Probably the most anticipated MMO since World of Warcraft is Star Wars: The Old Republic. Why are people looking forward to it when Star Wars Galaxies turned out to be such a loser? Well, first there's the pedigree. Star Wars: The Old Republic is the successor to two of the best Star Wars games ever made, and arguably the best rpgs ever made (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights). These games are well known for strong characterization, engaging stories, and player choices that define the gameplay. So it's no wonder that people are excited about an MMO made by the same company (Bioware).
But the billion dollar question is: can they pull it off? There's no point in listing all of the MMOs that have just missed the mark. Nor is there reason to cheer or rant about Blizzard's dominance in the MMO market. It is what it is. But in many ways, Bioware will be contending with players expectation as much as outside competition.
Bioware isn't helping itself with the lofty goals it's laid out for itself. Not only are we dealing with Star Wars in the last unsullied area of the mythos, but Bioware is making a ton of genre bending promises. First, complete voice acting. All players and non-player characters will be completely voiced. This is pretty big, because one of the things that sold and sunk Age of Conan was the voice acting, or lack thereof. The first 20 levels of Age of Conan was hailed as groundbreaking and amazing. But once players leveled out of Tortage, they found the rest of the game, voiceless and unappealing. Second, player choices that matter. In pretty much every single MMO, choice isn't even an option. You either do the quest, or you don't. With SW:tOR not only are you given choices in your quests, but these choices will have an impact on future quests, character development, and quest rewards. This is the last step before player altered persistent worlds, where player actions have a direct influence on the game world for each other.
To add more fuel to the fire, Bioware has released a producer's walkthrough video, which is hosted at IGN. This video details some of the features I mentioned above, and has some really kick ass combat footage. The sith warrior looks plain sick. Head over to IGN.com and judge for your self. this is the first of 4 parts in the video series.
But the billion dollar question is: can they pull it off? There's no point in listing all of the MMOs that have just missed the mark. Nor is there reason to cheer or rant about Blizzard's dominance in the MMO market. It is what it is. But in many ways, Bioware will be contending with players expectation as much as outside competition.
Bioware isn't helping itself with the lofty goals it's laid out for itself. Not only are we dealing with Star Wars in the last unsullied area of the mythos, but Bioware is making a ton of genre bending promises. First, complete voice acting. All players and non-player characters will be completely voiced. This is pretty big, because one of the things that sold and sunk Age of Conan was the voice acting, or lack thereof. The first 20 levels of Age of Conan was hailed as groundbreaking and amazing. But once players leveled out of Tortage, they found the rest of the game, voiceless and unappealing. Second, player choices that matter. In pretty much every single MMO, choice isn't even an option. You either do the quest, or you don't. With SW:tOR not only are you given choices in your quests, but these choices will have an impact on future quests, character development, and quest rewards. This is the last step before player altered persistent worlds, where player actions have a direct influence on the game world for each other.
To add more fuel to the fire, Bioware has released a producer's walkthrough video, which is hosted at IGN. This video details some of the features I mentioned above, and has some really kick ass combat footage. The sith warrior looks plain sick. Head over to IGN.com and judge for your self. this is the first of 4 parts in the video series.
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