I think this is probably a very honest assement of ToR. Lets face it there are people out there that would have written its the best game ever ever ever even if it was complete rubbish. They so like the idea of the IP or BW that a 30 min demo would just be them drooling and the review would be little use.
It was also a very misinformed assesment. Aside from that though I think you make some really good points in your post.
There IS a tension between making story important while the open MMO world is static. How good a story can be told if nothing apart from yourself can actually change throughout the course of the story?
LOTRO had a lot of difficulty handling this since the players met Frodo in Rivendell, yet Frodo also left for Mordor after the Moria expansion. So Turbine had to have multiple Frodos in a sense.
Perhaps this is why many people simply dismiss story telling as something irrevelant to MMO play. Story is ALWAYS going to be dull since the world is static so why bother with it? Just get on with becoming powerful and the interesting stuff that follows.
All a good reason to be interested in the dynamic event system in Guild Wars 2 but also I'm sure Bioware have understood this dilemma from the start and we'll eventually learn how they handled it.
From what I have seen of the story and this is very very limited and mostly taken from reviews as BW haven't offered lots of hands on demos outside of E3 I think all the things that make the story sound great are all things that make it sound like it can't work open world. We know there is a choice to kill a captain or spare one, now I would love it if after I have killed him I'm relaxing in a cantina and his widow comes in and has a go at me. But sadly it wont be like this, while out in the cantina my story stops and instead I am in a social area. I have to re-enter my story instance before that story can continue.
Why have they done this, well for a good reason. So you don't have a half naked guy jumping through the story which you are taking seriously and instead have a guy in hot pants bouncing threw. Or a bunch of such encouters firing off at the same time and an army of widows storming in. So there will be a direct split in the your story and your mmo experience. Now for most people this is acceptable, it happens in most MMO's just not in an instances. Everyone who talks to a quest giver gets the same story and they are all needing your help to do this or that. But in the same vein many people skip through them, hell people skip through some of the talking in single player MMO's they can see where its going and find it a little boring to hear 20 mins of talking to go off and kill something.
So I am sure the story will be great but for an MMO site they have to look at what MMO players look for and some aren't that interested in a standard story that everyone else of your class has also played though and as you say keen to get through to the end game pvp or raids or taking those planets back from the sith. And if ToR doesn't offer anything new in these areas then it might be found lacking. To someone that Story and VO is all important then the game is for them though admitadely it may play more like a single player game for them. Which isn't what an MMO site should be focusing on. People don't check out a site called MMORPG.com to find out what the best single player experience is. But rather what the best multiplayer experience is. And maybe with its companions, story, VO, instancing from an MMO point of view it doesn't offer as much as other MMO's on the market. So an MMO site isn't going to rate it as highly as say a gaming site that only looks at the experience and not just from a massive multiplayer point of view.
How can he say that he found a class "lacking" when he only tried the first levels for 15 mins? And to worry about ranged attacks is ridiculous. Lastly he makes a sweeping statement about the whole game based on the first quests. Which is downright ridiculous. The same could be said about ANY MMO, not just SWTOR
1)If the first levels and first 15 minutes seemed lacking what is he supposed to say? Nothing? I guess that's your objectivity... Nothing or Positive.
2)Why is it ridiculous to worry about ranged attacks? do you have any argument on this? or are you just rambling and ironically making sweeping statements yourself? An initial concern to which he added that "Time will tell".
3)By sweeping statement about the whole game you must be reffering to this "at the start just seemed like another MMO in my book.". Something you claim is ridiculous as a statement... and then go on to make exactly the same statement in the games defence?
Allow me to correct your 2nd sweeping generalised statement and change "ANY MMO" with "MOST MMOs".
--Newsflash-- MOST MMOs are crap grindfests especially at their early stages,if you think that constitutes an excuse or counter-argument to what the reviewer said... think again infact you just reinforced his assessment.
1) You guess wrong then. There are ways to being objective, and making sweeping statements about the rest of the game based on the first 15 mins ISN'T being objective.
2) Why is it ridiculous? Seriously? Do you honestly think that Bioware (or any other MMO developer for that matter) would be gimped by such an issue when a sizeable portion of classes are ranged? Give Bioware a little credit. Since when has ANY class in ANY MMO been purposefully gimped in that way?
3) It IS ridiculous to make such a sweeping statement "like just another MMO". How can he objectively reach that conclusion? The answer is, he can't. If anyone else had come onto these forums for and made such a statement you would have told them to go and play it more before jumping to such conclusions. But of course Pota, that wouldn't suit YOUR argument would it. YOU have already made up your mind about the game based on the very little facts that we have been presented.
As said before, had the OP written such an article about ANY MMO, I would have taken the same stance. Hes jumped to conclusions and assumptions based on little presented evidence.
To be honest I do not blame or hate the writer for his lackluster story.
I do blame Bioware/LA for giving writers 10 minutes to play a low level character without much to do other than kill Star Wars rats.
I mean really!!!! from a marketing perspective it is about the worst thing you can do. Like selling a car and only allowing the person to take it to the gas station and fill it up. Really? That is all I can see and you want me to be positive about it?
in 15 minutes the player is not going to want to sit idly by and watch about 10 minutes of story line. It is bioware they know it will be decent if not good. They want to see how the game PLAYS and how far they can get in 15 minutes? Most MMO's I know you cannot get past level 6 in 15 minutes on a tutorial.
So, essentially this writer was allowed to play a tutorial version of the game and he summed it up as, meh.
What could you expect from that?
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
How can he say that he found a class "lacking" when he only tried the first levels for 15 mins? And to worry about ranged attacks is ridiculous. Lastly he makes a sweeping statement about the whole game based on the first quests. Which is downright ridiculous. The same could be said about ANY MMO, not just SWTOR
1)If the first levels and first 15 minutes seemed lacking what is he supposed to say? Nothing? I guess that's your objectivity... Nothing or Positive.
2)Why is it ridiculous to worry about ranged attacks? do you have any argument on this? or are you just rambling and ironically making sweeping statements yourself? An initial concern to which he added that "Time will tell".
3)By sweeping statement about the whole game you must be reffering to this "at the start just seemed like another MMO in my book.". Something you claim is ridiculous as a statement... and then go on to make exactly the same statement in the games defence?
Allow me to correct your 2nd sweeping generalised statement and change "ANY MMO" with "MOST MMOs".
--Newsflash-- MOST MMOs are crap grindfests especially at their early stages,if you think that constitutes an excuse or counter-argument to what the reviewer said... think again infact you just reinforced his assessment.
1) You guess wrong then. There are ways to being objective, and making sweeping statements about the rest of the game based on the first 15 mins ISN'T being objective.
2) Why is it ridiculous? Seriously? Do you honestly think that Bioware (or any other MMO developer for that matter) would be gimped by such an issue when a sizeable portion of classes are ranged? Give Bioware a little credit. Since when has ANY class in ANY MMO been purposefully gimped in that way?
3) It IS ridiculous to make such a sweeping statement "like just another MMO". How can he objectively reach that conclusion? The answer is, he can't. If anyone else had come onto these forums for and made such a statement you would have told them to go and play it more before jumping to such conclusions. But of course Pota, that wouldn't suit YOUR argument would it. YOU have already made up your mind about the game based on the very little facts that we have been presented.
As said before, had the OP written such an article about ANY MMO, I would have taken the same stance. Hes jumped to conclusions and assumptions based on little presented evidence.
1. He made a statement about the first 15 min. It seems it's the fanbois that are turning it into a sweeping statement about the total game and then taking offense. If you feel he could have expressed his dissappointment in a more objective manner, then perhaps you should give and example.
2. You have blind faith that it will be ok, and feel it is ridiculous to be concerned?!? Am I reading that right? Perhaps others feel that blind faith, irregardless of the track record of the producer with single player games, is ridiculous.
3. It is not ridiculous to for a reviewer/previewer etc. to make a comparison between the game they are reviewing and what their experience dictates is the norm for the genre. Most of us clearly understood what he was saying. You may disagree based on your own experiences with the genre, but that doesn't mean the reviewer was ridiculous.
Lastly, if you don't like the fact that the reviewer jumped to conclusions with little presented evidence, you should take that up with Bioware. They gave him limited time/evidence. Perhaps they can arrance a more complete demo for him or another reviewer, and then the preview would be more indepth.
1. He made a statement about the first 15 min. It seems it's the fanbois that are turning it into a sweeping statement about the total game and then taking offense. If you feel he could have expressed his dissappointment in a more objective manner, then perhaps you should give and example.
2. You have blind faith that it will be ok, and feel it is ridiculous to be concerned?!? Am I reading that right? Perhaps others feel that blind faith, irregardless of the track record of the producer with single player games, is ridiculous.
3. It is not ridiculous to for a reviewer/previewer etc. to make a comparison between the game they are reviewing and what their experience dictates is the norm for the genre. Most of us clearly understood what he was saying. You may disagree based on your own experiences with the genre, but that doesn't mean the reviewer was ridiculous.
Lastly, if you don't like the fact that the reviewer jumped to conclusions with little presented evidence, you should take that up with Bioware. They gave him limited time/evidence. Perhaps they can arrance a more complete demo for him or another reviewer, and then the preview would be more indepth.
1. Like I said before, I would have scolded the OP about this had he written the same article about any other MMO. The point is that he chose his words poorly.
The OP said: " I will say that for all of the story and personal achievements Bioware is hyping up in this game, killing slugs at the start just seemed like another MMO in my book. Sorry fans if you were expecting awesomeness, I was too."
The problem is the context in which that statement in yellow was presented. The OP appeared to imply that given the Bioware hype, the whole product is just like any other MMO. And that conclusion is based on the first few quests.
Now, had the OP actually said "killing slugs at the start reminded me of the quests found at the start of any other MMO in my book", then you'll notice a subtle difference. And to some degree I would agree with that statement.
The point is that in the example that I gave, the OP would have been directing his statement specifically at a particular part of the product, not the product as a whole i.e. the starting quests.
2. I don't have "blind faith", you are reaching that assumption because it helps your argument to do so. Personally, I'm not entirely sure that SWTOR will do well in the long term. I have my own concerns about the game. But, unlike others in these forums who enjoy doing so, I am not about to jump to conclusions based on very little factual evidence. When the game launches, then I'll be in a better position to make an accurate assessment of it. But until then, I'm going to have reservations about it and remain objective. Balancing the positives and the negatives ONLY of what we've seen so far. Nothing more. Unlike the OP's article.
3. Like I said previously, perhaps Bioware should have had a little more foresight, and given the media at E3 exposure to other parts of the game in order to allow them to appreciate the whole product a little more accurately. However, just as Bioware have the responsibility to showcase their product in the best light possible, the media also has a responsibility to appreciate and judge only what they see, not just jump to conclusions about a product based on so little knowledge about it. This article isn't the only thing that is judging SWTOR based on elements that we haven't seen yet. There is plenty of forum posters who are ready to announce SWTOR's failure based on such little evidence and a lot of emotion.
Now you can label me as a "fanboi" if you wish PURELY because I'm not jumping on the "SWTOR bashing bandwagon" like the muppets who are already on it, but that label would in fact be inaccurate. I am neither a "fanboi", nor a "hater". I have no personal qualms if the reviewer doesn't like what he sees. However, I give credit only where it's due. And, in my opinion, the OP's article isn't worthy of credit. It was pointless, ridiculous and not very informative. Bash me all you like but that wouldn't surprise me. To be honest I'm beginning to think that the "SWTOR Bashing Bandwagon" is creating more "anti-hype" and screaming louder about SWTOR, than Bioware and their fans could ever counter. Anyhow, continue to bash me if you like. I've said my piece. My argument would apply if the same article had been written for GW2, TSW or any others.
People can be critical of reading the dialogue or not ... that's fine. But the fact is, if you're trying to re-play this game with an alt, 99% of people are going to skip the dialogue (if it's the same or similar). So if he says it's a bit lackluster outside of the story ... then what are YOU going to do when you're trying to replay the game and the story is no longer interesting because you've already read it. If you've ever tried to replay mass effect or dragon age, then you know what I mean. I still read the parts that I make different decisions, but the game play is fun. How much fun would it be to replay those games if the gameplay sucked and you already knew how the story ended. That's what I took away from the review anyway.
The dev's said that each class has it's own story arc start to finish. They also said that there will be 200 hours of story for each class. So playing an alt of a different class will be completley unique to each class. Altiholocs will love this game because of that fact. The game also has a main story arc that is for group play and has to do with the rest of the game. So I won't worry about getting bored because it is all the same like most MMO's. Doesn't mean I won't get bored at all. Will have to wait and see, it just won't be because of repeating story content.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
I can get the adverse reaction to the story, when the writer starts going on about WoW and armour sets I sort of feel I have to write aren't you bored of all that now? I think in upcoming mmorpg it a refreshing change to see greater emphasis on an immersive game plot. For me that will be the potential deal breaker for staying with TOR, if I can get into the Story arcs I would keep playing, I don't mind the comic book style graphics, but if I cannot get into the plot then I wouldn't stay subbed.
I think the issue I have when they hype that the story is the big news here, is that inevitably you will run out of content. People who are altaholics may take longer to get there, provided each classes story is truly unique and compelling, and not just the same basic quests reworded. For me, I prefer to have one, maybe two toons. Even reading/listening to every quest, the day will come when I've consumed it all. What happens then? The game needs to be good enough to stand without the story. Otherwise, once the story is done, it will be time to find a new game. This is generally who single player games work. I hope Bioware understands the difference.
If the game is great outside the story, then this will be a very successful game. If it is not, then welcome to the next over-hyped, under-delivered MMO failure that will have a strong launch, with a quickly declining player base.
All mmos are gonna be the same in many concepts they have ALL been the same for years they are virtual playgrounds for people who enjoy roleplay and the lore that is set in them too help us have fun doin so. Not too mention skipping through the dialog come on! its freaking bioware they have and will most likley always be a story driven game company and they admit too it and they also been hyping the game up based around the full voice over dialog and the lore so if the dweeb rushed through the main focus and the main hype i must say which is the voice overs his loss.
It's too bad the OP didn't have more time to play the game. Kinda makes me wonder about the game and its development, which is taking forever. I can't help but wonder if the developer is rushing to retail the game minimizing class development just to turn out a finished product.
Originally posted by drel It's too bad the OP didn't have more time to play the game. Kinda makes me wonder about the game and its development, which is taking forever. I can't help but wonder if the developer is rushing to retail the game minimizing class development just to turn out a finished product.
Yet, MMORPGs aren't truly ever a "finished" product, are they? Still have about a year to release. Plenty of time based on what I've seen to polish the game. Gotta remember, the game is going to have patches and patches and patches in the years to come, and in 5 years will look incredible compared to now. That's why I love MMORPGs. Their very nature makes them Dynamic.
It's too bad the OP didn't have more time to play the game. Kinda makes me wonder about the game and its development, which is taking forever. I can't help but wonder if the developer is rushing to retail the game minimizing class development just to turn out a finished product.
Yet, MMORPGs aren't truly ever a "finished" product, are they? Still have about a year to release. Plenty of time based on what I've seen to polish the game. Gotta remember, the game is going to have patches and patches and patches in the years to come, and in 5 years will look incredible compared to now. That's why I love MMORPGs. Their very nature makes them Dynamic.
If youre going to buy a game for what it "might" look like in 5 years you need help.
The game as it stands looks bad. Poor animations, poor gameplay, hell, most of the non-biased reviewers across teh planet said the game is bland except for the story line. Theres a reason too why almost all of them have said its wow in a starwars skin.
One thing to remember. They have played it, everyone on this board hasnt. They KNOW what it feels liek and how it plays. YOU dont. All you have seen is some marketing dept authorised cutscenes and basic combat, as well as the usal machinima to hype up potential subscribers.
To be frank, i would take the advice of multiple people who have actually played the game over someone theorizing what its like, cos they have a hard on for bioware, anyday.
This game is going to be freaking amazing, no matter how much the reviewer rushed through it to get to the "action." I know that a large portion of MMO players try to rush to end game as fast as they can, skipping all dialog and quests if they can, then they complain that there isn't enough end game content because they skipped 90% of the overall game's content. Those people will never be satisfied and as soon as SWtoR comes out they will begin an onslaught of complaining. It is the same for every MMO that comes out.
Some of us, however really like a highly polished game in the style that Bioware has been putting out regularly. Not only that, but the fact that they have spent more on this game than any other game ever made tells me that they have spared no expense trying to make it all it can be and their "normal" games right now are amazing.
Oh, and did I mention that the game is made by Bioware? In my opinion they are the best developer out there right now. I know they will put out a masterpiece.
I can not get my hands on this game soon enough for my liking.
Currently playing: Rift Played: SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot World of Warcraft, AoC
I guess my comment was removed or something. Maybe I was a lttle too critical of the reviewer
Awww
Let me post another one , I will try to tone it down a bit here.
The review is terrible first off. One of the worst I have ever seen.
Looks to me like another person just trying to rush their way through the content , without even trying to enjoy the actual game itself.
You can't expect to have leet skillz at lvl 1, just is not gonna happen . I don't care what MMO you play.
Also, there is alot of talking like. Same old MMO, well thats fine it's an MMO they will all be similiar, this one has a story line in it and it is totally different in it's own respects. You can't expect the game play of an mmo to be too much different from the game play of another one , they are the same genre... and level one that really isn't a very good indication of how the rest of the game will be , especially if you are just rushing through it like you would do any other game.
The reviewer should not have even bothered with the review if he did not have time to give this game a fair review.
A lot of bashing on the 'writer', but he is probably right. Every bioware game is loaded with tedious dialogue at parts. Not to mention every major MMO in the last 10 years has had newbie areas with 'how-to-play-the-game dialogue', which can often be skipped - especially since this MMO's interace looks identical to many others.
No need to rip on a person because they posted something you did not want to hear.
In the writer's defense, he clearly did not have very much time with the game but still wanted to give us an idea of what it felt like to play. I appreciate the article, even though he did take the typical MMO player's rush to the end of the content path. A lot of poeple will do that, for sure, so it isn't completely invalid to do so.
Even the parts that he didn't care for very much, such as dialog and dialog choices, sound very interesting to me, though. Bioware seems to be taking a Mass Effect type of approach to the game, except after you are done with the story, you can still go out and do some raids, do some pvp, or just hang out and socialize. To me that sounds like an awesome approach.
Currently playing: Rift Played: SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot World of Warcraft, AoC
Only thing I am curious about after reading so far is, why is it seen as such a bad thing that the combat playes like an MMO?
Isn't it like saying why should you play starcraft after playing command & conquer? I mean they both play like an RTS. You gather resources, buid a base, an army and fight. Or why play Quake after Doom? You just point at the target and click the mouse button to fire.
this is easily the single worst article I've ever read. Is this guy serious?!? Okay lets pretend this clown had tested WoW instead of SWTOR. It would have gone like this:
picked an Orc warrior ...cause Orcs are my favourite
didn't read the quest .....
killed some boars .....
concerned about having no range attacks....
found a big boss scorpion .....
not many attacks .....
did some side quests .....
still concerned about lack of range .....
the game looks kind of meh.....
sorry if you were expecting me to say WoW will be the next big MMO.
this is easily the single worst article I've ever read. Is this guy serious?!? Okay lets pretend this clown had tested WoW instead of SWTOR. It would have gone like this:
picked an Orc warrior ...cause Orcs are my favourite
didn't read the quest .....
killed some boars .....
concerned about having no range attacks....
found a big boss scorpion .....
not many attacks .....
did some side quests .....
still concerned about lack of range .....
the game looks kind of meh.....
sorry if you were expecting me to say WoW will be the next big MMO.
/epicscalefacepalm
Haha, true, but it is also like having 15 minutes of WoW time and then realizing it will be the biggest MMO ever. After a few minutes of gameplay, nothing would make you think this is gonna be the big one.
Currently playing: Rift Played: SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot World of Warcraft, AoC
this is easily the single worst article I've ever read. Is this guy serious?!? Okay lets pretend this clown had tested WoW instead of SWTOR. It would have gone like this:
picked an Orc warrior ...cause Orcs are my favourite
didn't read the quest .....
killed some boars .....
concerned about having no range attacks....
found a big boss scorpion .....
not many attacks .....
did some side quests .....
still concerned about lack of range .....
the game looks kind of meh.....
sorry if you were expecting me to say WoW will be the next big MMO.
/epicscalefacepalm
As opposed to.....??
Picked a Sith Warrior like them a lot...
killed some slugs...
not much range...
Found a big slug...
limited attacks..
a few more quests...
still not much range..
with my 15 minutes of playtime, this is just fantastic!
Folks, this is exactly what we all have been waiting for.. what we all have been missing
Comments
I didn't find anything wrong with this review. I'll never understand fanboys.
From what I have seen of the story and this is very very limited and mostly taken from reviews as BW haven't offered lots of hands on demos outside of E3 I think all the things that make the story sound great are all things that make it sound like it can't work open world. We know there is a choice to kill a captain or spare one, now I would love it if after I have killed him I'm relaxing in a cantina and his widow comes in and has a go at me. But sadly it wont be like this, while out in the cantina my story stops and instead I am in a social area. I have to re-enter my story instance before that story can continue.
Why have they done this, well for a good reason. So you don't have a half naked guy jumping through the story which you are taking seriously and instead have a guy in hot pants bouncing threw. Or a bunch of such encouters firing off at the same time and an army of widows storming in. So there will be a direct split in the your story and your mmo experience. Now for most people this is acceptable, it happens in most MMO's just not in an instances. Everyone who talks to a quest giver gets the same story and they are all needing your help to do this or that. But in the same vein many people skip through them, hell people skip through some of the talking in single player MMO's they can see where its going and find it a little boring to hear 20 mins of talking to go off and kill something.
So I am sure the story will be great but for an MMO site they have to look at what MMO players look for and some aren't that interested in a standard story that everyone else of your class has also played though and as you say keen to get through to the end game pvp or raids or taking those planets back from the sith. And if ToR doesn't offer anything new in these areas then it might be found lacking. To someone that Story and VO is all important then the game is for them though admitadely it may play more like a single player game for them. Which isn't what an MMO site should be focusing on. People don't check out a site called MMORPG.com to find out what the best single player experience is. But rather what the best multiplayer experience is. And maybe with its companions, story, VO, instancing from an MMO point of view it doesn't offer as much as other MMO's on the market. So an MMO site isn't going to rate it as highly as say a gaming site that only looks at the experience and not just from a massive multiplayer point of view.
1) You guess wrong then. There are ways to being objective, and making sweeping statements about the rest of the game based on the first 15 mins ISN'T being objective.
2) Why is it ridiculous? Seriously? Do you honestly think that Bioware (or any other MMO developer for that matter) would be gimped by such an issue when a sizeable portion of classes are ranged? Give Bioware a little credit. Since when has ANY class in ANY MMO been purposefully gimped in that way?
3) It IS ridiculous to make such a sweeping statement "like just another MMO". How can he objectively reach that conclusion? The answer is, he can't. If anyone else had come onto these forums for and made such a statement you would have told them to go and play it more before jumping to such conclusions. But of course Pota, that wouldn't suit YOUR argument would it. YOU have already made up your mind about the game based on the very little facts that we have been presented.
As said before, had the OP written such an article about ANY MMO, I would have taken the same stance. Hes jumped to conclusions and assumptions based on little presented evidence.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
To be honest I do not blame or hate the writer for his lackluster story.
I do blame Bioware/LA for giving writers 10 minutes to play a low level character without much to do other than kill Star Wars rats.
I mean really!!!! from a marketing perspective it is about the worst thing you can do. Like selling a car and only allowing the person to take it to the gas station and fill it up. Really? That is all I can see and you want me to be positive about it?
in 15 minutes the player is not going to want to sit idly by and watch about 10 minutes of story line. It is bioware they know it will be decent if not good. They want to see how the game PLAYS and how far they can get in 15 minutes? Most MMO's I know you cannot get past level 6 in 15 minutes on a tutorial.
So, essentially this writer was allowed to play a tutorial version of the game and he summed it up as, meh.
What could you expect from that?
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
1. He made a statement about the first 15 min. It seems it's the fanbois that are turning it into a sweeping statement about the total game and then taking offense. If you feel he could have expressed his dissappointment in a more objective manner, then perhaps you should give and example.
2. You have blind faith that it will be ok, and feel it is ridiculous to be concerned?!? Am I reading that right? Perhaps others feel that blind faith, irregardless of the track record of the producer with single player games, is ridiculous.
3. It is not ridiculous to for a reviewer/previewer etc. to make a comparison between the game they are reviewing and what their experience dictates is the norm for the genre. Most of us clearly understood what he was saying. You may disagree based on your own experiences with the genre, but that doesn't mean the reviewer was ridiculous.
Lastly, if you don't like the fact that the reviewer jumped to conclusions with little presented evidence, you should take that up with Bioware. They gave him limited time/evidence. Perhaps they can arrance a more complete demo for him or another reviewer, and then the preview would be more indepth.
1. Like I said before, I would have scolded the OP about this had he written the same article about any other MMO. The point is that he chose his words poorly.
The OP said: " I will say that for all of the story and personal achievements Bioware is hyping up in this game, killing slugs at the start just seemed like another MMO in my book. Sorry fans if you were expecting awesomeness, I was too."
The problem is the context in which that statement in yellow was presented. The OP appeared to imply that given the Bioware hype, the whole product is just like any other MMO. And that conclusion is based on the first few quests.
Now, had the OP actually said "killing slugs at the start reminded me of the quests found at the start of any other MMO in my book", then you'll notice a subtle difference. And to some degree I would agree with that statement.
The point is that in the example that I gave, the OP would have been directing his statement specifically at a particular part of the product, not the product as a whole i.e. the starting quests.
2. I don't have "blind faith", you are reaching that assumption because it helps your argument to do so. Personally, I'm not entirely sure that SWTOR will do well in the long term. I have my own concerns about the game. But, unlike others in these forums who enjoy doing so, I am not about to jump to conclusions based on very little factual evidence. When the game launches, then I'll be in a better position to make an accurate assessment of it. But until then, I'm going to have reservations about it and remain objective. Balancing the positives and the negatives ONLY of what we've seen so far. Nothing more. Unlike the OP's article.
3. Like I said previously, perhaps Bioware should have had a little more foresight, and given the media at E3 exposure to other parts of the game in order to allow them to appreciate the whole product a little more accurately. However, just as Bioware have the responsibility to showcase their product in the best light possible, the media also has a responsibility to appreciate and judge only what they see, not just jump to conclusions about a product based on so little knowledge about it. This article isn't the only thing that is judging SWTOR based on elements that we haven't seen yet. There is plenty of forum posters who are ready to announce SWTOR's failure based on such little evidence and a lot of emotion.
Now you can label me as a "fanboi" if you wish PURELY because I'm not jumping on the "SWTOR bashing bandwagon" like the muppets who are already on it, but that label would in fact be inaccurate. I am neither a "fanboi", nor a "hater". I have no personal qualms if the reviewer doesn't like what he sees. However, I give credit only where it's due. And, in my opinion, the OP's article isn't worthy of credit. It was pointless, ridiculous and not very informative. Bash me all you like but that wouldn't surprise me. To be honest I'm beginning to think that the "SWTOR Bashing Bandwagon" is creating more "anti-hype" and screaming louder about SWTOR, than Bioware and their fans could ever counter. Anyhow, continue to bash me if you like. I've said my piece. My argument would apply if the same article had been written for GW2, TSW or any others.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Stop looking for innovation. You will never be satisfied until you do. Especially in this genre.
I am sure giving the class its due might have actualy implied enjoying the story line and not trying to bash your way through a low level character,
The dev's said that each class has it's own story arc start to finish. They also said that there will be 200 hours of story for each class. So playing an alt of a different class will be completley unique to each class. Altiholocs will love this game because of that fact. The game also has a main story arc that is for group play and has to do with the rest of the game. So I won't worry about getting bored because it is all the same like most MMO's. Doesn't mean I won't get bored at all. Will have to wait and see, it just won't be because of repeating story content.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
I think the issue I have when they hype that the story is the big news here, is that inevitably you will run out of content. People who are altaholics may take longer to get there, provided each classes story is truly unique and compelling, and not just the same basic quests reworded. For me, I prefer to have one, maybe two toons. Even reading/listening to every quest, the day will come when I've consumed it all. What happens then? The game needs to be good enough to stand without the story. Otherwise, once the story is done, it will be time to find a new game. This is generally who single player games work. I hope Bioware understands the difference.
If the game is great outside the story, then this will be a very successful game. If it is not, then welcome to the next over-hyped, under-delivered MMO failure that will have a strong launch, with a quickly declining player base.
As a Star Wars fan, I hope that is not the case.
All mmos are gonna be the same in many concepts they have ALL been the same for years they are virtual playgrounds for people who enjoy roleplay and the lore that is set in them too help us have fun doin so. Not too mention skipping through the dialog come on! its freaking bioware they have and will most likley always be a story driven game company and they admit too it and they also been hyping the game up based around the full voice over dialog and the lore so if the dweeb rushed through the main focus and the main hype i must say which is the voice overs his loss.
It's too bad the OP didn't have more time to play the game. Kinda makes me wonder about the game and its development, which is taking forever. I can't help but wonder if the developer is rushing to retail the game minimizing class development just to turn out a finished product.
Yet, MMORPGs aren't truly ever a "finished" product, are they? Still have about a year to release. Plenty of time based on what I've seen to polish the game. Gotta remember, the game is going to have patches and patches and patches in the years to come, and in 5 years will look incredible compared to now. That's why I love MMORPGs. Their very nature makes them Dynamic.
If youre going to buy a game for what it "might" look like in 5 years you need help.
The game as it stands looks bad. Poor animations, poor gameplay, hell, most of the non-biased reviewers across teh planet said the game is bland except for the story line. Theres a reason too why almost all of them have said its wow in a starwars skin.
One thing to remember. They have played it, everyone on this board hasnt. They KNOW what it feels liek and how it plays. YOU dont. All you have seen is some marketing dept authorised cutscenes and basic combat, as well as the usal machinima to hype up potential subscribers.
To be frank, i would take the advice of multiple people who have actually played the game over someone theorizing what its like, cos they have a hard on for bioware, anyday.
This game is going to be freaking amazing, no matter how much the reviewer rushed through it to get to the "action." I know that a large portion of MMO players try to rush to end game as fast as they can, skipping all dialog and quests if they can, then they complain that there isn't enough end game content because they skipped 90% of the overall game's content. Those people will never be satisfied and as soon as SWtoR comes out they will begin an onslaught of complaining. It is the same for every MMO that comes out.
Some of us, however really like a highly polished game in the style that Bioware has been putting out regularly. Not only that, but the fact that they have spent more on this game than any other game ever made tells me that they have spared no expense trying to make it all it can be and their "normal" games right now are amazing.
Oh, and did I mention that the game is made by Bioware? In my opinion they are the best developer out there right now. I know they will put out a masterpiece.
I can not get my hands on this game soon enough for my liking.
Currently playing:
Rift
Played:
SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot
World of Warcraft, AoC
I guess I might have hit the nail on the head there :P.
I'm sure we will still see some leaks from this weekend. But I doubt we will learn anything new really.
The writer reminds me of someone who would go to Ruth's Chris Steak House and gobble down his entree in 60 seconds.
http://ruthschris.com/Menu
I guess my comment was removed or something. Maybe I was a lttle too critical of the reviewer
Awww
Let me post another one , I will try to tone it down a bit here.
The review is terrible first off. One of the worst I have ever seen.
Looks to me like another person just trying to rush their way through the content , without even trying to enjoy the actual game itself.
You can't expect to have leet skillz at lvl 1, just is not gonna happen . I don't care what MMO you play.
Also, there is alot of talking like. Same old MMO, well thats fine it's an MMO they will all be similiar, this one has a story line in it and it is totally different in it's own respects. You can't expect the game play of an mmo to be too much different from the game play of another one , they are the same genre... and level one that really isn't a very good indication of how the rest of the game will be , especially if you are just rushing through it like you would do any other game.
The reviewer should not have even bothered with the review if he did not have time to give this game a fair review.
A lot of bashing on the 'writer', but he is probably right. Every bioware game is loaded with tedious dialogue at parts. Not to mention every major MMO in the last 10 years has had newbie areas with 'how-to-play-the-game dialogue', which can often be skipped - especially since this MMO's interace looks identical to many others.
No need to rip on a person because they posted something you did not want to hear.
In the writer's defense, he clearly did not have very much time with the game but still wanted to give us an idea of what it felt like to play. I appreciate the article, even though he did take the typical MMO player's rush to the end of the content path. A lot of poeple will do that, for sure, so it isn't completely invalid to do so.
Even the parts that he didn't care for very much, such as dialog and dialog choices, sound very interesting to me, though. Bioware seems to be taking a Mass Effect type of approach to the game, except after you are done with the story, you can still go out and do some raids, do some pvp, or just hang out and socialize. To me that sounds like an awesome approach.
Currently playing:
Rift
Played:
SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot
World of Warcraft, AoC
Only thing I am curious about after reading so far is, why is it seen as such a bad thing that the combat playes like an MMO?
Isn't it like saying why should you play starcraft after playing command & conquer? I mean they both play like an RTS. You gather resources, buid a base, an army and fight. Or why play Quake after Doom? You just point at the target and click the mouse button to fire.
this is easily the single worst article I've ever read. Is this guy serious?!? Okay lets pretend this clown had tested WoW instead of SWTOR. It would have gone like this:
picked an Orc warrior ...cause Orcs are my favourite
didn't read the quest .....
killed some boars .....
concerned about having no range attacks....
found a big boss scorpion .....
not many attacks .....
did some side quests .....
still concerned about lack of range .....
the game looks kind of meh.....
sorry if you were expecting me to say WoW will be the next big MMO.
/epicscalefacepalm
Haha, true, but it is also like having 15 minutes of WoW time and then realizing it will be the biggest MMO ever. After a few minutes of gameplay, nothing would make you think this is gonna be the big one.
Currently playing:
Rift
Played:
SWToR, Aion,EQ, Dark Age of Camelot
World of Warcraft, AoC
As opposed to.....??
Picked a Sith Warrior like them a lot...
killed some slugs...
not much range...
Found a big slug...
limited attacks..
a few more quests...
still not much range..
with my 15 minutes of playtime, this is just fantastic!
Folks, this is exactly what we all have been waiting for.. what we all have been missing
Huzzah!