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. Kharador
    Mar 14, 2012
    9
    This game is amazing! The best MMO out there, period. If you love star wars you will love this game. I've had so much fun with the story, companions, pvp, personal ship, spacebattles and so on... There is not much negative about this game.. I can't wait for future updates and expansion :) May the force be with you!
  2. wightdeath
    Mar 13, 2012
    8
    i thought it was a really good game, yes there was some grind but what would a mmo be without grinding?
    i have played rift and wow and they all have grinding so i just say sit back and enjoy the story and if you don't like it do not play it
  3. Csquared1
    Mar 13, 2012
    4
    1 Story : This game has pretty good story lines that are driven well throughout the journey to max level and all additional questing does a good job of adding flavor, this portion of the game rates very high for me.

    2 Gameplay and character advancement: Not going to sugar coat it...this is WoW reskinned and the space combat portion is Afterburner reskinned, there IS NO denying it, the    1 Story : This game has pretty good story lines that are driven well throughout the journey to max level and all additional questing does a good job of adding flavor, this portion of the game rates very high for me.

    2 Gameplay and character advancement: Not going to sugar coat it...this is WoW reskinned and the space combat portion is Afterburner reskinned, there IS NO denying it, the simularities are so legion, i'd need an entire page to list them. One thing they did do very well with was enabling players to advance with customizable armor peices, instead of requiring the player base to wear that levels' gear drops, but then they inexplicably drop the ball at max level with raid armor and high level pvp armors, making players take off their favorite look instead. I didn't so much mind the WoW cloning..except it's done poorly, which makes me wonder what took them developing this game. Glaring flaws include the clunky text chat system, the lack of any sort of macro system, which has been available in MMO's since Everquest, poor pet control and pathing, no voice chat and errors with exsisting 3rd party voice chat systems that simply shouldn't exsist in this day and age and a failure to make any sort of improvement on the talent tree system that WoW players are very used too. The space combat system? I played a lot of Afterburner in.....1990 i think, you'll have to forgive me it's been a long time. It was a good game, but to say that this could have been done better would be the understatement of the year...FOR GOD'S SAKE that's a 20+ YEAR old game feature!! So much could have been done with space combat....it could practically be it own game, but instead....Afterburner...this makes me want to punch babies. If you like Starwars this game is worth a look....so long as afterburner doens't piss you off. If you wanted a change from WoW this will be a good diversion for a while, but i'll say this, without major fixes this game will not last as long as it's parent. On the upside the development team do seem to be working overtime to make additions, at this point i'd still give this game a 50/50 shot at surviving past it's first year. There are game designers out there that are hungry. It seems as if this team has gotten a bit fat off of past success. A little about me before you assume: I've played Everquest, City of Heros/Villains, World of Warcraft on the MMO front.....and yes....I've played Afterburner...one of the kings of the coin-op generation IMO    … Expand
  4. PLANETX
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    I have been waiting for this game to come out ever since it was officially acknowledged to the public. I was one of the people who went on the site every Friday looking for the weekly update. When the game finally came out I spent a lot of time leveling my character, moving through the story, and killing other players along the way. Overall the leveling experience is by far the best of anyI have been waiting for this game to come out ever since it was officially acknowledged to the public. I was one of the people who went on the site every Friday looking for the weekly update. When the game finally came out I spent a lot of time leveling my character, moving through the story, and killing other players along the way. Overall the leveling experience is by far the best of any MMO to date. The story is really what makes this game what it is, combing the best aspects of a singleplayer RPG, with an MMO was really mastered in swtor. However, with that all said there are still many problems. Unbalanced classes, an assortment of glitches which seem to never get fixed, and of course lack of good end-game content. Everyone plays an MMO for its end-game content, which is the whole point of leveling. Once you get there the Operations are very enjoyable, but then it gets way to repetitive way to fast, there are many bugs that still haven't been fixed, and of course a very small selection. They spent most of their time focusing on sucking people in early and mid game that they seemed to forget that the end game exists. People need something to do on their max level main character, it's not the point to create new characters, you want to be able to use your first character. Not being able to do that was really the fatal blow that caused me to quit. I enjoyed the game very much, I consider it a masterpiece among MMO's, but they still have a lot to work on if it's going to be worth playing at end game. I don't doubt that the future will cure the problems I faced, but for now it has yet to happen.… Expand
  5. airborne519
    Mar 12, 2012
    10
    IMO, I finally an mmo, that can satisfy. For an mmo in it's infancy, this game is extremely refined. I have been playing since launch, and I was very skeptical. I wasn't expecting this game to be so nicely involved with story, and great pvp. This game won't please everyone, and there are a lot of wow fanbois feeling the pain with their new happy pandas, and don't want to lose theirIMO, I finally an mmo, that can satisfy. For an mmo in it's infancy, this game is extremely refined. I have been playing since launch, and I was very skeptical. I wasn't expecting this game to be so nicely involved with story, and great pvp. This game won't please everyone, and there are a lot of wow fanbois feeling the pain with their new happy pandas, and don't want to lose their game. But if you want an mmo with some grit, and a game that entertains, this is a good one. At least try it and find out for yourself.… Expand
  6. kenny307
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    The next king of the MMO! Before I play this game, I was determined to never play a game with a monthly subscription . My friend give me a 7 days trial period and i've played 12 hours each day of the week.. This MMO takes the best of WoW with new feature and beautiful environment to make a game almost perfect! The game have a lot of dialogue and quests! I recommend it !
  7. DictatorDobbs
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    BioWare has succeeded again at making an amazing RPG. Not only does this game offer diverse and in-depth story-lines to all 8 of there characters, but it allows a smooth and enjoyable co-op system between friends and guild members. The instanced phase is very fun even when with friends and allows decision-making like in all BioWare games, forcing you to make strong and compelling choices.BioWare has succeeded again at making an amazing RPG. Not only does this game offer diverse and in-depth story-lines to all 8 of there characters, but it allows a smooth and enjoyable co-op system between friends and guild members. The instanced phase is very fun even when with friends and allows decision-making like in all BioWare games, forcing you to make strong and compelling choices. By far, the best MMORPG I have ever played. The combat is beautiful and smooth, and the graphics are by far the best in the MMORPG genre, in my opinion. It is not flashy and unnecessary, it is smooth and beautiful. All-in-all, if you are looking into a star wars game, an mmo, and RPG, a futuristic game, a co-op game.. Etc! This game succeeds in all categories!… Expand
  8. tunaah
    Mar 11, 2012
    8
    This game is quite similar to WoW in several aspects but there's something about it that makes it the second best MMO around if not as good as WoW. It is still close to its initial release so content is of course limited. Combat feels really responsive and spells feels varied(Sith Sorcerer), however the world seems a little static with a lot of still mobs and little patrols. In WoW simpleThis game is quite similar to WoW in several aspects but there's something about it that makes it the second best MMO around if not as good as WoW. It is still close to its initial release so content is of course limited. Combat feels really responsive and spells feels varied(Sith Sorcerer), however the world seems a little static with a lot of still mobs and little patrols. In WoW simple questing PvE could get tough with many patrolling mobs but in SWTOR it just doesn't feel alive, mobs just stand around and wait for an ambush. The still mobs can get patched though and it's not that big of deal when you experience all the other satisfying aspects. Leveling, gear collecting and the voice-acting are very satisfying. The games current state only holds mechanical mounts which is dull, imo. Organic mounts could very well occur in the future though. I've played WoW since its release in 2004 and overall I think I'll stick with SWTOR with hopes of good content patches, expansions, gameplay tweaks etc etc… Expand
  9. Khalisto
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    The game is good till you reach top level, then it dies...the game will be better if it had a Looking For Group feature which it doesn't and also I wish it had Dual Spec then I would have given it a 9.
  10. goblue22
    Mar 10, 2012
    8
    This game successfully infuses story into an MMO. I've been craving this. In other MMOs I'd often walk into a raid with little to no back story or motivation as to why I was there aside from getting loot, so I could get more loot. That said the end game is currently a bit lacking because there are only 2 raids, both of which are incredibly easy. The PVP gearing is also incrediblyThis game successfully infuses story into an MMO. I've been craving this. In other MMOs I'd often walk into a raid with little to no back story or motivation as to why I was there aside from getting loot, so I could get more loot. That said the end game is currently a bit lacking because there are only 2 raids, both of which are incredibly easy. The PVP gearing is also incredibly frustrating. However, I'm confident that this game will get better as it grows and develops. A year from now I hope to be able to revise my review to a 9 or 10; but, for now 8/10.… Expand
  11. WJS6495
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    Pros: SWTOR is a very fun and refreshing look from other MMO's. Huge game for a launch mmo, nice graphics, the largest voice-over in mmo history, space ship missions, refreshingly different PvP zones and LIGHTSABERS!! Cons: feels like a single player mmo, still some bugs that need to be ironed out, needs more social tools like flashpoint finder and heroic mission finder.
  12. Midgen
    Mar 8, 2012
    8
    Love this game. As a former hardcore MMO player, resigned to a casual style due to real life taking precedence, and being a fan of the Sci Fi genre in general, this game really fits the bill for me. Don't get me wrong. There are flaws. The UI is my biggest complain for being non-customizable. The gameplay itself is really great. My main character is a smuggler (sawbones), and I haveLove this game. As a former hardcore MMO player, resigned to a casual style due to real life taking precedence, and being a fan of the Sci Fi genre in general, this game really fits the bill for me. Don't get me wrong. There are flaws. The UI is my biggest complain for being non-customizable. The gameplay itself is really great. My main character is a smuggler (sawbones), and I have to say that this character is the most fun I've had playing an MMO... ever! Very utilitarian and very entertaining. She brings a lot of utility to groups with crowd control, group stealth, interrupts and stuns, not to mention the heals and damage, all of which she is quite adept at. Solo can be a challenge, but it just takes some strategy and good decisions when choosing companions.

    I haven't been this drawn to a game since the early days of Everquest back in 1999. I've actually stayed up too late, and been tempted to play hooky form work for this, which is something I haven't done in a long long time for a video game.

    The announcment of patch 1.2, coming in early April, which addresses the UI configurability issue lets me bump this up from an 8 to a 9. I'd give it a 10 but there are still some strange things in the game that can occiasionally break the immersion (like my companions staying in the same place on my ship, saying the same stale sayings over and over, while they are supposed to be out doing crew skills!).    … Expand
  13. Fatteh
    Mar 8, 2012
    4
    After the initial wow factor has worn off I would probably say this would be a great game to play co-op but just shy off the mark as a greatly immersive MMO. Its handles great, the story telling is good but towards the mid levels it looses it attention. Fantastic having the story lines voiced so no great walls of text to read through and skip. The missus managed an extra month beforeAfter the initial wow factor has worn off I would probably say this would be a great game to play co-op but just shy off the mark as a greatly immersive MMO. Its handles great, the story telling is good but towards the mid levels it looses it attention. Fantastic having the story lines voiced so no great walls of text to read through and skip. The missus managed an extra month before calling it quiets on this one too. Its no Galaxies but pretty entertaining for a while.… Expand
  14. beelzebram
    Mar 8, 2012
    10
    SWTOR has gone above and beyond with their game. the people that are detractors are foolish in their attempt to destroy something that far surpasses all other MMOS on the market currently.
  15. 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
  16. btowtow
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do overall like this game and could come to love it and find while this game has some flaws e.g. the lack of major end game content, some serious bugs, some class imbalances and too many servers being drafted in too quickly that need to be quickly for this game to realise its full potential the game remains true to what bioware said it would be , a mmmorpg with heavily involved story and they have however this may not be to some peoples tastes and that is ok as for some just want to get on levelling the character that they have made with the array of different and interesting companions . However for those that choose to step back and analyse the game fully the story element is very good with 8 differentiating class quests that weave through some famous and not so famous planets. The quests on those planets that everybody has access to are reasonably good with some interesting variations but in some places becoming too grind like however for the overall majority that is not the case. PVP people are very divided about this and once again it comes down to personal preference but if you enjoy being able to go in the wow way with brackets then you will be disappointed the bracket only encompasses level 50's. However in 10-49 this does add a level of competition and there is a reasonable level of fairness which people at higher levels do not like their characters at level 49 being killed by a level 10. Also the pvp maps are similar of that to wow which is not particularly surprising as they came out with videos about it months before launch. Instances when you get in them are very good with some nice star wars music , wit and smooth combat mechanics ( well now smooth with decreased ability delay) and the added story lines making them feel more epic not just like large group quests as well as having some nice graphical features like the asteroid launcher in Hammer station and if you stop and look at it properly you will see they have not just spent all the money on voice acting which seems to be the belief from many low scoring reviews. Graphics are good but again personal taste in the type of graphics you want making a difference with some uncalled for reactions about the stylised realism that relates to the kotor days which I like. The sound features and music are also excellent and really take you into the universe. This immersion aspect has been bashed beyond belief and im not sure why because having been in wow and lotro this is the first time i have been able to want to see what happens to my character and this keeps you playing. Endgame not good but not a game breaker as I can make new chars with the 8 class stories and two factions on different planets and quest lines. The endgame raids are extremely difficult to get people for and loot bugs and boss bugs to provide frustration this then needs to be fixed and hopefully new endgame content in 1.2 will provide more entertainment but people seem to put reviews out based solely on endgame which is only one of the features you need to consider. Guild features are severely lacking and inhibit the feeling of community which you need but is apparent elsewhere throughout with the large numbers of group quests which you can mostly get a group for. I hope that this game realises its full potential and moves from a good game to a great game and with high profile releases such as Tera and GW2 coming out . Also I hope that people will give this game some time and seemingly trying to put off people by over exaggerating and that also goes both ways for those who give it 10's as it is not the best game ever but with time it could be. I just hope the unjustified level of vitriol and praise will dies down with a lot of low + high reviews at this early stage to allow the game to develop… Expand
  17. Wynnyelle
    Mar 7, 2012
    1
    This game promised a lot and didn't deliver. They pushed their voice acting innovation so hard, and it sounds nice until you get into the game and realize that that is literally all that they have going for them. There is a complete lack of competitive PvP, the end-game is just lacking in general. Graphically, it's not terrible, but it is not aesthetically pleasing in any way and bigThis game promised a lot and didn't deliver. They pushed their voice acting innovation so hard, and it sounds nice until you get into the game and realize that that is literally all that they have going for them. There is a complete lack of competitive PvP, the end-game is just lacking in general. Graphically, it's not terrible, but it is not aesthetically pleasing in any way and big cities feel empty and lifeless. If this game were free to play, I would understand, but this is a game that people are expected to pay monthly for. Where is the content?… Expand
  18. 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
  19. Mudpuppyuk
    Mar 7, 2012
    2
    This game is a huge let down. The leveling prosess of your first character is fun but you strat to notice the very linear play style, lifeless worlds and the way both factions are kept apart throught out the game. Once at level cap you find the game is nothing more than a lobby game where you look for a dungeon group in ONE laggy social hub through spamming the general chat channel. OrThis game is a huge let down. The leveling prosess of your first character is fun but you strat to notice the very linear play style, lifeless worlds and the way both factions are kept apart throught out the game. Once at level cap you find the game is nothing more than a lobby game where you look for a dungeon group in ONE laggy social hub through spamming the general chat channel. Or queuing up for a boring pvp battleground (there is little to no world pvp) Crafting is all but automated as well as gathering. In all this is the most dumbed down, linear and dull MMORPG I have ever played.… Expand
  20. Dyalad
    Mar 7, 2012
    6
    I don't believe this game should've been a MMO. It feels more of a poorly executed single player game with a co-op option. By poorly executed I mean that there's a lot of good ideas that were brought on the table, but in the end were poorly implemented. For first, the companion concept was a great idea. The inherent problem with companions, however, is that they become mandatory to killI don't believe this game should've been a MMO. It feels more of a poorly executed single player game with a co-op option. By poorly executed I mean that there's a lot of good ideas that were brought on the table, but in the end were poorly implemented. For first, the companion concept was a great idea. The inherent problem with companions, however, is that they become mandatory to kill anything at your level. Also these companions' equipment must be constantly kept on par with your own equipment. If forces you to stick to one to two companions at most, and that's quite unfortunate, because all the companions are worth experiencing. Secondly, the ship. The ship feels like the camp in Dragon Age: Origins. However the way it acts in SWTOR is more of an additional loading screen rather than something genuinely helpful - in DA you have vendors and you could equip your companions there. In SWTOR you can't do either. The ship has space combat, which essentially is a mini-game that's extremely repetitive: the music for space combat is the same for each of the space combat sequence you pick. Also, some space missions are exactly identical to another space mission, with the only difference of enemies being stronger. Concerning performance and quality, the game lags a lot. In PVP the game is not reactive at all - sometimes your keystrokes may occur up to 5 seconds later, this is very infuriating. The interface is rigid and uncomfortable. As a healer, I found that unit frames positioning is not ergonomical, and I had no way to change it to make it better for me. The status effects icons are tiny and can't be rescaled. That makes tracking buffs and debuffs extremely hard and tedious. One of the pride of the game is its story, which I did enjoy, but what I did not enjoy was the pace at which it was delivered. I played a scoundrel to level 50 and an imperial agent to 30. The first character was leveled as a solo experience, and the other character was a 2 player (bounty hunter) coop effort. What I found in both situations was that for a 2 minutes of dialog and action, I sometimes had about 1 hour worth of fighting and/or travelling. One thing that SWTOR suffers from (and that is the case of every Bioware game) Way too many loading screens. The amount of loading screens in this game blows my mind away. Get on the ship, loading screen. Get on the spacedock, loading screen. Get on the planet, loading screen. World of Warcraft does a far better job at pacing the loading screens than this game does. In conclusion: the game should not be subscription-based. You're pretty much paying for a game that you'll be mostly playing by yourself.… Expand
  21. NinjaCrow
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    I'll keep this short, the story is perhaps the strongest point in this game however it is let down by the MMO aspect. I find that as stand alone stories go this is up there with it's engaging and interesting story lines. For instance the Bounty Hunter is a separate and interesting campaign to say the Sith Inquisitor. While I have found no real overlaps in terms of one classes campaign evenI'll keep this short, the story is perhaps the strongest point in this game however it is let down by the MMO aspect. I find that as stand alone stories go this is up there with it's engaging and interesting story lines. For instance the Bounty Hunter is a separate and interesting campaign to say the Sith Inquisitor. While I have found no real overlaps in terms of one classes campaign even being referenced in the other campaign which is a shame since the stories overlapping would have provided a reason to find out how they got there and what they would be doing after they departed. All in all, it's a solid game with a great story. Shame that the MMO aspect just about ruined the experience because you don't feel as if your getting stronger in the world, just that the world is growing stronger with you. However I suppose you would have to keep some check on the powers as to not to break the game. Graphics are dated, however for a MMO this is expected because of the approach that everyone should be able to play this game and not have their experience diminished as a result of poor frame rate or glitching.… Expand
  22. 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 !
  23. Barua124
    Mar 4, 2012
    8
    I'm really surprised at how many WoWtards are writing bad reviews out of spite for this game. It's not a bad game at all. Sure there's a few bugs here and there, but for the most part the game is pretty rock solid. Gameplay is similar to WoW and other MMOs in that you kill ten rats, go here, deliver that, and so on. Nothing new with the quests. However ALL quests are voice acted, many ofI'm really surprised at how many WoWtards are writing bad reviews out of spite for this game. It's not a bad game at all. Sure there's a few bugs here and there, but for the most part the game is pretty rock solid. Gameplay is similar to WoW and other MMOs in that you kill ten rats, go here, deliver that, and so on. Nothing new with the quests. However ALL quests are voice acted, many of which are actually interesting. There's real story in this game that players do care about. Character customization is pretty good. Not as good as CoH, but substantially better than other MMOs on the market. Classes seem for the most part balanced in PvP situations. World environments look pretty good as the developers obviously put a lot of attention into that.

    The only drawback to this game is that it can get a little repetitive. Anyone who gives this game a rating of 6 or less obviously has never played the game before.    … Expand
  24. Mysk
    Mar 2, 2012
    10
    Some of the negative reviews are quite frankly outright lies. Most likely fanboys of That Other Game. Anyways, this is the MMO we gamers have been waiting for. The graphics are quite good, far better than WoW without hindering performance. The voice acting is top notch, so I actually stop to listen to the quest, unlike other games where I ignore the wall of text and just click "accept".Some of the negative reviews are quite frankly outright lies. Most likely fanboys of That Other Game. Anyways, this is the MMO we gamers have been waiting for. The graphics are quite good, far better than WoW without hindering performance. The voice acting is top notch, so I actually stop to listen to the quest, unlike other games where I ignore the wall of text and just click "accept". Story is the key, bread and butter, whatever you want to call it for SWTOR. Every class as a storyline consisting of a prologue and 3 chapters, starting at level 1 and ending at 50. Each planet has a main storyline with many having a Bonus Series for when you gain higher levels. These Bonus Series are not rehashing existing areas or quests, but takes you to new areas on the planet you visited at a previous time. Once you get your ship, you have optional Space Missions (with dailies) you can do if you want a change of pace from questing. The companions are more than just "pets" as they can fill various roles and each have their own personalities (with quest lines). Example of this is we lost our healer to a disconnect during a flashpoint, but we used a healer companion and finished the flashpoint (instance). Boss fights are more than just "don't stand in the fire, Tank n Spank". One flashpoint actually doesn't have bosses (cept 1 at the end). The game is rich in lore for those that played Knights of the Old Republic, but for those that didn't you still can enjoy all the lore regardless. Explorer types can be rewarded by finding datacrons scattered on every planet, each granting a permanent bonus. Whenever you find a key location, datacron or kill a new beast for the 1st time you unlock a codex entry granting you xp and a lore entry.

    PvP'ers will be happy with the warzones as they offer experience, credits and bonus depending on how you perform. Do better in PvP you get more rewards at the end of the match. Plus PvP items can be acquired as early as 20 and can be vendored if you no longer want them. No more outgrown items gathering dust in your banks! A lot of the gear is customazable, so that the days of wearing some ugly item just because of the stats are gone. As you level up just put in higher modifications and the armor/damage of the items scales up. Yes this also includes lightsaber and blaster bolt colors as well.

    Crafting does not require you stand in front of a table making X bracers for an hour to skill up. Simply send out companions on crew skill tasks to gather mats or craft for you while you continue... whatever you want to continue. You can gather in the field if you run across mats, but it's a nice option that if you are missing a specific mat, you can simply send a crewman out and (after a time delay) you get your mats.

    A fantastic game that you must play to believe. One of the rare times that a game has actually lived up to the hype.    … Expand
  25. haydensterling
    Mar 1, 2012
    3
    Are. You. Kidding. Me? This score just proves how bought and paid for gaming journos are. I played for the first month. Everything is instanced. Everything. Skillsets are...underwhelming and reaction time on casts is poor. How on earth can you release an MMO in 2011 and not have endgame? Have they learned nothing from the speed at which WoW players are able to blow through content?Are. You. Kidding. Me? This score just proves how bought and paid for gaming journos are. I played for the first month. Everything is instanced. Everything. Skillsets are...underwhelming and reaction time on casts is poor. How on earth can you release an MMO in 2011 and not have endgame? Have they learned nothing from the speed at which WoW players are able to blow through content? More excuses from EA/Bioware. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

    And as for the vaunted voiced dialogue? Better left unsaid, pun intended.    … Expand
  26. SpecialKris
    Feb 29, 2012
    4
    My experience with the game is that of 2 level 50 characters and another in the mid 20's. This said this is a difficult game to review as it does some things very right but there are other glaring deficiencies that certainly drag it down. Starting with a positive, The game looks quite good, and if you are a star wars fan the story modes for each class is generally excellent and whileMy experience with the game is that of 2 level 50 characters and another in the mid 20's. This said this is a difficult game to review as it does some things very right but there are other glaring deficiencies that certainly drag it down. Starting with a positive, The game looks quite good, and if you are a star wars fan the story modes for each class is generally excellent and while very linear does draw you in and will keep you interested. The game also has heroic objectives on each planet, which encourage you to join groups of 2-4 to complete for good rewards, though at this stage they are becoming difficult to complete as they aren't necessary to progress and the numbers in the leveling portion of the game playing are certainly decreasing. Upon reaching the level cap you do remember unfortunately that the game is a MMO and at this it fails at this quite badly quite badly. The PvP is horrible, both unbalanced and very unrewarding. With only 3 battlegrounds and an inability to queue for the ones you enjoy (if there magically is one you can enjoy) you are simply stuck playing what the game gives you. The battlegrounds are server specific too, and you will find yourself coming up against the same squads time and time again. Great if you're winning not so great if your losing. The world PvP is mostly set in one zone, and at this point in time is not doing well either. You are stuck in an instanced environment with generally extremely unbalanced numbers on either side that is suffering from a plethora of bugs. Most people playing are also suffering from extreme frame-rate chopping which make this style of combat even more un-enjoyable. As for Instances (flash points) , they are very story based, which I admit first time through felt quite good, but upon multiple - which in any mmo you can be expected to have to do - runs they get long, drawn and boring. You can skip the multiple cut-scenes and text which is good, but only if the other members of you group do as well. That said some of the bosses are well designed with quite good mechanics, though the trash to get to them can be quite extensive and from my experience I've found the dungeon completion time a bit on the long side. One last complaint in this regard is that all the dungeons are based in the general area of your main faction base. In theory this should be great, but actually finding the dungeon you are after can become a bit of a chore, and the game would benefit immensely from a flashpoint finder/or teleport to the instance function.

    For the diehard MMO fan too the loot is a bit of a letdown. Most slots of armor in the game are 'socketed'. This means that the item graphic you love at the start of the game could theoretically be with you until the end if you just keep changing the items that are inside. A good mechanic, though it takes something from the joy in getting a new item drop as it is often just the same as what you had, particularly if you've been keeping on top of modding your items.

    In conclusion this is a good game if you are a star wars fan wanting to play through a long an extensive story mode. If you are just an MMO fan looking for great combat, well designed encounters and phat lewt I would probably give it a miss.    … Expand
  27. boomer0901
    Feb 28, 2012
    0
    The scores you see from the users vs critics should tell you all you need to know about this game.

    First off I'm a star wars fans, have been for a long time since the originals came out originally. Now I must say I was a bioware fan until they joined with EA, I just started playing Mass effect, coulnd't stomach Dragon Age, and I've only played a few minutes of Kotor. As soon as I    The scores you see from the users vs critics should tell you all you need to know about this game.

    First off I'm a star wars fans, have been for a long time since the originals came out originally. Now I must say I was a bioware fan until they joined with EA, I just started playing Mass effect, coulnd't stomach Dragon Age, and I've only played a few minutes of Kotor. As soon as I started playing Mass Effect, I'm like ohhhh this is where SWTOR got all their crap from. So bioware really took no iniative in anything in this game, it's a slice and patch job and it shows in so many ways in this game. I could care less about graphics and character creature, so I won't give my opinions on those, but I will say I'm running a high end system and this game set on the lowest overall setting possible is trying to burn out my video card with 70+ C temps. The rest of my box and CPU run well below 40C but for some reason this game is very GPU heavy. Bugs and stuff like that are pretty common on release so I have no problems with bugs on a new release, they are fixing the bugs which is nice, but while they are doing that, they've left the game and things like balancing toons in pvp, and open world pvp or lack there of kicked it to the curb with small fixes that literally have done nothing to improve the game. What I do have a problem with in this game is the overall direction they took with it, instances single player RPG that you are paying for. At least GW was free for the same cocept and sadly I'd put GW1 ahead of this game still and problem still is innovation wise.

    Boy do I have to shake my head at the ppl who give this a 10 saying this is the best MMO out there and how much better than wow it is, it is wow with companions, blasters=bows, lightsabers=axes/swords. Other thans putting a new face on something, giving you ships, with lack luster space missions that are all completely and totally linear. And being able to travel to different planets, which if they really wanted too, could have just put them all on one planet anyway, they did a lot to try and do the "hey look shiny objective" But came up very, very short. This game is a huge grind, I've 10 total toons on 2 servers and I've done the same missions 10 times on about 5 different planets, what happened to playing all these different toons with different experiences, about the only difference is your unique quest, and playing light or dark, which on the imperial side is a joke btw, since half the fricking companions hate light side choices, republic side I'm finding is a cake walk, light side choices equals instant win with companion.

    I can't believe bioware had the balls to make ppl pay for this game, don't be fooled by the 10's ppl, if you hated wow, I don't care how much you like starwars this game will not satisfy you. After disappointing runs by Mortal online, xyson and now Swtor, hears hoping Guild wars 2 can actually pull of some of that innovation they are talking about. Keeping my fingers crossed for something that isn't a wow clone    … Expand
  28. ravenblade
    Feb 28, 2012
    6
    This is my 2nd review of this game, in my first one I barely touched the game. A second review should be common thing these for MMO reviewers anyways. I will start with what keeps me playing this game for now: Story. Story is the strong point of this game although when talking about story I have to emphasize on class storylines because alot sidequests get lost in the same stereotypical "beThis is my 2nd review of this game, in my first one I barely touched the game. A second review should be common thing these for MMO reviewers anyways. I will start with what keeps me playing this game for now: Story. Story is the strong point of this game although when talking about story I have to emphasize on class storylines because alot sidequests get lost in the same stereotypical "be a hero and save the world." theme not being shy of being hyperbolic in many cases. It is quite common to spend more time listening to the voiceover quest dialogue than for the quest itself. #
    As hinted sidequest content qualities are not exactly an evolution and often backwards, bonus objectives in 99 out of 100 cases start with a kill x of y and if there are stages involved they are often followed up by a x of 5*y type of kill quest. Alot sidequests simply don't go beyond kill x, catch y, click z to destroy/interact. There is no timed challenge, no mini-game which could spice it up and certainly no alternate paths involved which would hint the same level of evolution they offered via their dialogue/voiceover introduction.#
    Speaking of alternate paths it needs to be mentioned that all quest progression follows the same road for every class, the game is heavily guiding you through content while also limiting you in your abilities to explore. Random invisible walls and entire area potential wasted for instancing, some even class-specific are common and a step backwards. If that didn't wreck your immersion already then the fact that despite all the instancing the game does it knows little to nothing of story persistence aka phasing. At least, you could say, you can have world PVP, but unfortunately there is little of that.#
    World PVP is again very limited to a few planets and even then it is better to go your way because on the occasion you have met - which is very difficult with the few Republic players out there - you have almost no incentive to do anything than classical ganking. It is in fact easier to group for instanced PVP.#
    Instanced PVP as well as the only exclusive world PVP zone in this game suffers from the same thing as other games within the genre: It is too much of a treadmill and hindered by mechanical as well as technical limitations. Especially the latter deserves some mentioning.#
    The biggest issue of this game is its lack of fidelity. The reason for that is a blatant neglect of technological standards and a very unpolished client design. It is very common for some players to deal with the lack in case of many players being in the same area. Even then if you can enjoy higher framerates it becomes quite clear that beyond the poor optimization, animation, texture resolution and shadow qualities are one of the worst I have seen in a long time. Adding to that world design qualities are greatly lacking, the amount of sterility and lifelessness, the impression of a paint brush effect, the lack of small details and variations are putting quite a dent into the immersion and cannot be fixed by the sheer existence of voiceover alone anymore.#
    With this said I want to add that I have left out alot of other things especially spoiling ones and things like companions, travelling nightmares and crafting imbalances but these are what I see as biggest outstanding issues. Bioware emphasized too much on voiceover and hoped that it will be the strings that tie the game together. Unfortunately their new pillar of gameplay may break under the burden if they are not beginning to be a little bit more critical of their own design and design choices and start improving. As of now the only saving grace is it being in the Star Wars universe but it will have a hard time to stand up against contenders in this genre who in fact are making and already have made a leap of faith forward.    … Expand
  29. Honest_Review
    Feb 27, 2012
    4
    I was pretty excited about the release of this game; and I got it knowing that it was going to be "just another MMORPG". The character editing tools are limited, but no more than any other MMORPG. I feel the class quests are where the game shines. I only poked around the Imperial Agent and Inquisitor's storyline, but I was impressed with the development of their stories. PVP is similar toI was pretty excited about the release of this game; and I got it knowing that it was going to be "just another MMORPG". The character editing tools are limited, but no more than any other MMORPG. I feel the class quests are where the game shines. I only poked around the Imperial Agent and Inquisitor's storyline, but I was impressed with the development of their stories. PVP is similar to WOW, with fewer maps. As for the space battles, I was disappointed to find out that they were scripted, similar to a Star Fox level; but I feel it's better to have scripted space battles than none at all. This game could have easily received a 7 or 8, but SWTOR has more bugs than a pay-by-the-hour motel room's mattress. The bugs in this game break the game. The company is doing a good job at fixing these bugs, but at their current rate SWTOR won't be worth your money for another 4-6 months.… Expand
  30. 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
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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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