Star Wars - The Old Republic MMO Launches Today!

Hi everybody!

Well ... the game I and many have been waiting for went live today,
December 20th. As a pre-order-er I have had a chance to play for almost
a week and I am very, very impressed.

This creation of Bioware is just mind-bogglingly big. It captured the
feel of Knights of the Old Republic and the ease of play of Neverwinter
Nights but with modern kick-ass visuals and sound. The force and
lightsabre combat is very well done and they don't just have basic
animations -- each type of action has multiple visuals that depend on
your foe's action. I find myself zooming in during combat just to enjoy
watching the 'dance' of blades.

I have played all eight classes to try them out and am pleased to find
that each of them is appealing. They all have their own story lines and
talents that keep them distinct. It wasn't easy to choose a class as my
main but I am going with a Sith warrior. Soloing seems very doable in
this game. I haven't grouped yet even though I am already in a guild.

There is almost no quest reading as it is all voiced and though there
are a few obvious "fetch the widget" missions there are also some clever
and creative tasks that feel very tailored to my character. As with
other Bioware games you also get to choose your responses to be the nice
guy or a jerk with dark side and light side points to be gained along
the way. Yes, you could play a light side Sith or a dark side Jedi.

The area transitions are seamless and smooth, the settings I've seen so
far are very nice. Companions aren't as clumsy or mindless as they were
in KotOR and they can even do crafting and sell off your junk loot. Idea
for someone like me who hates crafting in games like this.

The game launched exactly on time with no server issues though waiting
in queues is a bit of an issue right now. Surely this will stabilize as
they get a better handle on their player base.

For those who are fans of the Star Wars universe and Bioware's game
designs this is definitely worth a peek. And for the others: "I find
your lack of faith ... disturbing."


- Sheldon