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Mixed or average reviews- based on 2879 Ratings

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  1. 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.
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  2. Mar 16, 2012
    5
    If i had to describe SWTOR in one word, it would be "disappointment" I'm not even a Star Wars fan & this game was a total let down from the get-go. The character creation screen is very limited, everything is pre-set. Want to re-shape that terrible nose you have? Nope, sorry! Pick between these 12 pre-set noses & get on with it! The amount of races is also lacking. We're supposed to be inIf i had to describe SWTOR in one word, it would be "disappointment" I'm not even a Star Wars fan & this game was a total let down from the get-go. The character creation screen is very limited, everything is pre-set. Want to re-shape that terrible nose you have? Nope, sorry! Pick between these 12 pre-set noses & get on with it! The amount of races is also lacking. We're supposed to be in the Star Wars universe but everyone pretty much looks the same. Questing is where SWTOR shines the most, simply because of the voice overs & cutscenes. Having said that, you'll still find yourself going over to "kill X amount & collect Y amount" & it can get abit tendious after a while. This is the first MMO i have played where it felt like i was playing a single player game. Everything is on rails & it's very linear , the game practically holds your hand. The planets are rather terrible, there wasn't many i enjoyed at all, most of them feel "lifeless" & "bland" . For some strange reason, there is not enough ambient music/ enviormental sound in the game whilst you're questing & exploring the planets. Most of the time you will here your footsteps & the noise coming from your speeder. Majority of the enemies stand in a pack of 3 or 4 waiting to be killled. You can only explore so much because there are exhaustion zones, if you conintue to go through them you will die. Everytime you want to go to a new planet you're met with loading screens & copy/paste space stations. All of this leaves the player detatched from the world they're playing in. The combat isn't really exciting. It does the job, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. Ability delay still exists even though it was mentioned in BETA & after the game was released. Although it's not the worse combat i have experienced, it is not the best. The best way to describe it would be "clunky". The companion system is poor. Everyone gets their own healer, dps & tank companion, leading to people not needing others to help them. Most of the 2-man "heroics" & some of the 4-man i could solo myself simply because of my companion. I did not need another player to help me, nor did they need me. Everyone is soloing most of the things on their own. Companions craft for you. You send them on "missions" to collect or craft items, leaving the player feel like they're doing nothing. I like to craft my own things, i like to see my character craft, instead my companions do all the work.

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

    Most of what SWTOR has to offer is average, leading to an average MMO & a boring game. The only thing worth note is the cutscenes & voiceovers.
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  3. Apr 11, 2012
    4
    I love star wars and I really wanted to love this game, but after playing for nearly 4 months I log in once a week for 10 mins, catch up with my rapidly shrinking guild, then log out bored. Endgame has a F2P feel to it, but there is no endgame content to buy. The argument is made that it's a new game, but it has had so much spent on development, and been delayed for so many years, that itI love star wars and I really wanted to love this game, but after playing for nearly 4 months I log in once a week for 10 mins, catch up with my rapidly shrinking guild, then log out bored. Endgame has a F2P feel to it, but there is no endgame content to buy. The argument is made that it's a new game, but it has had so much spent on development, and been delayed for so many years, that it doesn't feel new. That said leveling up your first character is kind of fun, if you like the age old Kill 30 stormtroopers then click 3 crates, then return to guy who gave you quest. You say you saved his farm or whatever, but you know all the npc's re-spawned and he secretly sends every person he meets to his farm, and that you are probably the 10th person to save his farm that day. Expand
  4. Feb 14, 2012
    6
    Cliffnotes: deeply flawed, incredibly addictive game. The story is great, but game mechanics, pvp and endgame are a deal-killer. Cautiously recommend.

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


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


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


    All that being said, I still play this game and cautiously recommend it for the campaigns alone. It's amazingly addictive and there are a few really great things about it. The story, the space missions, the flashpoints (when you are not with a moronic healer and tank) and the beautifully crafted worlds are the high points. It feels like a chore though and you shouldn't pay $15 a month for this game as it stands now. Bioware is doing the best they can and patching constantly and adding new content, but it feels like a bandaid over much bigger issues. The main problem is the game mechanics, ie 95% of the game is you fighting either mobs or players and the fighting you can master after an hour. Once you figure out the three or four basic moves of your class it just becomes a Mavis Beacon hotkey typing game.
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  5. Mar 16, 2012
    4
    Star Wars: The Old Republic is a major let down. The greatly hyped voice acting, cut-scenes, and story driven grind are not what they are cracked up to be, and the game fails to be as revolutionary as it originally claimed pre-release. First, let me start with character creation. You can choose one of two sides: Republic or Imperial. From here, you have to choose 1 of 4 classes: JediStar Wars: The Old Republic is a major let down. The greatly hyped voice acting, cut-scenes, and story driven grind are not what they are cracked up to be, and the game fails to be as revolutionary as it originally claimed pre-release. First, let me start with character creation. You can choose one of two sides: Republic or Imperial. From here, you have to choose 1 of 4 classes: Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler and Trooper on the Republic side, and Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Imperial Agent, and Bounty Hunter on the Sith side. As you could imagine, every class has a similar counterpart on its opposing faction. From there, you pick a gender, race (which depends on your class choice), and then you can customize your facial features and body type. Customization is very limited: you must choose from a set of predetermined faces, scars, hair styles, etc. The races themselves are basically humans, with odd skin tones or maybe a few spikes/tentacles. You can't play a wookiee or really anything that isn't too different from Human (they even have a race called "Cyborg" which IS human but with various cybernetics on their face, as if this makes them a different species or something). So basically, in game, you look like everyone else. There isn't much different at all. Now, on to the great voice acting and cut-scenes. Every voice acted cut scene seems the same or at least very similar, and the animations of the characters aren't very intricate or exciting. In fact, they are clumsy and stale when they do move if at all. Watching these cut-scenes may be an upgrade from purely text-based quest givers, but sometimes you wish you didn't watch them: they are that boring and unimpressive. You just don't feel any more immersed because of these. The camera angle is also recycled throughout and remains stagnant in each scene-you never see your character in action apart from talking to the specific person. The animation quality lacks throughout combat and gameplay as well. Everything just seems to move awkwardly. The art style is okay, but nothing special. Sometimes you may question why they went for the awkward cartoon art style, but I would accept it in an MMO for the sake of latency in large battlefields (though other MMOs have proven that a higher quality graphics render can survive with massive amounts of people on screen). When you get to the action, you can't help but feel like you are playing WoW again, but without an "auto-attack" (though the replacement for this does not make it any superior). You use various skills and abilities unlocked by talking to a trainer, and these skills are largely "click on target, press button, wait for animations and damage to finish, move on to next ability or enemy" and it is extremely boring. In fact, much of the game resembles WoW in many aspects. As stated before, you unlock skills by talking to a trainer. You fight with stale abilities. You have your basic class archetypes: healer, tank, dps. For a game that was supposed to be so revolutionary, there is almost nothing new (save the dialogue/cut-scenes, but these aren't impressive as previously discussed). You do have a good/bad meter, much like those found in Kotor I and II, but they really don't make up for anything. Yeah, you can be a "good" sith or an "evil" jedi, but largely your faction is still the same along with your enemies and the game as if you played the typical good jedi and evil sith. Companions aren't that interesting either: they play much like pets in other MMOs, but they have back stories. I enjoy the space battles and the fact that you can own a starship, and that is probably one of the few reasons this game got a 4 instead of a 2 or 3 from me. I find the starship to be actually different, new, and fun, succeeding in being a revolutionary idea truly worthy of supporting and praising, as it has not been done in many other MMOs and still remains enjoyable, unlike the much-hyped voice acting. There are really no other qualities to redeem this game though, and it isn't fun. I wanted to stop playing in the starting zone in fact, but trudged on for God knows why. I've only really been impressed with Bioware for Kotor, and this game did not do anything to improve that mindset. They have lost their touch since those games, or maybe just fell behind and became irrelevant and outdated, and this game shows every bit of that. It is a stale, lifeless and all around poorly made relic of the past that doesn't fit well with new MMOs or even new games in general, and even the great classics of the past would mock it and shun it. Bioware just made a grab at the WoW and Star Wars audience, trying to get their money by shipping out an unimaginative game. I don't recommend it for anyone. Expand
  6. Mar 27, 2012
    5
    i played for a month but i dont know what to think about this game, it was fun from the start, but i find it hard getting into the game and play it. It feels like a torture to level up, but afterall it was a good MMO which some people prefer over other games and i respect that.
  7. May 18, 2012
    5
    Fun is fuel for SWTOR, when you hit level 50, the tank runs empty. End game content is limited. Leveling up once was rewarding, and exciting. Finding new ways to take down the enemies of varying difficulties became a fun expierance. Once you do all there is to do, there is not much besides souless diagloue and limited character progression. Companions offer little. Creating new charactersFun is fuel for SWTOR, when you hit level 50, the tank runs empty. End game content is limited. Leveling up once was rewarding, and exciting. Finding new ways to take down the enemies of varying difficulties became a fun expierance. Once you do all there is to do, there is not much besides souless diagloue and limited character progression. Companions offer little. Creating new characters is fun for 10 levels, then things start to play repeat. Feels linear. Each class having a different story could hardly hold my interest when dealing with all the rest of the same old diagloue and quests. I wouldn't recommand it for someone looking for a hardcore, and challanging experiance. Big let down. Expand
  8. Jul 6, 2012
    2
    Dull. Uninspired. Graphics from 2005. WoWclone. Railshooter. Static. A huge disappointment. I´d prefererred Star Wars Galaxies 2, not WoW in Space. Bioware should fire their lead designers and start from scratch.
  9. 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
  10. May 3, 2012
    4
    I think for an MMO it's a great game, because it's easy to play with (still a WOW copy) and have some new feature in it, but for a RPG is piece of s**t... I would be much more happier with a KOTOR III instead of this, since this is the KOTOR series next "episode" without the "Commander Shepard" (in this case I mean Revan or the Jedi Exile). Just think about it for a second, What would youI think for an MMO it's a great game, because it's easy to play with (still a WOW copy) and have some new feature in it, but for a RPG is piece of s**t... I would be much more happier with a KOTOR III instead of this, since this is the KOTOR series next "episode" without the "Commander Shepard" (in this case I mean Revan or the Jedi Exile). Just think about it for a second, What would you feel if after the ME2 they came out with a ME MMO and there you play with some "no name" character, where the first thing is to kill Commander Sheppard (the KOTOR series are not about jedi or sith fight, its about Revan and his heroic acts) or what would the star wars series be without Darth Vader? I read the Star Wars The Old Republic: Revan book and I hope one day BioWare or LucasArts or someone else will make a game of it (just like they did with The Wither) SO basically it's a good game but I'm disappointed with the storyline if I think of this as a continuation of the KOTOR 2, but if it's not then the story is acceptable. But since I can't think of the story in any other way I just give a 4. Expand
  11. Sep 26, 2012
    4
    The cut scenes, acting, and dialogue are amazing but that's not what a game is, the game play is what the game is, and the game play is flat, it's WoW with a Star Wars setting, massively disappointing.
  12. Sep 3, 2012
    3
    Do NOT be fooled by this game's vastly overinflated metascore. First, the good: The storylines for this game are very well-done, especially the Imperial Agent's, and it adds a bit of single-player charm to the game. It almost make syou wonder why they wouldn't simply make a single-player KotOR game.

    The bad: Absolutely everything else. I would almost suggest buying this game just for
    Do NOT be fooled by this game's vastly overinflated metascore. First, the good: The storylines for this game are very well-done, especially the Imperial Agent's, and it adds a bit of single-player charm to the game. It almost make syou wonder why they wouldn't simply make a single-player KotOR game.

    The bad: Absolutely everything else. I would almost suggest buying this game just for the class storylines if each plot point weren't separated by hours of quest grinding. At first the "fully-voiced" dialogue (about half of which is alien language so you'll be reading most of the time anyway) will be cool, but very soon you'll find yourself skipping through it all because it all breaks down into "kill X number of these guys" or "collect X amount of these things". There's a shockingly small amount of content, which is unforgivable in a day and age where there's a plethora of other MMOs with at least twice the content out already. As of this writing there are exactly two lmax-level flashpoints (dungeons).

    Of course there's PVP, which is fine, although again the options for warzones are meager and get boring very quickly.

    In a nutshell, this game fails to make any MMO element worth the (as of right now) $20 pricetag of the game. If you personally don't mind endless hours of monotonous grinding, I can suggest this game for you. If not, I can't in good faith suggest you spend your time on this. You WILL be wondering, as you kill your 347th rakghoul, "why, WHY can't they just have removed all these MMO mainstays and allowed me to just play through the story?"

    The obvious answer is "because no one would opt to pay $15/month when they could run through a class storyline in about 4 hours." And I don;t know about you, but that's not a good enough answer for me.
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  13. Jun 29, 2012
    3
    So here i am after getting to lvl 40 something, sith inquisitor. My first experiance, to this long awaited title was . . . dissapointing; Install, then update, then login (yay), then my first character.(here is the first link to wow i noticed) i have to choose a faction... I am evil so i will be sith. okay, then i choose the class some selection here, but i know what, i want Inquisitor B)So here i am after getting to lvl 40 something, sith inquisitor. My first experiance, to this long awaited title was . . . dissapointing; Install, then update, then login (yay), then my first character.(here is the first link to wow i noticed) i have to choose a faction... I am evil so i will be sith. okay, then i choose the class some selection here, but i know what, i want Inquisitor B) (they looked awesome and have double sided lightsabre) pass that. toon time. Talk about limited options. . . i mean the twiliek is the most elaborate and all he's got are tentacles. NO COOL ALIENS NONE: no Trandoshean, no ithorian , No wookie , Nada. This really bugs me because i expected this to fill the void Galaxies left. They had Rodians And Mon Calamari !! what gives Bioware? okay so i pick pale face. now i get to play (yay), oh but wait, not yay. im a lvl 1 sith with a dumb light bulb batton? (does it even hurt?) at least Kotor had vibroblades. okay whatever, so my first interaction with voice over is a Overly Zealous sith officer who calls me a slave and then orders me around. my main motivation for the next few hours is to seriously kill this guy ... anyways turns out that my "quest" is to kill slugs, and to stop robbers, big whoop. story does get a little interesting. Then i tried pvp, -_-. what im tryying to say is, the game plays Too much like wow for me, the quests, the loot system, things in the game just give this cheap copycat feel, even the dumb transportation that takes entirely too long. From somebody els i could have brushed this off. This is Bioware i am a fan of Kotor i even liked dragon age, not 2, But it was original and an honest attempt. This game makes me feel tired and listening makes me sleepy, waiting for my companions is boring, Why fly my ship if it fly's itself? where is my guild?? what is huttball !? Time to put this Wow lookalike to rest while im still ahead. this is my official review for this game. If the game changes wich i doubt then maybe so will my opinion till then Bye bioware. 3 out of 10 because i really really thought bioware had this one, and because starwars is one of my favorite things. The old republic does none of them anygood. Expand
  14. 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
  15. Aug 8, 2013
    0
    Awful game and a genuine insult to the Star Wars franchise. Generic, flawed game play. Walled environments. Bland missions. Non-challenging engagements. Now with added "Pay To Play". It's not a "WoW Clone" as some have suggested, this is an insult to the tired old World of Warcraft MMO. It's a game that had VAST amounts of potential, squandered away by greed and complacency.
  16. Feb 23, 2014
    9
    Bottom line(at the top): This is a solid and polished MMO with a good amount of content.

    PROS: Fully voiced npc's and quests. The volume and quality of content is high Great atmosphere High population/good support/decent lfg Instanced PvP including space ship battles Very little grinding/fast leveling if you subscribe You can play the game like a single player game
    Bottom line(at the top): This is a solid and polished MMO with a good amount of content.

    PROS:

    Fully voiced npc's and quests.

    The volume and quality of content is high

    Great atmosphere

    High population/good support/decent lfg

    Instanced PvP including space ship battles

    Very little grinding/fast leveling if you subscribe

    You can play the game like a single player game if you want. This is KOTOR 3.

    6 distinct storylines

    Highly replayable as a different character class/alignment/faction

    CONS:
    In your face if you don't spend money

    Slower leveling if you don't sub

    If you don't like Star Wars, the setting will appeal less to you.

    If you don't like MMOs, this is still an MMO

    Non-cutting edge graphics(the game still looks pretty darn good)

    You start playing another MMO and wonder why you aren't playing SWTOR.
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  17. 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.
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  18. Aug 31, 2017
    0
    Boring, repetitive gameplay, at least 40% of the game is you walking from point A to point B with absolutely nothing happening in-between. Major paywall, they restrict you from talking to other players, completely block use of the forums, some mission rewards are locked, and they even block you from customer support unless you dish out some dough, end game content is also locked. This isBoring, repetitive gameplay, at least 40% of the game is you walking from point A to point B with absolutely nothing happening in-between. Major paywall, they restrict you from talking to other players, completely block use of the forums, some mission rewards are locked, and they even block you from customer support unless you dish out some dough, end game content is also locked. This is only a portion of what's locked behind a paywall, as well. Playerbase is extremely toxic, you speak out about the paywall, or anything even remotely negative about the game, and you'll get lynched immediately, because a good portion of the playerbase is self-entitled. Just avoid this game to save your sanity. Expand
  19. Dec 10, 2012
    5
    Bottom line - I played this game for several months; the story/s and voice acting are the best in the business. But this/these great Star Wars stories are eclipsed by Bioware's and EA's money making scheme almost entirely. Story = 10; EA's money grab that is imposed on the ENTIRE design of the game = 0. Score = 5
  20. Oct 3, 2012
    4
    I forgot to cancell my pre-order in the end but I put a lot of time into the early accessn the better part of 7 days or something.

    In Brief. 1) It really is an unabashed WoW clone and it shows, the gameplay feels dated. 2) Theres nothing specifically bad about the game but there is nothing outstanding either, leaving me indifferent to it. 3) Storylines I tried thus far were
    I forgot to cancell my pre-order in the end but I put a lot of time into the early accessn the better part of 7 days or something.

    In Brief.

    1) It really is an unabashed WoW clone and it shows, the gameplay feels dated.

    2) Theres nothing specifically bad about the game but there is nothing outstanding either, leaving me indifferent to it.

    3) Storylines I tried thus far were poorly paced, dull and predictable. Infact the Bounty hunter one is full of cliches which would be tolerable if they were not such poor representations of the cliches in question. The great soundtrack is not even used to good effect building to dramatic or "tragic" events.

    4) Worlds feel dull and lifeless.

    5) Everything is on rails, areas have specific paths to your next goal and there is very little "getting off the beaten track" or exploring.

    6) Game engine is dated & fairly average, graphics only slightly better than KOTOR & KOTOR2 which are quite old games. This would not be such an issue if the gameplay was not so slow and boring.

    7) By level 10 in both Jedi knight & Bounty Hunter I was bored.

    8) pacing of the game is quite slow even for an MMO, they really want you to hang around and subscribe as long as possible.

    9) You could be forgiven for not realising Bioware made this game, it lacks polish particularly in the storytelling which is what Bioware games are famous for. Quite a dissapointing effort from one of my favourite studios. That said ME2 and DA2 were both had a similar lack of polish & care and i guess early signs that the quality control Bioware was once famous for was fading fast.

    10) there are several Free 2 Play MMO's using unknown IP's that I have enjoyed more than this.

    I ended up selling my unopened box copy because the game is just plain boring.

    Star Wars: The old Republic is Star Wars but mediocre, im not sure even going F2P can save it.
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  21. 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.
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  22. Feb 16, 2013
    5
    It's Star Wars meets World of Warcraft! Players will no doubt get more out of this game if they are 1. insane for Star Wars or 2. love MMORPGs. If that's your cup of tea, jump right in. The Old Republic has done little to convince me to stick around, however. It's not badly made, it's just bland, and throughout I wondered why time was wasted making it an MMO when an excellent single playerIt's Star Wars meets World of Warcraft! Players will no doubt get more out of this game if they are 1. insane for Star Wars or 2. love MMORPGs. If that's your cup of tea, jump right in. The Old Republic has done little to convince me to stick around, however. It's not badly made, it's just bland, and throughout I wondered why time was wasted making it an MMO when an excellent single player game could have been made. I am impressed that the player character is fully voiced (Jo Wyatt, Jennifer Hale, Grey DeLisle) and there is a conversation tree similar to the one used in BioWare's Mass Effect and Dragon Age II but the majority of game time plays out as tedious fetch quests and lengthy, unnecessary and boring point-and-click combat. Expand
  23. Mar 13, 2013
    0
    The beginning was about as interesting as watching paint dry. The NPC dialogues were horrific and you were basically just asked to go around fixing and/or disabling stuff for people you don't care about. This is bad in a game that promised good stories and interesting NPC's.

    The companion you get is very annoying and you basically have to keep using him unless you want to get molested
    The beginning was about as interesting as watching paint dry. The NPC dialogues were horrific and you were basically just asked to go around fixing and/or disabling stuff for people you don't care about. This is bad in a game that promised good stories and interesting NPC's.

    The companion you get is very annoying and you basically have to keep using him unless you want to get molested by the enemies in the game while not in a group of real people since the game is balanced around using your companion. It got better once you get to the first Flashpoints and group missions. The game started actually being fun after trudging trough the first 10 or so levels.

    It was all good until I hit lvl 16 and Bioware/EA whatever decided to KEEP MY ACCOUNT HOSTAGE.
    Now all I get when I try logging into my character is this line:

    "To continue playing this character, you must validate an email address for your account. You may validate your email by visiting https://account.swtor.com/user/info."

    It just takes you to your basic information page on swtor.com. No apparent place to to any kind of validating. My e-mail is already there and I have even bought stuff on the account while being registered with that e-mail. Inputting a different e-mail address sends this to the new e-mail address you use:

    Locrin:

    "We have received your request to update your email address for the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ website. To complete this request, simply click here to verify your email address.

    Remember, if you have a linked EA account, it will be changed with the new email address."

    Clicking the link in the mail only gives you this error: "An error has occurred.
    Your email address could not be validated.

    Please check the URL and try again."

    And since I am not a monthly subscriber, but only a guy that sometimes use the real money market for the stuff I want I AM CUT OFF FROM ANY KIND OF CUSTOMER SUPPORT.
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  24. Aug 2, 2012
    6
    The game sadly didn't meet my expectations. It has it strong sides and is probably one of the best story based mmo's released, but the characters just doesn't seem that interesting. Still I would say it might be the perfect game for some players who loves the Star Wars universe as it is a polished and solid release.
  25. Dec 26, 2012
    0
    Personally I haven't been able to play the game, why? Because of the security system. So far I have attempted at around 9 different accounts with different emails. I have had so much trouble because their system is stupid, and once I didn't even get the code I need. I have a text file on my desktop with the security questions and answers. Game looks good, probably is OK if you can getPersonally I haven't been able to play the game, why? Because of the security system. So far I have attempted at around 9 different accounts with different emails. I have had so much trouble because their system is stupid, and once I didn't even get the code I need. I have a text file on my desktop with the security questions and answers. Game looks good, probably is OK if you can get around the silly system. Oh, and I forgot I also have to put a capital letter in my password. Lately I have tried again but the website has decided my display name isn't allowed to be correct no matter what I do.
    0 out of 10, probably will go to a 4-6 if they change the stupid security.
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  26. Jan 23, 2013
    0
    My hatred of TOR does not stem from the fact that it was a bad WOW clone, or even that it was so repetative and boring.

    No, my hatred of TOR stems from the fact that bioware turned KOTOR, perhaps the most classic star wars series ever, into A **** MMO!! Instead of just giving us KOTOR3 like they SHOULD have, bioware instead opted for the crowd that would give them the most money.
    My hatred of TOR does not stem from the fact that it was a bad WOW clone, or even that it was so repetative and boring.

    No, my hatred of TOR stems from the fact that bioware turned KOTOR, perhaps the most classic star wars series ever, into A **** MMO!!

    Instead of just giving us KOTOR3 like they SHOULD have, bioware instead opted for the crowd that would give them the most money.

    Bioware has no artistic integrity left. They sacrificed it on the alter of greed.

    Expect more TORs and ME3s from now on.

    The days of Baldurs gate, KOTOR1, and Dragon age: origins are over.
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  27. Sep 27, 2014
    9
    While SWTOR doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of quest mechanics,combat and even trading system , it is good at story telling and rpg factor.Zones are great pvp is great espicially some pvp mods are awesome.If you like star wars universe you probably already played the game if you not go and try it now!
  28. Feb 27, 2014
    9
    I have only ever had a great time playing this game which is set in my favorite era, the dialog was great to have because i could define my own character and i wouldn't have to be an evil Sith, i could be a good Sith or neutral.
    Favorite story for me was both the Jedi Knight and Sith inquisitor. The Jedi Knights story was so good because it was a large scale threat you were dealing with
    I have only ever had a great time playing this game which is set in my favorite era, the dialog was great to have because i could define my own character and i wouldn't have to be an evil Sith, i could be a good Sith or neutral.
    Favorite story for me was both the Jedi Knight and Sith inquisitor. The Jedi Knights story was so good because it was a large scale threat you were dealing with which made every step more intense plus the companions for the Jedi Knight are so good, like Kira and Doc (tied 1st on my favorite companions list) because they were so well scripted. The Sith Inquisitors story i found was bad from level 1-15 because it was you just running small tasks, but at the end when yo met the ghost and he beat the hell out of you (not as bad as you think) it then starts to get interesting, but after chapter 1 when you start to bind with ghosts it to interesting not to play.
    The only bad things i found in the game where some of the stories, like the bounty hunters, the dialog isn't that bad but the story all together just seemed a bit rushed (and in my option the Bounty hunter and smuggler should of had a faction of there own due to the fact that they are a neutral party) the only other story that i find the most boring is the Jedi Consular, it's so boring (i'm doing a fallen Jedi Consular and i'm dragging myself along because it feels that bland)

    Revan is the god of Star wars
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  29. Apr 7, 2014
    9
    Overall its fairly obvious that this is a good MMO game. Yes, there are some minor tweaks needed, but overall I would give this an 9. If you are not a star wars type this still may be a good game for you.
  30. Jan 13, 2018
    9
    Alright I have saying some bad stuff of it last review, but this one is an update.

    First of if you like star wars or just like sci fi stuff and role playing games, well this game is for you, but before you start, if youre a f2p player like me you will get 3 basic races, (this is just optional) but what i did i spend some bucks on currency aprox 1000 so i could get my favorite species
    Alright I have saying some bad stuff of it last review, but this one is an update.

    First of if you like star wars or just like sci fi stuff and role playing games, well this game is for you, but before you start, if youre a f2p player like me you will get 3 basic races, (this is just optional) but what i did i spend some bucks on currency aprox 1000 so i could get my favorite species Mirialan &
    Togruta(which do exists). Since i didnt wanna play basic human race thats just boring.

    The combat is quite easy to learn, for starters i highly recommend you choose jedi since you can heal yourself.

    I got to say that the some restrictions are unnecessary like why cant you say something in the forums without paying, and why are races restricted to f2p players compare to star trek online where you can choose so many races plus 3 payed ones(which is optional if you wanna get them)

    But for the most part, the game is quite addictive.

    (unnecessary) Even though im not the biggest star wars fan, I like it, but I hate when fanboys has to say stuff or just been critical annoying or else this franchise is in pretty trouble. But thats my opinion.
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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 73 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 73
  2. Negative: 0 out of 73
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.