Wars universe is so rich and diverse that i just cant understand Bioware's reasoning for the lack of race choices and sliders. I put it down to pure laziness on their behalf. I have seen better choice in F2P mmo's from years ago (PerfectAm level 32 and this game leaves a lot to be desired. TOR has easily the shallowest character creation i've ever seen for a supposed 'AAA' title. The Star Wars universe is so rich and diverse that i just cant understand Bioware's reasoning for the lack of race choices and sliders. I put it down to pure laziness on their behalf. I have seen better choice in F2P mmo's from years ago (Perfect World anyone?). To make things worse the graphics are a complete joke for a 2011 title, textures are quite simply horrendous. The gameplay is stock standard WoW imitation crap, it brings nothing new to the MMO genre. I would have given Bioware points if they had at least tried to do something a bit different, but i guess they just couldn't be bothered. The worlds are linear and discourage any sort of exploration, whats worse is that even on full servers you will hardly run into another player, this is because BW decided to have multiple channels for each zone. I have no idea who came up with design for an MMO but they should have been fired for even putting it forward. This totally ruins the sense of community and feeling of being in a large, highly populated world. This is not an MMO. Its a single player RPG with a bit of co-op thrown in now and then that lets you chat people on other channels. If that floats your boat then good for you, but imo this is a complete let down and a does a great dis-service to the Star Wars universe.… Expand
  94. crazytant
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    Boring, generic and ugly are 3 words that come to mind playing this game. The developers seem to have literally copy and pasted whatever WoW has done. Even minor things such the graphics remind you of Azeroth, the combat doesn't bring anything new to the table and although the PVE fights seem rather quick the seasoned MMO player has done the same things for years.

    The writing is very    Boring, generic and ugly are 3 words that come to mind playing this game. The developers seem to have literally copy and pasted whatever WoW has done. Even minor things such the graphics remind you of Azeroth, the combat doesn't bring anything new to the table and although the PVE fights seem rather quick the seasoned MMO player has done the same things for years.

    The writing is very Biowarey in that sometimes it's acceptable but sometimes it's just goddamn awful. Space Combat is so poor it's funny until you realise you just payed £40 for a Star Fox mini game. The developers of TOR must not of cared, they didn't want to do anything good with the game and decided from the get go they would make something medicore in hope that the Star Wars name will keep them afloat.    … Expand
  95. tototototo
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    This game plays similar to a mix between a typical mordern BioWare game and World of Warcraft.
    This may seem like a good idea on paper but the problem is this: The story completely retcons the events of the previous Knights of the Old Republic games, setting Revan(PC of the first game) as a generic, mid-strength sith and completely ignoring the 'wound in the force' concept of the second    This game plays similar to a mix between a typical mordern BioWare game and World of Warcraft.
    This may seem like a good idea on paper but the problem is this: The story completely retcons the events of the previous Knights of the Old Republic games, setting Revan(PC of the first game) as a generic, mid-strength sith and completely ignoring the 'wound in the force' concept of the second game.
    A change from the normal MMO storyline where you begin as a nobody that must make his way in the world, in TOR you begin as a legendary 'classname' and are a hero of 'faction'. While it nice to be special, once everyone is special nobody is.
    The character models, regardless of race, share the exact same frame and animations, defeating the purpose of having multiple races. Despite this consolidation of effort, the animations still manage to look unnatural and wooden.
    As an MMO the content can definitely be called limited. It is fully possible to reach max level in a single weekend without resorting to any exploits or guides(which don't exist yet), while even WoW(popularly considered an easy, streamlined levelling experience) takes at least week of solid playtime while following guides developed over months to powerlevel a character.    … Expand
  96. Zompacter
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    This game is a sub-par clone of WoW (an already tired game) with a Star Wars coat of paint. The world feels dead because everything is instanced, and you have to deal with Bioware's bad dialogue (It used to be so good, what happened?) over it all. It's poorly balanced, unimaginative, and is far below what Bioware used to be capable of. They don't even attempt to try anything new.

    It's a    This game is a sub-par clone of WoW (an already tired game) with a Star Wars coat of paint. The world feels dead because everything is instanced, and you have to deal with Bioware's bad dialogue (It used to be so good, what happened?) over it all. It's poorly balanced, unimaginative, and is far below what Bioware used to be capable of. They don't even attempt to try anything new.

    It's a huge disappointment.    … Expand
  97. Bralz
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    I don't think I can write a lot about this MMO because its honestly depressing how badly this one was screwed up. Bioware decided to go the WoW route on this one and tack on their own RPG expertise (bad writing and terrible combat). What could've been a great use of the star wars franchise is just another MMO, give this stinker a wide berth.
  98. bushels
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    The game was fun for a week or two. Then I realized I was doing the same quests ad infinitum. Around the level 30 range (in the beta), the veil covering the constant and incessant grind lifted. Suddenly, I was aware that there were only 2-3 quests I was repeating over and over. I became completely burnt out and stopped playing for a time.

    Bored, I loaded up the beta again a few weeks    The game was fun for a week or two. Then I realized I was doing the same quests ad infinitum. Around the level 30 range (in the beta), the veil covering the constant and incessant grind lifted. Suddenly, I was aware that there were only 2-3 quests I was repeating over and over. I became completely burnt out and stopped playing for a time.

    Bored, I loaded up the beta again a few weeks later. This time I picked a Jedi Consular again, but a Sage instead of a Shadow. Furthermore, I wanted to see how different the story could be if you followed the polar opposite alignment within the same class story. So I went light side, instead of dark as I had previously. However, the story did not change at all. I was so disappointed with Bioware after seeing these cutscenes from the second alignment. Light side cutscenes went "Hey good job! You saved the day and no one died! You are a hero!" Dark side cutscenes went more like "Hey good job! But you did kill that one guy and that was not cool I guess. You are a hero!" After another ~25 levels of this nonsense I was forced to uninstall in disappointment.

    Another large problem was the lack of story persistence. Being that this is an MMO, Bioware has to cater to every single Obi-Wannabe. This means you will -never- see the fruits of your actions outside of instanced cutscenes. No planets being destroyed, no open world people being killed, no nothin'. This absolutely killed immersion for me, as I imagine it did for many others.

    In conclusion, I would not recommend this MMO to anyone. It is an absolutely standard (possibly below average) Theme-park MMO with the Star Wars license and a "deep immersive story" taped onto it. Save your money for now.    … Expand
  99. Armafanatic
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    I would have to give this game at least a 7 or 8, if it was released in 2007. But this is nothing more than regurgitated same old same old. Sorry but after 33 levels and good money thrown down the drain, I just have to rate it a 2 at best. Maybe we need to start punishing these copy and paste mmo's for their greed, as they see online gamers as a milking cow. And these Star wars fanatics,I would have to give this game at least a 7 or 8, if it was released in 2007. But this is nothing more than regurgitated same old same old. Sorry but after 33 levels and good money thrown down the drain, I just have to rate it a 2 at best. Maybe we need to start punishing these copy and paste mmo's for their greed, as they see online gamers as a milking cow. And these Star wars fanatics, well they are a whole other story. Best said by someone else who said it best:
    Seriously, I can't stress this enough. Have you been to the official forums? Have you seen the 36 thousand pages of locked threads that ended in epic flame wars because someone pointed out that Boba Fett was an overrated character? These are not rational, intelligent, reasonable people - they are borderline mental patients who were given a gaming outlet so that they'd stop trying to gouge the midichlorians out of their day nurse with plastic Jell-O spoons.

    This is who is on here rating this game a 10. I'll stick with a solid 2    … Expand
  100. RomyA
    Dec 20, 2011
    2
    What a disappointment this game is. As many others have noted, this game is totally linear, way too instanced, and sorely lacking in the feel of an open world, which is so important (to me, at least) in an MMO. The folks at Bioware are great storytellers (Mass Effect rocked) but it just does not translate well into an MMO setting, because it places so many restrictions on the game. ForWhat a disappointment this game is. As many others have noted, this game is totally linear, way too instanced, and sorely lacking in the feel of an open world, which is so important (to me, at least) in an MMO. The folks at Bioware are great storytellers (Mass Effect rocked) but it just does not translate well into an MMO setting, because it places so many restrictions on the game. For example, Wookies are a favorite race in Star Wars. You should be able to play a Wookie, amirite? Apparently not - I guess the folks at Blizzard were worried that Wookie players who chose to engage in romantic interludes with their NPC companions (no, I am not making that up - it was stupid in Mass Effect, too) would invite comparisons to bestiality or something. Dumb, just plain dumb.

    Nothing about the gameplay feels new. The cinematics are pretty, but after awhile, clicking through dialog menus gets tedious. And seriously, no open space combat? Sorry, but an arcade-style combat-on-rails mini-game just does not cut it in a in a Star Wars game.

    I guess it's back to LotRO until Guild Wars 2 comes out. Please don't let that one be as big a disappointment!    … 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.
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  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.
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