Bioware's upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most highly anticipated games this year, but beyond that, it is one of the most highly anticipated Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs ever. The heritage of the widely-beloved Star Wars franchise and popular Knights of the Old Republic games would present a daunting burden for nearly any game to follow, but The Old Republic has another hurdle to pass: its developers have claimed that this title will bring all of the story and character of a single player game to the online environment of an MMO. I can't say for certain how successful they have been based on the hours I have played, but now that the NDA has been lifted, I can certainly say that my experiences indicate that there's a lot of potential in this game.
Each of the game's two factions, Republic and Sith Empire, has 4 unique playable classes and a handful of races to choose from for each. This understandably limits the extent of character customization available-- for instance, you can't play as a Bounty Hunter on the Republic side or a Smuggler working for the Empire. This Is a result of Bioware's plot-centric design-- each class has its own distinct storyline, though some class-specific areas may be close by or even shared, For my time in the beta, I chose to play as a Jedi Consular, a Republic class that combines lightsaber melee combat with flashy force techniques.
The Jedi characters start on the order's home planet of Tython, with players starting as Padawan learners and given a Master to study under. I'm going to stay light on the spoilers, and simply say that the Jedi Consular's Tython arc centers around the archaeological study of the Jedi Order's past, along with tensions between the Jedi and other local people. Players travel to and from the Jedi temple, ancient ruins, small settlements, danger-filled caves, and more as forgotten secrets come to light. There is a lot of new lore and detail to be discovered throughout these quests, revealing new information and perspectives on the earliest eras of the Jedi.
As in most RPGs, MMO or otherwise, players will find themselves completing menial tasks like training, relaying messages, and collecting items from fallen enemies along the way--but these types of side quests are, for the most part, optional ways to gain experience. Some story missions also had optional sub-objectives, such as defeating a certain number of a given enemy before completing the quest, as a way to earn bonus points.
Eager to gain experience, I completed many of the quests that lined up with where I was headed. It should be possible to stay even closer to the core story missions and still advance, especially if you start with friends of similar class and group with them. I played solo and had some trouble at points, but a group of even 2 players or a single player equipped well could probably have gotten by with little difficulty. Most tellingly, there were still plenty of optional missions, some of which appeared to have significant substance to them, left on Tython when I finally moved on to join some friends in another area.
One of the most publicized elements of TOR is its extensive use of prefectures voice acting. Almost every line of dialogue, for player characters and NPCs alike, is acted out. Conversations include decision points with different responses and paths of dialogue, all still voiced. The acting was all of pretty good quality, on par with what would be found in other current game's. There were a handful of characters that seemed somewhat overacted in side quests, but not enough to be jarring. The voicing definitely brings more of the story emphasis of a single-player game into play, but can slow the experience down. I found the added emotional investment well worth the tradeoff.
As a Jedi Consular, characters are armed with a lightsaber (a training saber for the initial levels) and force techniques. The Consular is a lot like the Jedi In the prequel movies and recent games, deadly with a lightsaber but equally adept at using the force to toss enemies and debris around the battlefield. Combat is mostly close-range, with multiple ways to slow and repel enemies available to keep the player from getting overwhelmed. Despite a scholarly storyline, the Jedi Consular ends up being a formidable warrior.
Combat in The Old Republic plays like any other MMO, with hotkeys to use skills and attack, with the notable exclusion of an auto-attack feature. Players have to manually launch every attack their characters make, demanding an active role in the combat experience. Companions will attack and use skills autonomously, but relying too heavily on that will quickly get you both killed if you are in an area intended for your level. With that said, it's interesting to note that The Old Republic makes combat feel exciting and decisive. Regular enemy fights tend not to last too long, and while you won't feel invincible, players can often prevail against bad odds if they are even moderately good at balancing skills and items. Simply put, this game makes you feel strong without making it too easy.
Graphically, The Old Republic is solid but unexceptional. The game's design is done in a slightly cartoon-like style, with colorful designs and environments. Unfortunately, this is done at the cost of detail-- even at the maximum settings, the game doesn't hold up against other game's released this year or even the Direct X 10 and 11 details that have been patched into competing MMO Lord of the Rings Online. Textures and environmental effects like lighting and shadows stand out in this regard. That doesn't mean The Old Republic looks bad-- it just looks like a solid title from a year or two ago. It wouldn't surprise me if enhancements were in the works but just not ready for launch just yet- in fact,anti-aliasing has not yet been implemented but is definitely slates for later release. On the other hand, the character models are some of the best I've seen in an MMO, with very nice-looking faces that benefit greatly from the stylized graphics. The overall aesthetic of the universe are also spot on, with designs and locations derived from various sources throughout the Star Wars canon to create an authentic look and feel.
The part where The Old Republic falls flat so far is, ironically, in being an MMO. In my brief experience, the game plays very much like a single player RPG with cooperative multiplayer. Heavy story instancing emphasizes that the take us yours, to the point of (according to the popup that appears upon entering a class instance) excluding members of your party that share your class unless they specifically enable the option in their game settings. I'm guessing this is to protect against spoilers for players of lower level, but it is represents an odd fracturing of the game by class.
Compounding the issue of feeling too single player is the story, at least as far as the Consular is concerned. The player is set up from the beginning as being "special" with an unusual destiny ahead. This creates an odd disconnect in that you may realize that every other Consular around you has that same fate and story! This works in a single player RPG where the player truly is the star and hero, but doesn't fit as well in what should be a large and living world in an MMO. It's not a deal breaking issue, but it does raise questions about how this MMO fits into the mold-- or breaks out of it completely. So far, I'm not entirely convinced that The Old Republic shouldn't be a multiplayer game connecting a party's PCs instead of a massively multiplayer one with servers and subscription fees.
The Old Republic is an interesting game, and in it's beta stage, it shows a lot of potential. The story-heavy focus gives a different feel from competitors, and the epic nature of the story gives good momentum to push forward. the writing is strong and the art design is remarkably well thought out (there's a "Making and Art of" book in stores right now). The full voice acting helps to further define the universe and its characters, potentially forging a deeper connection to the NPCs throughout the environment. Ultimately, it looks like The Old Republic is shaping up to be an experience any Star Wars fan would enjoy-- but the question of if it's worth the subscription remains unanswered.