Gaming Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

Now if only they'd ask that SWTOR forum'ers don't go take out their rage over here.

I'd be glad if they actually want to post something constructive, but most of the comments have just been petty insults.

 

Star Wars is one of those things people froth at the mouth and go nuts over. The thread over there hit 100 pages (1000 posts) and was closed.

I agree with the quote in my last post, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Until you play a game you can never really know what it is like. With MMO's I find it is doubly so. It is a lot more difficult to review than say a 'normal' game. Usually reviews/previews give you a good idea if you will like it or not, but with MMO's I don't think it matters how many good or bad reviews you read. Until you try it you just won't know.

Many, many people love and play WoW, yet I tried it and I just don't get it. It's all about the feel, and that differs from person to person way more than with a normal triple-a game.

 

Constructive comments, on the internet?~

I'd be glad if there could be an actual conversation about this topic. Joe's preview is in the minority, which is fine, and it brings up the chance to really hit at the meat of any potential problems he had. Bioware has a lot invested in the game, so I imagine they're looking for this kind of opinion, too.

But I still think it all sounded impressively cynical.

 

Having seen a fair bit of video footage of the game it's already set off most of my turkey detectors. Not many games can look that much like a piece of poo and save themselves through sheer force of story and playability.

 

After release they'll be saying "the bit-tech guy was right".

 

I'm one of the fans that are seriously looking forward to SWTOR, I've been an active member of their forum since it was brought online and the reaction this preview has got over there is ridiculous.

The way I'm looking at it is this - it is one opinion, based on a very small part of a preview build of the game. Its not finished, and it wasn't a run through of the whole game, with everything in place. And that's fine, that's what a preview like this is designed to do. I actually think it's good that there was at least one voice in the crowd that didn't follow the others.

That being said, it won't stop me purchasing SWTOR - and I'll make my own mind up. I of course hope that this preview is way off the mark, and I'm confident that in a lot of ways it will be, but so will every other preview written this far before release.

 

While I hope that's not the case... even if it's not great people will still dismiss this preview.

I honestly don't get all the bashing. Joe's defended his statements and ultimately I have the feeling that he desperately wants to tell us about the aspects he enjoyed, but embargos can hurt a journalist really bad and it's showing here.

I don't have high hopes for the game, but I'm going to likely give it a go a few weeks after release depending on reviews. I prefer Joes write up to the other previews I've read, to be honest his is the only one that really piques my interest again. I didn't believe all the hype and still don't...

 

I've not read the PREVIEW because this MMO doesn't appeal to me at all. The forum thread on the other hand makes interesting reading. MMOs have a very steep hill to climb called Warcraft Hill, I mean, everyone compares MMOs to WoW, and with good reason. But the steeper mountain is called Mount Wars. To create a Star Wars universe as an MMO is doubly ambitious and doubly dangerous on the two greatest grounds that it will always be compared to.

Had I been tasked with writing a preview I doubt it would have ticked any boxes either. But what would we rather happen? Would a Star Wars MMO fan dripping from every pore with anticipation of this game have written an unbiased preview? How do you fill the middle ground? Does BT need to recruit a game previewer for every aspect to quench everyone thirst for a preview that fits their needs? How many genres need filling, how many universes? One for Star Wars fans, one for Star Trek fans, BattleStar Galactica? Mario? Sonic? MMOs? 3rd person lovers? 1st? Consolers? PC gamers?

I'm going to read that preview now, but I think I already know that no Star Wars game will give me that feeling of being Luke raised on Tattoine as a future Jedi warrior, or even feeling like i'm in anything other than a sic-fi universe trying to appear like Star Wars. What was that MMO released about 7 years ago based on Star Wars? I just remember it being hugely tedious. Then played EQ2 and then WoW.

edit: read it. Joe was underwhelmed. My opinion of what I thought this game would turn out like seems right. Roll on GuildWars 2. Unless the reviewers discover something bad about it ...

 

I'd like to start my comment by addressing something that more than a few people picked up on really quick: The reviewer of this MMO is not, in point of fact, an MMO player. That in and of itself negates many of the points made in this interview. You see, the games we play, as in anything else in life, are about preference. Some people prefer to walk to work, some to drive. Some people like dogs, some cats. Apples and Oranges, kids; preference - simple basic stuff, right. So it behooves any website to not send, say, its FPS guy to review an MMO, and vice versa. Take me for instance: I am a huge MMO fan. I LIKE the themepark, I actually LIKE it. And my days of finding much thrill in headshots and one-shot kills are far, far behind me. So, in keeping with the idea of preference, I would be exactly the WRONG dude to send if I wanted a fair review of say, the newest Call of Duty title. I am already biased against enjoying the gameplay presented to me, and it's going to come out in my review whether I do so consciously or not. And to read from so many people how UNbiased this review was, based upon this point, is really laughable. Credit where credit is due - Joe does seem to give it his best shot, but still, yea ... bias.


My main beef with alot of what I am seeing here is complaints about the graphics and the fight dynamics. First, the graphics: am I seeing different screenshots and videos than all these other people? I for one think the look BW chose for this title to be dead on. Would anyone really want a near photo-realistic MMO? No. Does this game, even in its pre-beta incarnation look tons better than every MMO out there? I for one think so. From the start, BW has stated that TOR will be stylized realism, and I think they nailed the look right where they wanted it. There's enough detail for a good deal of eye candy, yet enough simplification to allow for lower powered PCs to run it, and to also allow for good server response time.

Second, the fight dynamics: BW has done a killer job here, they really have, and it shows in all the gameplay footage I've seen to date. How often in an MMO have you seen swords actually clash, or NPCs dive behind a crate to keep from being shot? That's right, never.

I find it tough to believe this, but I swear it feels like the guy who drew the shortest straw was delegated to reviewing this title, and it comes through in his take on the game. Send the MMO guy next time - I'd almost be willing to bet the farm that he has more positive commentary on this title, or any MMO for that matter.

 

I love that people will go so far as to sign up for a forum so that they can rage against someones opinion. I hope bit-tech does an article on building the perfect PC for SW:TOR as a welcome to all the new members.

 

i'm with leveller i would probably have never played this even if Joe's review had been positive but this thread is an excellent example of epic nerd rage! rofl.

 

Meh

It was a good preview. I think probably right on par with what was seen and not making any assumptions.

Origin worlds --- Origin story --- Slogging through those sounds pretty comparable. The first parts of Dragon Age were tedious to say the least but picked up after, except for the mage tower which was a pain in the ass. Dice rolls, origin worlds, more "accessible" engine, should be on par with what they (BioWare) have done in the last 2 years.

Even the first part of the Witcher was not very fun until the end of the first then second act started rolling and real decisions needed to be made and characters became legitimately pissed at you. Really looking forward to that squeal BTW.

Anyways, it is pretty cookie cutter for genre it seems *even from reading the positive previews*, especially the most recent direction BioWare has gone. Which is fine, big question is does it pick up after the first 6 hours or continue to be a repetitive experience that gets real old real fast. Best bet may be to wait a few updates some weeks into release and pick it up a month or two later on a free trial or discount if available.

 

I just spat out my drink, have rep sir!!

I'm still looking forward to what this game brings upon release. I'm already guilded up and ready to go but I still have my own doubts. I love all things Star Wars (apart from dressing up as Boba Fett and spanking one out to George) and I like Bioware so fingers crossed then that it turns out well.

I respect Joe's opinions even though I often disagree with them. At the end of the day we are all entitled to an opinion and lets face it as great as WoW is a hell of a lot of people don't like it.

 

No, I was talking about in total. My estimate was actually very conservative - 5000 voice actors at $20 per hour voicing 50,000 NPCs. In truth, they'd be paid FAR more, since they'd have to be good quality.

Still, if monthly subscription costs were $10 a month, you'd need at least 7 million subscribers just to pay for the voice actors. No chance.

 

You know this is actually worse than my rant about apple. At least I had the excuse of being drunk though. I think this poor thing is still growing hair in funny places, and gets aroused at the sight of the Cadburys rabbit.

 

hmmm, I expect to compare this to KOTOR, and it looks a lot alike.
But in KOTOR the NPC's know what they're doing, and respawns aren't a problem.

I realise a MMO works...differently, but if the story requires you to return through the same area immediately, you'd expect it to remember (or sript you out some other way)

 

Thing is, Bioware seems to be trying to find a new audience. I don't think they are trying to steal people away from WoW, but rather create a game appealing to Star Wars fans and to people who play their single player games and are looking for an MMO that would be somewhat similar to what Bioware does in single player RPG's, but with online and community aspects being integral parts of it. It might be just my misconception, but earlier previews seemed to suggest that Bioware is trying to appeal to a vast number of gamers who do not currently play MMO's.

Furthermore, reviewing or previewing MMOs requires so much time that only sites specializing in the genre can really keep up with the demands. A game reviewer actively playing one or two MMOs in their spare time would have no opportunity to experience other genres. When I go to a gaming website, I expect that the authors will have at least a broad knowledge of what is going on in the gaming industry, be familiar with the trends. This is very hard to do if you are heavily into MMOs, unless the reviewer in question comes back home from work after 8 hours of writing/researching/gaming and then sits down for another 8 hour session to check out the new console releases etc. Kind of hard to find time for life.

Is the preview good enough for hardcore MMO players? I'm guessing not really. Probably does not have the level of detail to fulfil their needs. But I also don't think Bioware is aiming their game strictly at that crowd, hence it's fine to get a point of view from someone who does not play the genre religiously.

One last point is that an MMO lives and dies by two criteria: 1) how stable and fun it is on release; fail that and no amount of fixing will save the game if your fan base runs away within the first month. 2) the quality of updates. Even a "perfect" preview will give you no insight into no 2. so one could say any preview of an MMO is not representative of how successful it can potentially be.

 

Really? I think that solidifies the preview. Isn't the point to show not just how fanatics would respond to a title, but also how appealing it may be to people who normally don't tread these waters? WoW is so successful because it's accessable and yet still caters to the hard core.

 

Well Bioware might be doing a slight of hand move here show people it looks not finished for the fist 20 levels then bam it's amazing . Unlike funcom who did the opposite with the last great mmo Age of conan.
I have played mmo's for too long now from SWG,EQ,WoW,Age of Conan,Lotr,Ryzom etc etc.
Time will tell if it will be good we all need to make our own opinions on that. I respect Joe's Opnion as he was the one there and that is what he felt and viewed.
Were looking at a september release or maybe next march for a release date.
What we all seem to forget is most if not all MMO's need 6 months bedding time. Your basicly a paying beta tester for 6 Months, after that you can normally tell if things are happening and going in the right direction or falling apart and then you vote with your wallet.

 

Oh my god, best nerd rage ever. I'm sure he was typing this whilst dressed as Boba Fett and masturbating at a photo of George Lucas.
Can I pinch that for my sig lol