Star Wars: The Old Republic Review

Star Wars: The Old Republic
Should have let the wookiee win...
By Zach Dixon


Imagine if you will for a moment: You’re a Jedi Master, letting the Force flow through you as you take out the enemies of justice and peace. Igniting your double-bladed lightsaber, robes flowing with speed and grace, sending debris and kinetic energy at your foes. At the end you are standing tall and your opponents are down on the ground. Now imagine how awesome that just seemed in your mind, and take away about 80% of the cool factor. Yes you still have a lightsaber, robes, and flying debris, but without the grace or form of an actual Jedi Master (yes I realize that they are fictitious). That was how my initial impressions of Star Wars: The Old Republic faded in a mere 8 weeks of playing. 

Gameplay 3/5
I believe the one thing that could keep people invested in an MMORPG such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, is content and gameplay. I will discuss both with out going over the bugs, as many of us know, bugs have and will happen often in a new release. These as well as balancing are eventually fixed.

As far as content goes Star Wars has a good amount up until arriving at end game. This though is understandable since it’s still in the infancy stages. At this time, there are two full raids which can both be completed on Normal mode in about three hours. I personally have done this, then gone back to attempt harder difficulties. There are 6 instances that have a Hard Mode, that actually pose more of a challenge than the Raids. There’s also a PvP Ranking system that you can commit to in order to earn better gear. In the end, once the story is over, you end up repeating the same things over and over in order to get slightly better gear so you can repeat the process and maybe have an easier time. A routine that gets old quickly for someone who played the raid, rinse, and repeat MMO for 3 years.

The questing while you level up is quite standard, but it is executed efficiently and you never question where you need to go due to a very well made map. The story quests while you level up will definitely keep you involved, but when the story came to a conclusion, so did my interest.

The gameplay is your standard click-and-pray style that seems to be a favorite of MMO developers. You pick your target then select an ability which activates a cooldown and uses some of your resources. I realize this is a very simple breakdown of combat which is faster paced and just slightly more complicated, but that is basically it. It’s based off of quick random number generator systems where you hope that your stat numbers are enough to overwhelm the enemy’s stat numbers.

I had a quest to cut down that ice mountain with my lightsaber.

A big problem for me was the clustering of abilities on a non-customizable interface that left me constantly looking at my cooldowns and buffs and less at my character executing. The game became a much more expensive version of Simon Says with some lightsaber sound effects. Which leads me to another issue I had, the user interface. It was ok, but you could not scale or move anything around. And bioware has stated that they are not supporting Mods for the game, at least for a while.

Some positive things for me were the Companions, just from a purely gameplay perspective. Every character will have at least 5 companions by the level 50. They end up being basically pets that will accompany you while you quest that will be able to tank, heal, or do damage, depending on which one you pick to go with you. They also are a way for you to craft things as well as gathering if you have the money to do so.

I should also mention the Space Combat mini game. Your ship can be equipped with gear just like yourself and your companions, but with a lot less complexity in terms of stats. You can then use the ship to play a mini game that has you on rails, flying and shooting your enemies to make money and gain experience. The levels are repeatable but don’t give much reward after you complete the the mission the first time. But it is a good escape from leveling grinding (Not that there is much “grinding” per say).

So, the gameplay is just ok. Nothing will blow you away, but you also will feel at home with the industry standards it has implemented.

3 men, an island, and a pizza place

Graphics/Aesthetics: 3.5/5
Not much to say about the graphics besides that this game has them. The look is designed mainly for longevity, which is a smart decision considering Biowars long term goals. Those that go for a “realistic” look often start to look tawdry in a few years. The graphics pass for good enough, but will not cause any moments of awe.

Story: 4.5/5
I am a huge Star Wars fan. I worshipped the films as a child,  have read almost all of the Expanded Universe books, played the games, and read the comics. I devour anything Star Wars. Coming from Bioware, the company that created Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, I knew the story would be a strong point in TOR. Knights had one of the best sagas in star wars, so needless to say I had high hopes. I was thoroughly satisfied with the story that I went through, which was that of the Jedi Consular class. Each class has it’s own story line. That’s 8 unique stories that you can play through, each one having you travel across the galaxy.

Sometimes clothes bugged for story events!

I played through one, and started every other one. Personally I loved my story, saving the galaxy, taking down evil, and creating peace between societies. It was what a Jedi was meant to be. Although because you can make Light Side or Dark Side choices, you can play through this story as a great evil if you choose to. Vice versa, if you were playing on the Empire, you have the ability to make good decisions and be a good person in a society that rewards dark actions.

I won’t spoil any story lines, but would suggest you to experience it yourself and make it your own with the choices available. The story is what made leveling a joy. Once this is over though, and you reach max level, there is nothing but repeating the same thing to hold your interest into the game. If there were more missions that didn’t reward anything but more story, I would of enjoyed this game more. 

Overall 3.7/5
As far as my dreams are concerned they remain where they have always been. I will continue to wait until an experience that I want comes my way. If you wanted an MMO like World of Warcraft, but with lightsabers instead, you’ll find The Old Republic to be exactly what your looking for. But if you’re like me, and were hoping something that continues to engage your brain through creative and innovation then you might as well pass. I hope those who choose to play it enjoy it, but for now, the galaxy I’m in is just fine for me.

I played Star Wars: The Old Republic, and all I got was this silly hat.