An absolutely amazing MMORPG
Played on an Alienware M14X (PM for Specs)
Note: I'm not going to tell you about the mechanics of the game, or how the game works (unless it is necessary).
As a 5 year veteran of World of Warcraft, I was skeptical when The Old Republic was first announced. To be honest, it didn't wow me (no pun intended), when I looked at videos and previews. But when a friend gave me a free copy, and my parents promised to pay the monthly fee, I decided I might as well give it a go and see how it was. And ye gods, am I glad I did.
STORY:
Story isn't something you normally think of when it comes to an MMORPG. Normally it's "flimsy reason for killing 10 derps, or wall of text, flimsy reason for collecting 15 herps". Not here. Every mission, from your story quests, to a side quest, is fully voiced. You can play out each conversation with Mass Effect style dialogue choices, which really get your character involved in the conversation. Each class has it's own storyline, and each one will easily take you past level 50 (the games current cap). The storylines are deep, involved and interesting, and the fact that you can choose your fate, and make decisions, help you feel more involved. Even in side quests, I never felt like I was grinding. I got involved in every side quest and felt like I was truly doing something. Even if the quest was kill 10 herps, I felt so involved, I didn't care (normally the sidequests are more interesting.) Bioware really took time to flesh out each individual quest, and all the deep characters are a great way to deliver them. There is no grinding or wall of text, I felt like I wanted to make a difference, no matter how big or small the quests.
COMBAT:
The combat in Star Wars: The Old Republic is excellent. In a game such as World of Warcraft, you had your spells/abilities and used them in a certain order to defeat enemies. With TOR, this is also true, however, each enemy is different. I can't spam the same abilities over and over for each enemy, I have to think about which attacks will be effective against which enemy. This makes each combat encounter different, and helps to keep combat fresh. The moves you will get look stylized and nice, but Bioware has also introduced some really cool and original moves and abilities. You genuinely feel like your character is getting more powerful, and the abilities are varied from class to class. Combat is fun, stylized and satisfying, and you NEVER get the sense that you are grinding. The difficulty of current level enemies is just right, enough to provide a challenge and make you think, but not overbearing and too hard. All in all, this combat is the most involved and excellent combat I've seen since Age of Conan. Hats off too you again Bioware.
GRAPHICS:
The graphics in Star Wars: The Old Republic look beautiful. Every landscape looks great, from cities to jungle, and the game runs nice and smooth. Textures look excellent even upon close inspection, and everything has a smooth and polished look to it. Bioware really took their time to make an excellent looking game. Character models and animations are also varied, (there are a lot of them) and interesting, and smooth. The best part is you don't need a monster PC to run it (though I haz one). My brother doesn't have the best of PCs, and we are still able to play it together.
LORE
Star Wars: The Old Republic is set in the lore of the Star Wars universe, so you may not think it's original. And it's not. But that hasn't stopped Bioware from making it very rich. I'm a person who will read through walls of texts to learn about the histories and lores of a universe, but with TOR you don't need to. You get to learn about a rich lore just by playing the game and learning through conversations and questing. Bioware has really developed it's history and characters, and as a lore geek, that is something I really appreciate. There's also something called a codex for those who still like to read walls of text.
DUNGEONS/RAIDS and PVP
Dungeons and Raids (or Flashpoints and Operations, respectively), are excellent in Star Wars: The Old Republic. First of all, there's no dungeon finder. Which is actually a good thing. No more grinding dungeons (not that they would be a grind). You actually get to know your group and socialize with the TOR community. Now, onto the dungeons. They are excellent! Not only do they have excellent stories, but they are fun, exciting, challenging, dynamic and engaging. Their stories are deep and require you to make moral choices that you really have to think about and care about, and Bioware also handled group conversations very well. All in all, if you are a big dungeon and raid guy like me, TOR is a game you should most definitely pick up. I'm not a huge PvP guy, but I've dabbled in it a little in TOR, and I've enjoyed it. My friend, who is a big PvP guy said it is great, so I'll take his word for it.
COMMUNITY
The Old Republic has an excellent community. Players are generally mature and helpful, and guilds are friendly, helpful, interesting and fun. Sure you have your trolls and your idiots, but generally I was impressed with how great the community was.
INNOVATION
Biowares done a ton of this. I won't go into details but really cool things like the Legacy system (look it up, it lets you create your own Star Wars family, and it's really deep), are really innovative. Bioware took their time and effort, and it pays.
COMPLAINTS
I have few complaints for TOR. One of my complaints is that questing areas (or generally areas) in some places (not all) can be a bit large and a pain in the tuckus because of their size, meaning you'll have to walk a lot. Not a major complaint, because you have time to admire the beautiful graphics and scenery, but still annoying when your in a hurry. The space combat is a bit of a dissapointment, it's definitely entertaining, but the decision to make it on rails was an odd choice, and I feel like it was sort of a missed opportunity. It's a great on rails shooter, but it's still an on rails shooter.
Overall, if you want a deep game you can really sink your teeth into and play for many years, this is definitely the game for you. I definitely reccomend picking it up.
And if any of you fine ladies and gentlemen feel like playing with me, shoot me a quick PM and I can give you my server info (I don't post it because I only play with people I want to play with.)
Thanks for reading everyone, and may your blade never dull.
-Xandoom.