Thursday, January 5, 2012

Played Lately: Star Wars: The Old Republic

  • It is hard for me to admit this, so please be kind. I have been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. And I like it.

  • Sure, the game plays fine and it loooks nice. But what really brought me in is the story. I rolled a Human Smuggler on the Krayt Dragon server where my brother and his Rift guild play. He looks like some hippie straight out of the '60s: too skinny, long hair, and too much facial hair. But what I've discovered over the last few days is that, while he talks about getting paid a lot, he will always do the right thing when it comes down to it. The dialogue choices feel like smoke and mirrors, with every path leading to the same place. But what I do get out of the equation is a character, which is not something I'm used to in an MMO.

  • Not that I've been playing it as an MMO. I made a comment on Twitter that if I turned off the nameplates, it would feel like a single player game. When Rowen from I Have Touched The Sky replied that he had already done so, I didn't look back. If I'm going to play it like a single player RPG, I might as well go all the way.

  • Lest I give the impression that the game is only okay, I have to say that throwing grenades is deeply satisfying. I earned the Thermal Charge skill at around level four or five, and it is my new favorite thing. I throw grenades on cooldown whenever I get the chance.

  • So as much as I tried to avoid it, Bioware sucked me in, at least for thirty days. Days when I should be wrapping up Saints Row: The Third. Nights when I should be catching up on my sleep, but instead spend my time trying to get my ship back.


© 2012 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.

4 comments:

  1. Grenades are so amazing! I played a little PvP as the Imperial Agent (Sith smuggler expy), and those thermal grenades... forget sniping, I just ran around hurling them.

    That said, I'm really partial to the scoundrels "shotgun to the back for massive damage".

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  2. Sooooo you've been playing SWTOR!

    I think it's okay to be cautious and reluctant, I think you'll expect less and be more likely to be pleasantly surprised that way. It was like that with Rift for me.

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  3. You know they say the first step is admitting your problem.... I kid!

    I thought the same things, by the way, about the 60's and 70's hairstyles (not to mention facial hair) and I wonder if that's not intentional given when Episode 4 was originally released.

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  4. @ wemustdissent - You surprised me! I didn't even know about your new blog. Picking my advance class was the most difficult decision. Ended up going Scoundrel so that I can help, but I'm not a fan of the rogue-link trees.

    @ MMOGC - I've been caught!

    @ Blue Kae - That aspect of the character design has been pleasantly surprising.

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