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. WNxWind
    Jan 4, 2012
    8
    (Metacritic, Please put up G4TV's 5/5 review to add a 100% at the top).
    Note to readers, I had been playing MMORPG's since the summer of 1999, When Everquest came out, then in 2000 after Ultima Online Renneciannce came out, I began to play both UO and EQ on and off, then played every Major MMORPG in beta and most in Pre-Release and Release. No MMORPG since EQ have I felt so enthrilled to    (Metacritic, Please put up G4TV's 5/5 review to add a 100% at the top).
    Note to readers, I had been playing MMORPG's since the summer of 1999, When Everquest came out, then in 2000 after Ultima Online Renneciannce came out, I began to play both UO and EQ on and off, then played every Major MMORPG in beta and most in Pre-Release and Release. No MMORPG since EQ have I felt so enthrilled to play, like what I was doing really mattered; matching in the same way that Everquest felt like I was really exploring this world that nobody else could experience in the same way I could. - This is the perfect new age MMORPG and transition for the MMO Market. I believe BioWare is one of the FINEST developers in the business, and for the debut MMO from the amazing RPG developer, they really knock the ball out of the park with a 10/10 grandslam.. What is there to complain about? The story-arch as an Imperial Agent choosing Operative at Level 10 has been amazing thus far, and love making my dark-side choices; I PVP endlessly and Space Combat is a "Blast". It's the perfect Star Wars game, and arguably the perfect MMORPG.    … Expand
  2. ReaperFIN
    Jan 4, 2012
    10
    The best mmo ever and trust me i have tried out maaaany mmo:s. None of the other mmo:s felt in anyway like personal stories and i never gived a f*ck about the storylines in quests because i didnt bother to read them (yes im lazy) but in sw:tor all that is (imo) solved. Its exactly what i always wanted, a mix of SPRPG and MMORPG. So in my opinion its perfect. Imo most of the low scores areThe best mmo ever and trust me i have tried out maaaany mmo:s. None of the other mmo:s felt in anyway like personal stories and i never gived a f*ck about the storylines in quests because i didnt bother to read them (yes im lazy) but in sw:tor all that is (imo) solved. Its exactly what i always wanted, a mix of SPRPG and MMORPG. So in my opinion its perfect. Imo most of the low scores are given by people who are wow fans and just dismiss everything else as garbage… Expand
  3. Khornet
    Jan 4, 2012
    0
    It wasn't long before when I still considered myself a loyal fan of Bioware. Although some of their recent activities made me feel strange about them, my love for KotOR 1 and 2, somewhat won over, and I tried the game. Boy how much do I regret that decision. ToR stands against for the entire lore and setting of my favourite RPGs, but that's just the tip of the mountain. The game is ugly,It wasn't long before when I still considered myself a loyal fan of Bioware. Although some of their recent activities made me feel strange about them, my love for KotOR 1 and 2, somewhat won over, and I tried the game. Boy how much do I regret that decision. ToR stands against for the entire lore and setting of my favourite RPGs, but that's just the tip of the mountain. The game is ugly, has stiff animations, the graphics are a joke. Glitches and bugs are a daily basis, the customer support doesn't know what the hell it's doing. Combat and gameplay in general would be funny if it weren't so sad. The typical WoW-like (another dissapointment in a once good company, by the way) "stand still while waving your weapon at a giant single enemy along other 20 "chosen ones" " situation is just too common. The voice acting is TERRIBLE, why people actually list it as the best aspect is beyond me! Monotonous, out-of-character robots, EVERYWHERE. I actually saw a video where the voice actress for the same character changed twice, MID SENTENCE. Top notch quality voice acting, that.
    The whole desperate focus on the RPG elements turns the game into some morbid hybrid, that can only be descripted as "singleplayer RPG with MMO elements". The endgame is simply non-existant, and it takes 2-3 days to reach it. No, PvP doesn't count, because it's an unbalanced clusterf**k. And don't even get me started on huttball...Sith and Jedi playing SPORTS. Yaaay...which gets me to another point: stupidity. CRUSHING lighsabers. DARK heal. SITH getting light points. That's just flat out retarded.
    And the last, but not least is the price for this. Too much. Too high. Alot of people will point out, that WoW is similar in this aspect, but does comparing to WoW really do much good for the game?    … Expand
  4. Phenom557
    Jan 4, 2012
    10
    First off, I've been playing MMO's for a LONG time, I've spent more time in WOW and EQ2 then I'd like to admit. This game hands down trumps them all, polished combat system , graphics and Dragon Age style voice over quests keep you consumed in the games lore. The fact that each character class has its own deep story from level 1 to 50 gives the game PLENTY of playtime until an expansion orFirst off, I've been playing MMO's for a LONG time, I've spent more time in WOW and EQ2 then I'd like to admit. This game hands down trumps them all, polished combat system , graphics and Dragon Age style voice over quests keep you consumed in the games lore. The fact that each character class has its own deep story from level 1 to 50 gives the game PLENTY of playtime until an expansion or add on comes out, and that's not including the competition driven PVP!! The game has some bugs but need I remind of the plagues that infested WoW vanilla and tbc?? The game's interface and play style are similar to WoW which makes it easy for Azeroth vets like myself to dive head first into the game without issues. I don't consider myself a "Star Wars fan" but this game has captured my attention like no other has in the past. Same could be said for my entire 80+ person WoW guild, 3/4 of the guild is now faithfully playing SWTOR and has permanently cancelled their WoW subscriptions!! Well done Bioware!… Expand
  5. Shinywalrus
    Jan 4, 2012
    5
    Star Wars: The Old Republic is a bit bi-polar. As with many long-in-development games, it has a terrific amount of polish and plays quite smoothly, but it also feels very specifically engineered to be marketable to a certain market segment: players of World of Warcraft. That is a bit unfair, of course. The truth is that it is two games in one, which is why I don't completely understand theStar Wars: The Old Republic is a bit bi-polar. As with many long-in-development games, it has a terrific amount of polish and plays quite smoothly, but it also feels very specifically engineered to be marketable to a certain market segment: players of World of Warcraft. That is a bit unfair, of course. The truth is that it is two games in one, which is why I don't completely understand the reviews that insist upon giving TOR a "0." One of these games is a slightly slimmed down but generally entertaining third part to the generally well-received Knights of the Old Republic single player games. There are eight reasonably well developed, interesting and thoughtful single player plotlines in TOR to follow with a good bit of foresight, occasional difficulty and all too rare instances of player choice. These alone make this game worthwhile for a good group of Star Wars fans, if not the miracle that everyone was hoping for. The MMO components feel, rather unfortunately, tacked on to the single player component in an unwieldy way. Combat gameplay is simplistic and lacks any inventive mechanics. Player skill as a deciding factor in either difficult PvE or PvP interaction is minimal. Numbers and equipment are back to being the absolute dominating factor. The cartoony graphics, the repackaged magic skills and the marginal class differences between factions make the MMO component of this game feel like little more than World of Warcraft with Lightsabers. Your character will likely not feel different from anyone else's like it would have in EQ. You will likely not become attached to a particular part of the world, a particular city like in SWG. You will not likely feel any faction pride like you would have in DAOC. The strong opinions here give testament to that. Those who enjoy the simple, waypoints-for-everything, slick presentation, easy to step into game with very little differentiation like WoW will likely love this as a bit of change of pace. Those who were hoping for a genre-changer, a game that would take Star Wars Galaxies and expand it, fix its broken mechanics but keep the open feel, the control over the world and the broad fear of exploration that was what made MMOs popular in the first place (EQ)...well, those people are very disappointed indeed. It is average, but that's just the midpoint. If you love WoW and lightsabers, you will adore this game. If you liked KOTOR and aren't expecting anything grandiose here, you'll find it an adequate use of a couple weekends and a worthy purchase. If you were expecting the Next Great Game, you will abhor everything about it.… Expand
  6. Wynner
    Jan 4, 2012
    10
    Im going to say, simply, this game is amazing. I wanted to touch on what some of the WoW fanboys are trashing in regards to the game, having a lvl 35 sith warrior, and a lvl 42 bounty hunter. I saw one idiot (Thorn14) saying that the PvP warzone huttball should be a blank canvas but isnt due to the air jets in the middle area of the warzone. Hey, buddy, the person can be shot in theIm going to say, simply, this game is amazing. I wanted to touch on what some of the WoW fanboys are trashing in regards to the game, having a lvl 35 sith warrior, and a lvl 42 bounty hunter. I saw one idiot (Thorn14) saying that the PvP warzone huttball should be a blank canvas but isnt due to the air jets in the middle area of the warzone. Hey, buddy, the person can be shot in the totally wrong direction too!! Go figure that....
    Bunch of WoW fanboys are also complaining about the graphics of the game (MagusGrandios, especially.) Hey, genius-boys, the dev, BioWare MADE IT THAT WAY FOR A REASON. That was so that it didnt require you going out and spending $$$ on new computers or hardware in general to be able to run it! Fools!
    A bunch of WoW fanboys are **** and moaning about this being a 'carbon copy of World of Warcraft' (too many to name) This is a typical fanboy response when their game is threatened by a product heads and tails BETTER than their game. Pay them no heed. this game is virtually NOTHING like WoW, and I know because I've played it, too.

    Those are just a few of the trollers. now that some of them are dealt with, Let me tell you from a true perspective (and yes, I have played MMORPG's for years) that the only major issue I have with SW:TOR is the fact that the republic doesnt have more interesting aliens to play. For all the fanboys of WoW again pissing and moaning their collective heads off about the Empire not having multiple races... THEY'RE THE EMPIRE!! THEY'RE A XENOPHOBIC SOCIETY THAT WOULDN'T LET THE ALIENS INTO ANY PART OF SOCIETY THAT MEANT A DAMN! WANNA PLAY A MMORPG WHERE YOU'RE A SLAVE?? DIDNT THINK SO!! Sorry, it just irks the hell outta me when I see obvious trolls trolling something so epic as SW:TOR. And let there be trolls to this post. It just proves my point.

    Despite that slight issue, the graphics are workable on almost every system someone could have. (PC system obviously) The worlds are really well worked, with random convo's and people walking around giving it almost a feeling of past, present, and future in and about the main areas. The crafting was another stroke of genius. I played games where crafting was tedious boring work. BW made it so I can go on questing doing whatever I pleased and have my minions do the gathering, and crafting for me. Then when I have the item, I can choose to reverse engineer it to attempt to learn a better way to make the same item. Great work, BW. I am extremely pleased. In closing, BioWare came through strong with SW:TOR. As I said, trolls will try to do their best to troll a game that threatens theirs. But in all honesty, this is a game that you'd be crazy not to check out, especially if you're an MMORPG fan, as I am. Hope this review cleared up some of the trolls idiotic spewing. (now I need to get my brain bleached to try to get some of the retarded bile that they wrote out of my head)    … Expand
  7. tazzon22
    Jan 4, 2012
    3
    At lvl. 40, 20 levels past the time i turned off all movies and becan extremley board of this wanna be mmo , rpg. It actually fails at both, the combat is verry lame, just point and smash hot keys, no pesky tatics to worry about. It was suppose to be a great story, really? give me a freaking break..blue sun and justicar? hope you trekkies didnt play the vastly supperior game mass effect.At lvl. 40, 20 levels past the time i turned off all movies and becan extremley board of this wanna be mmo , rpg. It actually fails at both, the combat is verry lame, just point and smash hot keys, no pesky tatics to worry about. It was suppose to be a great story, really? give me a freaking break..blue sun and justicar? hope you trekkies didnt play the vastly supperior game mass effect. Me and me2 were great DAO is also stellar, but DA2 was god-awful and now with swtor is another failure , bioware has ben loosing alot of points latley, thankfully i have Skyrim to play untill a real mmo comes out ..GW2.… Expand
  8. foilhat
    Jan 3, 2012
    0
    So who ate my review? Dropping this to a zero in light of EAWare's blatant shilling of these user reviews and horrible customer service.

    Avoid this game and avoid this company.
  9. KeyLimeBreakfas
    Jan 3, 2012
    10
    End game pvp consists of fighting low level players in warzones. It is completely unchallenging for the level 50s and impossibly frustrating for level 10 - 40s. There are no level brackets. The system is an absolute joke.

    PvP gets a score of 2 out of 10.

    The questing gets an 8/10

    Average score for the game 6/10

    Reccomend: Not worth buying
  10. JesusHKriest
    Jan 3, 2012
    1
    Well... It's World of Warcraft, that's for sure. But I think even then, there are things that The Old Republic tried to do WoW-style but didn't quite make it. I really hate the fact that world PvP is so meaningless or unbalanced (level 10 vs level 50, yay!). World PvP made WoW really good, and the death of world PvP in WoW kind of killed it for me entirely. But here in TOR, it's dead rightWell... It's World of Warcraft, that's for sure. But I think even then, there are things that The Old Republic tried to do WoW-style but didn't quite make it. I really hate the fact that world PvP is so meaningless or unbalanced (level 10 vs level 50, yay!). World PvP made WoW really good, and the death of world PvP in WoW kind of killed it for me entirely. But here in TOR, it's dead right from the get-go, which was a major let down. Plus, I think the most meaningless parts of WoW's endgame were kind of copied and pasted right into TOR, which also kind of ruined it for me.
    I thought the storyline was pretty weak, and then towards the end the story just kind of... dies off instantly, never to return. Personally I don't think trying to include story in an MMO is a good idea, and this game might justify that idea. The story feels more meaningless to me when it tries to "connect" with me, because every other single player in the game has had the exact same experiences. I am not a legendary Jedi who holds the fate of the galaxy in my hands, me and the other 50,000 players all are. I'm not really going to discuss the canon of the story, because I think it is Bioware's choice if they want to pretend KotOR 2 didn't exist. It was a good game, but I can accept it being non-canon. A lot of people were mad at Revan's place in TOR's story (don't worry I won't spoil), and rightfully so. It was a major disappointment, I wish it was handled differently.
    The thing that really made me stop playing was THAT LAG, MAN. I just can't take it anymore. To have everything I do be delayed by almost half a second is frustrating, and to have it happen consistently is maddening. Of course, that is more of a server thing than the game itself, and perhaps in the future the servers will be upgraded, so this might end up being irrelevant.    … Expand
  11. sobaka770
    Jan 3, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a short version of the review posted on Gamespot Sobaka770. (character limit)

    BOREDOM. This is a feeling that trumps all the talk about the good points of the game. If there's one thing that Bioware does well, it's the story writing and dialogue. In such a huge game as TOR is, there are bound to be the highs and lows in everything but in ensemble the whole of the writing is a solid A and another solid A for voice acting. I see why people would enjoy this game especially during the initial levels when the skills come fast, the quest chain quickly and the main storyline is developing at a frenetic pace. And then there are the 20-s and the 30-s, the levels (out of 50 by the way) when things tend to slow down in MMORPGs and when my love for this game vanished and the veil was torn off my face. This is the time when you start to really loathe the fact that the gameplay mechanics are duplicating those from World of Warcraft (and there can be no discussion on this front) and even more so, there's no improvement whatsoever over them in any way. This is more than playing it safe, this is blatant copying. I guess there's no patent for gameplay mechanics but running the fetch quests and kill the mobs quests was the trademark of vanilla WoW and this game cannot be compared to vanilla WoW. The market just doesn't work like that. Sure the original World of Warcraft had just one raid and several instances and bugs, but at the same time everyone seems to forget that it was innovative in so many areas. It had quite a quick leveling structure , accessible mechanics, and it was streamlined for mass market. Never before crafting, questing, dungeon-running was so simple and attractive. TOR 2011 is neither more accessible, neither more innovative and neither more fun than any other game on this market. There's a lot to be said for main storyline and "gripping" fully-voiced quests. Unfortunatlely, from my point of view, those are not an essential element of the game. I had no problem with reading quest plots before, and fully voiced quest givers while cool initially started to wear out their welcome also towards level 20. As of now things work like this: there's a quest hub with around 5 (more or less) quest-givers. You spend half an hour just talking to them all and then you get 5 generic quests in your log all for the same zone and unless you're particularly invested in the storylines or just very attentive you might remember the reason behind killing the particular mobs on this level. As of now let me just say that I'm yet to see one quest that would break the monotony of mindless slaughter. Sure you can say that Space combat is cool. But it's not tied into any storyline and frankly on the 3d mission the space combat gets boring. PvP is accessible since level 10, and while there are no brackets. the stats scale as to match people in terms of health at least. To Bioware's credit, with proper class balance and maybe some tactics, this can be actually salvaged.
    What can't be salvaged though is the dullness that is the graphic component of the game. This is yet another example of "realistic" brown-gray filter art that makes all the locations look bland. It looks like the best animators and artist were drafted to the ME3 team. Add to it the world which is splintered into subzones and the feeling of the immersion is somehow lost. You can see the effort on the part of the team, in the art-deco style of Coruscant and the ship designs, but once again the spark is missing. The zones are empty and filled up with artificial people you can't even interact with. A good example is the Senate of Coruscant which looks good from afar but you can't walk around it, you can't even climb anywhere around it, therefore the structure looks like a painting. What is worse is when you enter the senate you get the main hall (good) and corridors on each side with same architecture separated as there's only a unique class able to access certain areas. That's not how a cohesive world is created! And here is the main problem with the game. It was not designed as a multiplayer game world from the start. Overall, this is not a good continuation of Kotor. The atmosphere is still there among the plotlines but the feel is certainly not the same. There's a distinct lack of polish (mentioned before unclickable NPCs, empty locations, several simple chat, group and UI functions not available). Compare this not to WoW but to KOTOR the first where you can't go to cantina in Sith uniform on Taris to see what I mean by polish and attention to detail. I only recommend it if you're a die-hard fan of Star Wars, but the KOTOR players will probably be disappointed. At this point even the Mass Effect universe is overall a better crafted and genuinely interesting world compared to the one of TOR limited due to the licensing. If you're new to MMOs , WoW is a better package and I honestly can't recommend this game over it.    … Expand
  12. Fenristhewolf
    Jan 3, 2012
    4
    I have played various MMO's over the years including WoW which I have played since BC and I had the chance to do extensive Beta Testing for SWTOR before it was released. I enjoyed certain parts of it and the interface and UI was very friendly as somone who has played WoW extensively. I had no problem adapting to most of the controls. My biggest issue was the amount of lag that wasI have played various MMO's over the years including WoW which I have played since BC and I had the chance to do extensive Beta Testing for SWTOR before it was released. I enjoyed certain parts of it and the interface and UI was very friendly as somone who has played WoW extensively. I had no problem adapting to most of the controls. My biggest issue was the amount of lag that was prevalent in certain areas. My system runs games like WoW and Skyrim on Ultra without a problem and I was very frustrated by the lag issues even in a fairly unpopulated questing area. The Story and zones were fun and enjoyable if on the small side as far as zone size and variety but the lag and gameplay bugs made it frustrating to play, based on that I would have to give it a negative review untill those issues can be resolved. If those can be fixed I would probably rate this a 7-8.… Expand
  13. dorkydude666
    Jan 3, 2012
    10
    The Old Republic is jam packed with content. Playing through the first two worlds on both Republic and Imperial sides, I have enjoyed several hours of gameplay and it feels like I just scratched the surface. I review this game as a casual WoW player who enjoys single player RPGs and Bioware has done a great job bringing the genres together. The Old Republic includes voice acted questThe Old Republic is jam packed with content. Playing through the first two worlds on both Republic and Imperial sides, I have enjoyed several hours of gameplay and it feels like I just scratched the surface. I review this game as a casual WoW player who enjoys single player RPGs and Bioware has done a great job bringing the genres together. The Old Republic includes voice acted quest progression that immerses the player into the story rather than the game. Much like in the KOTOR series your actions help form your character's story while also giving you benefits for the MMO such as being able to equip an evil light saber. Every player also uses a companion NPC which has useful abilities to aid your particular class (a healer for tanks for example). These companions will do crafting missions to gather resources as well as turn materials into items for the player. Crafting is simple and very similar to other MMOs; however, Bioware has included a chance for players to craft exceptional gear which adds bonuses to items and also allows them to craft the upgraded version into an even higher quality item. The Star Wars universe feels extremely large even before you're able to fly your own ship. Players take speeder bikes or taxis around huge maps giving each section of the world a large amount of space to expand and room for more quests and story. Groups of players can take on difficult missions called Heroics for bigger rewards and harder challenges. There are also many Flashpoints (TOR version of dungeons/instances) with full story lines and strategic boss battles for advanced players and teams. With only 7 days of experience, I still have so much left to play: PVP, Operations (raids), datacron searching (Google it), and space battles! I would recommend The Old Republic to players with patience, fast reaction, critical thinking, and at least a small fondness for the Star Wars universe. It is expected for a game with thousands of quests, a hundred zones, and millions of players to have bugs in the first month of its release. Many reviewers expect this game to be polished out of the box and blow all other MMOs out of the competition, but this is simply just another great game that everyone should play. Bioware has put an estimated 200-300 million dollars into the development of this game and they're listening to their players, do not underestimate the potential of The Old Republic.… Expand
  14. MattC
    Jan 3, 2012
    10
    This game is about an 8, but I'm giving it a ten considering the only scores on metacritic are 1/2 and 9/10. That being said, yes this game is very much a wow clone, and if you went into ToR expecting anything else then shame on you, because there has been more than enough in-game footage, beta weekends, and feedback when the NDA was dropped. This is a bad thing for those who hate wow,This game is about an 8, but I'm giving it a ten considering the only scores on metacritic are 1/2 and 9/10. That being said, yes this game is very much a wow clone, and if you went into ToR expecting anything else then shame on you, because there has been more than enough in-game footage, beta weekends, and feedback when the NDA was dropped. This is a bad thing for those who hate wow, but if you're like me and played wow a lot, especially in the first 3-4 years, well then you will feel right at home. It also follows the holy trinity of needing a tank, dps, and healers for taking on group content. The character creation is meh, they definitely need to get some less than humanoid races on there to mix it up a bit. The combat is cool, and even though the animations aren't as fluid as a fighting or adventure game, they're not nearly as bad as what many other people on MC are saying, and I give kudos to Bioware for attempting to make combat a bit more cinematic. The planets are all very well done, some are much bigger than others, but each one has a distinct feel, my only gripe is that BW seems to have split each planet up into sides, one for the imps and the other for the pubs so there was very little interaction as I leveled.… Expand
  15. checktheemails
    Jan 3, 2012
    6
    I'm the type of person that has never played an MMO except one month of WoW the first month it came out then I dropped it for fear of addiction. First of all, Star Wars is way too expensive for what it is; it is worth 50 bucks max considering how buggy and unfinished the game is. I am currently a level 40 imperial agent, and I have to say that the game has a problem when the best way toI'm the type of person that has never played an MMO except one month of WoW the first month it came out then I dropped it for fear of addiction. First of all, Star Wars is way too expensive for what it is; it is worth 50 bucks max considering how buggy and unfinished the game is. I am currently a level 40 imperial agent, and I have to say that the game has a problem when the best way to level up and gain gold is to PvP yet the PvP is terribly constructed. There are three maps that you play in PvP warzones and matchmaking is a joke. You get matched with level 50s and level 14s all in the same queues, so basically you have gods running around the maps while other ppl just get owned and are incapable of any combat. Also, the map designs are buggy and in some cases assanine. For some reason they decided to include two air vents in the center of the Huttball map that randomly decide which way to throw you into the air. This means that your enemy can grab the ball, run into the vent and then get magically placed onto a much greater field advantage while you jump onto the vent chasing them and are launched basically into an acid pool. Maps are not supposed to decide winners and losers they are supposed to be the blank canvas that the game is played on. That is one thing they need to remove. Secondly, sometimes you get thrown into a PvP that is already losing just because the team had a few leavers, (ppl leave because their teammates are level 14s, etc.) It isn't a huge deal considering you still get some xp for doing basically nothing but joining the match, but it makes you realize how much the PvP is just a joke. They really need to make PvP cross-server matchmaking such as in League of Legends (hate to say it) where you have a huge pool of players that can be mixed and matched to the best balance instead of just choosing from what they have on ONE server.

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

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

    I wish I could give this game a 6.5, but a 7 is too high for something so buggy. Definitely not renewing for another 15 bucks a month I already got jipped paying 60.    … Expand
  16. brathor
    Jan 3, 2012
    8
    After hitting level 45 with my main character, I think I can say that this is the most fun I've had playing an MMO in six or seven years, and I've tried pretty much all the big ones. The class stories I've played have been both well-executed and engaging-- unlike every other MMO I've ever played, they make me feel invested in the journey my character is taking. As Bioware is and always hasAfter hitting level 45 with my main character, I think I can say that this is the most fun I've had playing an MMO in six or seven years, and I've tried pretty much all the big ones. The class stories I've played have been both well-executed and engaging-- unlike every other MMO I've ever played, they make me feel invested in the journey my character is taking. As Bioware is and always has been a company that uses its games to tell stories, it makes sense that this feature would be the number one distinguishing aspect of the game. On the downside, I am consistently underwhelmed by the options I have to customize my character both in terms of appearance and abilities. I was also disappointed to see how many genre conventions the game takes from World of Warcraft (which borrowed many of its conventions from Everquest). There do seem to be some balance issues with some of the classes, particularly in regards to PvP. I also have been frustrated by the frequency of frustrating bugs I've run into since hitting level 20. Overall, this is an excellent game that anyone who has enjoyed previous Bioware titles (especially Knights of the Old Republic) and the MMO genre should enjoy. There isn't much in the way of genre innovation here, but these aspects is brought together with Bioware style story that make shte game more engaging than any other MMO I've ever played (including WoW and SWG). This one's going to be around for a while.… Expand
  17. RecoveryRx
    Jan 3, 2012
    4
    Every review on here that is 0-3 or 9-10 is a complete joke in my opinion, every single one of them. Here's the bottom line on TOR, a game I was insanely excited about and now won't sub past my first month: the story and voice acting is amazing, the rest of the game is either mediocre or a huge back step for the mmo genre as a whole. Listen carefully - this is the biggest disappointmentEvery review on here that is 0-3 or 9-10 is a complete joke in my opinion, every single one of them. Here's the bottom line on TOR, a game I was insanely excited about and now won't sub past my first month: the story and voice acting is amazing, the rest of the game is either mediocre or a huge back step for the mmo genre as a whole. Listen carefully - this is the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in a video game. EVER. I am 33 years old and have been playing video games my entire life, this is the cake. It is shocking people, SHOOOCKINGGG!!!!!! how uninspired the world is, how mediocre and "just good enough" almost all of the game mechanics / systems are. And it's BAFFLING that a game with this much of a budget could be this bad.… Expand
  18. gertpacu
    Jan 2, 2012
    10
    Judging by the reviews here it seems that a lot of people tried to rate this game either the day it came out. Most of those 0s and 1s are WoW fanboys who probably feel threatened that there is another game out there to challenge their precious game. For the review; Stunning.. Well worth the 5+ years I waited for this game. The questing in this game is heads and shoulders above any otherJudging by the reviews here it seems that a lot of people tried to rate this game either the day it came out. Most of those 0s and 1s are WoW fanboys who probably feel threatened that there is another game out there to challenge their precious game. For the review; Stunning.. Well worth the 5+ years I waited for this game. The questing in this game is heads and shoulders above any other game out there. Leveling does not feel like a grind. Not to mention once you get off your second world when leveling (about level 15-18) and you get into the 3rd and 4th world the space really opens up and you feel like you are in the star wars world. Personally, I will be playing this game for years, and judging by how many people bought this game and pre-ordered it will be very successful. It broke all of WoWs records. Now all we need is to keep all those 10 year old fanboys out of this game and it would be perfect!… Expand
  19. Winterwolf
    Jan 2, 2012
    2
    The main question I ask myself when judging a game is: Am I having fun? The longer I played this game, the more I had to admit to myself that I wasn't.

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

    The game certainly isn't all bad. However the good bits and pieces it does have, have to be seen in context of the game as a whole and how much they add to the fun because there seem to be plenty of bad design decisions that break the immersion or are just annoying. For example, like any MMORPG, you will spend a lot of time running around, doing quests. For something so central to the gameplay, it is incredible how boring it was made. The quest design seems archaic. I wanted to experience the story but in the end the quest design stopped me playing. People mention the fully voiced NPCs. I found that this novelty grows old really quickly and wanted to skip the dialog. It also seems that this will make adding new content slow and costly - no criticism, just an observation. If you are going to buy this game, see it as something to tie you over until the next big game comes out, not as a long term MMO investment. You may enjoy this for a few weeks but probably get bored. I can only see the most die-hard KotOR or SW fans play this long-term. The bad gameplay design makes it hard to recommend it to anyone.    … Expand
  20. elcritico
    Jan 2, 2012
    3
    To sum it up with a quote from the game loading screen: "a Bioware employee will never ask you for your password".

    If you're looking for something different than World of Warcraft, note that this game is a bland copy down to the loading screens.
  21. Chester_Koenig
    Jan 2, 2012
    9
    As a disclaimer, the last reall MMO I played in depth was Everquest and before that Ultima Online, so this new generation of MMOs (including WoW) has never entered into the equation in regards to what I play. Saying that, I don't think that I have ever played a game that has captured the essence of Star Wars so well; I am absolutely having a blast playing SW:TOR. I am not a video gameAs a disclaimer, the last reall MMO I played in depth was Everquest and before that Ultima Online, so this new generation of MMOs (including WoW) has never entered into the equation in regards to what I play. Saying that, I don't think that I have ever played a game that has captured the essence of Star Wars so well; I am absolutely having a blast playing SW:TOR. I am not a video game reviewer, so I will keep this short and sweet: I think about playing this game many times while I am doing other things, including playing other games! I was playing Uncharted 3 a day ago (which is part of one of my favorite series of all time) and I thought to myself, "I should really go play some SW:TOR. I'm missing out on the action!"

    Suffice to say, the story is what brings the whole package together. I've always been a fan of Bioware and how they tell their stories, and even though this game is an MMO, they have still captured that same brilliance in this regard. Even many of the subplots are quite amazing!

    I have a feeling that much of the negativity on this review board stems from people who have played and got bored with WoW and don't find this to be as big of a step that they were expecting or are still playing religiously and are afraid that this game may steal some of it's thunder. As a new player of the new generation of MMOs, I can honestly say that I couldn't have asked for much more. I am in love!    … Expand
  22. Hawkcircle
    Jan 2, 2012
    10
    This is the first time I've done a review, and I'm doing it to encourage you to try this game out. I've been gaming since PC's were invented and I've never played a game like SWTOR. Graphically it's outstanding. Gameplay is outstanding. The writing is universally great and it works whether you play as a solo type or a person that likes grouping. Space combat is flying "along a rail"This is the first time I've done a review, and I'm doing it to encourage you to try this game out. I've been gaming since PC's were invented and I've never played a game like SWTOR. Graphically it's outstanding. Gameplay is outstanding. The writing is universally great and it works whether you play as a solo type or a person that likes grouping. Space combat is flying "along a rail" and fun, the crafting options are really extensive and by letting your companions do the work, lots of fun. Speaking of companions, they make the game in my opinion. You get at lvl 10 your own little team, and frankly the companion AI is as good as most players. Definitely on my top 10 list of all time.… Expand
  23. Vigil
    Jan 2, 2012
    1
    With no exageration, Star Wars: The Old Republic is literally the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced in a video game. I expected better from a studio like Bioware and I thought they would have pulled their socks up after the debarcle which was Dragon Age 2.

    I stand corrected. Bioware isn't what it used to be and after EA cannibalised Mythic to work on this garbage I only have    With no exageration, Star Wars: The Old Republic is literally the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced in a video game. I expected better from a studio like Bioware and I thought they would have pulled their socks up after the debarcle which was Dragon Age 2.

    I stand corrected. Bioware isn't what it used to be and after EA cannibalised Mythic to work on this garbage I only have myself to blame for not seeing this coming.

    I'm not going to write a long review; it doesn't deserve the time or effort. There are two points for anyone reading this which you need to consider before going anywhere near this steaming pile of trash; 1) This game suffers from everything Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning suffered from; and 2) This is a single player game which you pay and ongoing subscription for.

    Avoid at all costs.    … Expand
  24. Akmar275
    Jan 2, 2012
    10
    All of the 1-3 scores are completely ridiculous, it's not a perfect game but no MMO is especially at launch. The fact is, this game has a vast amount of content on launch day which is far better than most people can claim.
  25. smi1ey
    Jan 2, 2012
    9
    I didn't think I would like SWTOR. When it was first announced I was extremely excited, but as more and more information spilled out, it looked to me like it was going to be like any other MMO out there. I'm sure that copies some features from other MMORPGs, as all modern MMORPGs do, but I have to say that SWTOR is the most fun I've ever had playing an online RPG game.

    If you enjoy the    I didn't think I would like SWTOR. When it was first announced I was extremely excited, but as more and more information spilled out, it looked to me like it was going to be like any other MMO out there. I'm sure that copies some features from other MMORPGs, as all modern MMORPGs do, but I have to say that SWTOR is the most fun I've ever had playing an online RPG game.

    If you enjoy the Mass Effect series, and you like Star Wars, this is the game for you.

    The influence of Mass Effect on this game is extremely obvious, from the conversation choices, to companion relationships, to the immersive storyline. I've put around 40 hours into the game so far, and am a little over half way to the level cap. From what I've heard, I will be playing for around 40-60 more hours until I reach that. 100 hours in one game is a pretty damn long time, especially considering that I have no even touched PvP, and there will be plenty more content opened up when I do hit that cap.

    I don't want to go on for too long, because there are so many other reviews for this game already out there, but I just want to say that SWTOR is a game-changer IMO- this coming from someone who's not a big fan of MMORPGs, and who has never played WoW. My fiancee and I have fallen in love with this game, and look forward to furthering the story and progressing our characters each day. It's just plain fun, without that terrible grinding feeling that many MMOs give.    … Expand
  26. rucknrun
    Jan 2, 2012
    5
    I just can't get into this game. I put 30 hours or so into it. I am almost lvl 20 and there is very little to explore. Where is the next area? The space combat feels like an after thought. I really wanted this game to be great. I don't mind that is feels like WoW a little bit. I love WoW. It just isn't good enough to pay 15 a month for, 60 for the client is way too much too. TheyI just can't get into this game. I put 30 hours or so into it. I am almost lvl 20 and there is very little to explore. Where is the next area? The space combat feels like an after thought. I really wanted this game to be great. I don't mind that is feels like WoW a little bit. I love WoW. It just isn't good enough to pay 15 a month for, 60 for the client is way too much too. They need to start giving us the clients if they are going to charge a monthly fee.… Expand
  27. Aph347
    Jan 2, 2012
    8
    I honestly think that these negative reviews of every game that you see on the website is absolutely insane. I don't understand why people are hating on The Old Republic JUST BECAUSE IT IS SIMILAR TO WoW?
    It has absolutely NO similarity to World of Warcraft whatsoever. If anyone is complaining that this game is a disappointment then this game may not be the game for them. For Star Wars    I honestly think that these negative reviews of every game that you see on the website is absolutely insane. I don't understand why people are hating on The Old Republic JUST BECAUSE IT IS SIMILAR TO WoW?
    It has absolutely NO similarity to World of Warcraft whatsoever. If anyone is complaining that this game is a disappointment then this game may not be the game for them. For Star Wars fans like myself, I would absolutely recommend this game for you. People are obviously going to troll about a game that is similar in any fashion to another game, that is the way of life. People do not know how to review because they have nothing better to do besides write something completely untrue. This game is definitely new, I'll admit that there are a few flaws at the moment since this is a brand new MMORPG, but I expect these issues to be fixed within a few weeks or a few months. People who are not patient are of course going to troll on this website. To be honest, I think that Metacritic is the only website that there is so many negative reviews of this game. Is there some sort of rebellion towards good video games or something? Because I do not understand why there such a ridiculous number of negative reviews on GOOD GAMES.
    Some advice to the trolls that do not agree with this argument that I am trying to write about, GO OUTSIDE. Get a life please because I am sick of hearing these stupid reviews because I know for a fact that half of you guys have never even played the game and are writing from your **** I just made this account today because I had enough with these stupid reviews! Star Wars: The Old Republic is a must buy of this years MMORPG's of 2012 so please get it if you have the chance.    … Expand
  28. Ludna
    Jan 2, 2012
    3
    The game is not bad, but only due to the story questline and voice over. The rest is hugely disappointing.
    The largest issue what drives me off is basicially no freedom in character development. The attribute mechanics is a joke, only one attribute determining everything. Force Power depends on Willpower ? Not for a Warrior, then your Strength determines Force Power. Silly. And the    The game is not bad, but only due to the story questline and voice over. The rest is hugely disappointing.
    The largest issue what drives me off is basicially no freedom in character development. The attribute mechanics is a joke, only one attribute determining everything. Force Power depends on Willpower ? Not for a Warrior, then your Strength determines Force Power. Silly. And the attribute is based on the class, no choice. All other attributes are worthless for a given class. I need to stick to a certain weapon type (single, double, or two-wiedled) again based on class. No free selectable weapon and armour feats, boring. The combat mechanics is to clicky, but that is maybe a matter of personal taste. In general the entire gameplay mechanics is to simple for me. I guess, Bioware wanted WoW players tp play SWTOR and I think that is what's going to happen. Straigtforward mechanics, no thinking required, clear roles. I have got some experience in Ultima Online, Lotro, DDO, EVE and 2 weeks trial in WoW. I like system in DDO most. Still tehre are classes and races, but a lot of options to shape a character. Also all quest run in the instances, so there is no kill x of y. Every attribute (Str, Dex etc.) has actually an impact on the Character. So, it's my Charackter after all. The dungeons are well designed. So, I would opt for more instances in SWTOR and more teamplay required. The graphics works for me, nevertheless the design feels steril. One don't need top nothc graphic to transmit the right impression.    … Expand
  29. Sools
    Jan 2, 2012
    9
    In one little simple addition SWTOR has taking the grind out of MMOs, "voice acting", this is a game changer for me, I've played mmo's for more than 10 years now and I can honestly say in all that time I have read less than 1% of quest text.Even a simple fetch quest the voice acting makes it feel less tedious and actually feels like your doing something important.Bioware made a greatIn one little simple addition SWTOR has taking the grind out of MMOs, "voice acting", this is a game changer for me, I've played mmo's for more than 10 years now and I can honestly say in all that time I have read less than 1% of quest text.Even a simple fetch quest the voice acting makes it feel less tedious and actually feels like your doing something important.Bioware made a great decision with this.There will be the players who like to race to end game will moan about this but I say to them.Slow down and enjoy the experience.There is so much to take on board in this beautifully crafted game. Here are some of the things they implemented Companions- can aid u on your journey when you don't have friends online to help you out. - they all look after all your crafting which for me personally I hated crafting and am really enjoying it in this game.

    Space Combat - it's an on rails ship mini game for me,this is something added late on and I can see huge Improvements coming soon

    Crafting. - best crafting system in any mmo I've played

    My overall impression of this game is I think this game is it for the long
    Haul. Feels great and the most smooth launch of this type of game ever.

    May the force be with you    … Expand
  30. Thicky
    Jan 2, 2012
    3
    I'm going to try and keep this short because when it comes to great companies like Bioware and great IP's like Star Wars it's difficult for people to read negative reviews and not take the things they love most personally.

    The game is nearly as good as WoW. Well when WoW was released 7 years ago. There's zero excuse for a AAA title with this much time and money dedicated to development    I'm going to try and keep this short because when it comes to great companies like Bioware and great IP's like Star Wars it's difficult for people to read negative reviews and not take the things they love most personally.

    The game is nearly as good as WoW. Well when WoW was released 7 years ago. There's zero excuse for a AAA title with this much time and money dedicated to development to be lacking such basic features as an Auction House or a /roll command for looting. There are so many things left out of the game you have to wonder what the beta tests were for.

    - Battlegrounds are a disaster. There are no level brackets so if you're not max lvl then you are getting pummeled into the ground.

    - There are no diminishing returns so stunlocks are the norm.

    - Everything is instanced. You're going to meet your buddy in town? Make sure you're in the same instance.

    - Zero need to group up, you have a team of NPC's to command.

    - Crafting requires no gathering or even leaving the town, your NPC's will do everything for you.

    - Don't fall in the water, there's no swimming physics so you drown in a puddle.

    Dammit I wanted to keep this short but there are so many problems. I won't even get into balance because honestly that wouldn't be fair. But let's just say that some classes have skills that still don't work or they do things like make you fall through the earth.

    I played Rift and I was one of those people telling others to stop complaining about things because I thought by complaining they were making the game look bad and as such the game would fail. I silently agreed with their complaints but I stayed silent.

    Well this game isn't as good as Rift was and I won't be clucthing to the railing as this ship sinks. Maybe Blizzard can get the rights to Star Wars...

    TLDR: Save your money, F2P games are better.    … 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.
    Read full review
  2. GameCritics
    Mar 31, 2012
    70
    I wound up bailing out on Star Wars: The Old Republic well before hitting the level cap, but not before digging into it more so than any other MMO I've played. Even if it is an unhappy marriage between two wildly different game types, the fact that it kept me hooked for so long at least counts for something.
    Read full review
  3. NZGamer
    Mar 5, 2012
    83
    A good game. It pays excellent homage to the film series (even though it's set before the movies), and is a really solid MMO.
    Read full review
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