Thoughtful, objective review. This is what I have beef with:
"Graphics: I am graphic proffesional. I have M.A Graphic Art education. So I am very qualified to talk about this. Some say they decided on "style" instead of realism, because it makes game more "timeless". This I wholeheartedly agree.
Problem is their "style" is not very good. WOW did the same, but their graphic direction was genius. SWTOR "style" is poor at best."
Not to offend, but any human with eyeballs that work is qualified to talk about that, and "style" is relative to the viewer. Ye olde "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" deal.
Take me- I've made money making video games, but that doesn't make me qualified. I have the sense of sight- that does. Personally, I don't mind the style, though I would have preferred a more realistic approach.
{mod edit} I am mmorpg entushiast and long time poster here at mmorpg.com
I have very critical point of view, perhaps jaded. But I have been known to change my mind , and welcome anyone to do it.
I have been very critical of AOC and WAR. But playing open betas changed my mind 100% and I bought them both.
Bioware
I used to be biggest Bioware fanboy. So many times i wrote on this forums about their mystery MMO before SWTOR was announced. I still think NWN1 is the best game of all times (for its modding and internet value) And Baldurs Gate is best RPG of all times for me.
Then came EA deal.
And the company direction changed.
In my oppinion Dragon Age:Origins and Mass Effect I, are last true Bioware games. What we have now is no more the same company ( And in fact their next game will be Command&Conquer - gasp... )
Bioware/EA. Hold none of my respect
Will I eat my hat ?
I have entered long awaited SWTOR open beta , with very low expectations. Which is good. You can never be dissapointed that way.
I have played Jedi Knight ( because i recon this is what most players will play and Bioware invested the most), And Smuggler (because I wanted to play it) - all to lvl 11 (so trough their origin story)
If this experience does not represent the game...i dont know what will.
The good , the bad and Ugly
There were some positive suprises here. And some dissapointments.
Combat: Quoted to be major downside and WOW clone. I still quite enjoyed the combat. Especially in Smuggler (hugely overpowered class). Smuggler is actively using cower, and enemy bullets are traced in real time. Hitting the cover actually.
Its very much fun. But this discrapancy between turn based and actual FPS game logic is to mixed up and confusing. Especially because if enemys shoot at cover. They should move to get better vintage point. Not just stand in same spot.
Combat animations are very good. And they help. Especially in Jedi Knight "wack a mole" gameplay.
The gameplay is sadly outdated. And it shows in combat aspects. Like for example "charged" skills. Where instead holding button and charging it (Like in Champions or Rift) you just press and wait for animation to play out.
There is no question that game feels like it should had more action combat. But they went for WOW style, and did it less good.
Quests: I enjoyed them thoroughly. It was first time I turned off the general chat because it disturbed immersion. And left groups because they interfered with my quest enjoyment. The game just felt it is more fun "solo", something i will talk about later.
Voice acting is top notch.
Stories are "Clone Wars" PG14 type , so dont expect anything "deep" ( For that play Witcher ). Still very enjoyable. What shocked me though, is share ammount of voice acted content. With all choices taken in account. It must be mega huge undertaking.
Graphics: I am graphic proffesional. I have M.A Graphic Art education. So I am very qualified to talk about this. Some say they decided on "style" instead of realism, because it makes game more "timeless". This I wholeheartedly agree.
Problem is their "style" is not very good. WOW did the same, but their graphic direction was genius. SWTOR "style" is poor at best.
Textures: We have to talk about this. SWTOR uses low resolution textures. Not much better than WOW. This may not be issue when the game is zoomed out. Problem is in CUTSCENES it zooms in to extreme closeup. And the game looks like something on Wii. This is simply unexcusable for a PC game. Simply shocking.
World Design: Blocky , empty wasteland. Playing on Ord Mantell , is simply shocking. While textures (from far away) are nice "painted" style. The world is so empty and lifeless, there is no excuse for a game released 2011 to be this way.
It could be best compared to WAR world design.
Animations: Mixed bag. While combat animations are top notch. Aswell are cutscenes. But characters are stiff. Even when turning they stand frozen on the floor, sliding instead of moving their legs to turn.
Gameplay: Standard run of the mill. Positive is that game doesnt choke you with million of mobs aggroing on every step.I did enjoy it. But didnt really felt "i want more" when i closed my beta. Its trully run of the mill in every way.Best compared to Champions Online. (but feels bit older)
Customisation: Much was written about it. It simply lacks. From character creation limited options, to much of armors and items looking the same. And often incredibly ugly.
Bugs: Game does not look ready to launch. NPCs pop in and out. Disappear. I had invisible NPCs talking to me in cutscenses. Even a hillarious ant size jedi master sitting on a chair. Crushes , CTDs happen often , and i even had to reset the PC twice because the game froze the system
Props to Bioware: Playing the game I finally understood a great Idea Bioware had. A trully genre moving intention. Its not MMO with 4th story pillar.(as they advertise it) Actually SWTOR is next generation RPG. A true mmoRPG. Evolution of single player RPG , where now you play your RPG but with all other people in it.
This alone merits buying the game. Which brings me to the following:
P2P ?
SWTOR is excellent single player RPG. (infact as I stated above, other people more disturb the experience than help )And could be reccomended as such to anyone. Problem is, why pay subscription to play single player RPG ?
I think this would be major break point for SWTOR. Huge number of people that would easily go for the game (I know handfull) will not buy it because of subscription.
Bioware should have launched the game B2P. And than simply sell additional content as DLCs
There is simply no reason, need or justification of P2P subscription. And it will be the downfall of the game.
As will be evident in half year or sooner.
There is simply no question that the game will go F2P down the line. And i suspect that was the initial idea at Bioware, but greed changed their minds.
Where did 100+ millions go ?
Question often heared lately.
I think there is ritchness of content , vast sea of branching quests players dont see. It is real commendable and real Kudos to Bioware. Outside of that, the game is in shambles. And no better than WAR for example.
So, who should play the game?
If you dont mind the subscription, and you love Bioware style Quests. Dont mind its basically more of a single player game with extra MMO trappings. And just love Star Wars. Than I can warmly reccomend it.
However If you are MMO player (especially one looking for virtual world) be warned. SWTOR is sub par MMO as MMOs go.
And its in real peril of rapidly dropping population in mater of months of its launch. Until its ultimate but inavoidable F2P conversion.
So will I eat my hat ?
No...
I genuenly enjoyed the game. And I am very thankful for having opportunity to test it.
Because , when I closed it. I really didnt feel compulsion to come back.
Its a good game. But should not be subscription based.
It will see good initial sales. But will lose subscribers quickly.
Ultimately it will be converted to F2P, as it was supposed to be in first place.
Patience, young padawan...
I agree with this review...
If it were a single player bioware game,I'd buy it up even though Im not even a SW fan..
but the monthly sub is not justified for what this game is...a SPRPG with people who just happen to be running around you.
So stating a game should go B2P is considered a review these days? I'm gettin too old for this shit.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
So stating a game should go B2P is considered a review these days? I'm gettin too old for this shit.
Lol did you make that account just so you could use that line ?
You know it
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
Did you do the first flashpoint called Esseles? I don't know about you but that sealed the multiplayer for me. I ran that dad-gummed dungeon 4 times back-to-back-to-back and loved it. Maybe it's not your cup of tea but I'm saying you should have at least took a look outside the starter zone and got your AC etc. etc. etc.
The rest of the flashpoints are no where near as fun as esseles/black talon. It's like once you've done one, you've done them all. At 32 on the sith side you can do boarding party and you will have major deja-vu with Black talon/esseles, as well as have the impression of "why wasn't this just a brief part of the foundry flashpoint?".
This is the problem with SWTOR and the weekend testers. They see all the class story quests and do the fun flashpoint and assume it's the same up to 50 and it isn't. Class quests become such a small part of the game and the rest are filler go kill X because I said so quests or Go gather Y because the enemy took it. A lot of people are going to reach a point at ~25-35 and wonder what the heck happened to the game they started playing.
I have played Jedi Knight ( because i recon this is what most players will play and Bioware invested the most), And Smuggler (because I wanted to play it) - all to lvl 11 (so trough their origin story)
If this experience does not represent the game...i dont know what will.
Probably playing past the introductory planets is a start, I took the time to actually reach level 25 on my beta weekend so yea...
Did you do the first flashpoint called Esseles? I don't know about you but that sealed the multiplayer for me. I ran that dad-gummed dungeon 4 times back-to-back-to-back and loved it. Maybe it's not your cup of tea but I'm saying you should have at least took a look outside the starter zone and got your AC etc. etc. etc.
Yes I did Esseles. Wouldnt dare to write review without doing that.
I agree , it was fun. (especially party chat , i laughed )
And I mean it was fun as any important story dungeon in Dragons Age, for example.
In no way did I feel it "sold" the game to me. I play such scenarios every day in singleplayer rpgs.
And I just thought : What if you have to go trough that flashpoint again and again ? (which i had to , because in first run Bioware closed the servers on us)
Comments
Thoughtful, objective review. This is what I have beef with:
"Graphics: I am graphic proffesional. I have M.A Graphic Art education. So I am very qualified to talk about this. Some say they decided on "style" instead of realism, because it makes game more "timeless". This I wholeheartedly agree.
Problem is their "style" is not very good. WOW did the same, but their graphic direction was genius. SWTOR "style" is poor at best."
Not to offend, but any human with eyeballs that work is qualified to talk about that, and "style" is relative to the viewer. Ye olde "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" deal.
Take me- I've made money making video games, but that doesn't make me qualified. I have the sense of sight- that does. Personally, I don't mind the style, though I would have preferred a more realistic approach.
Sorry to rag, just felt compelled to comment.
I agree with this review...
If it were a single player bioware game,I'd buy it up even though Im not even a SW fan..
but the monthly sub is not justified for what this game is...a SPRPG with people who just happen to be running around you.
So stating a game should go B2P is considered a review these days? I'm gettin too old for this shit.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
Lol did you make that account just so you could use that lineAre you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
You know it
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
The rest of the flashpoints are no where near as fun as esseles/black talon. It's like once you've done one, you've done them all. At 32 on the sith side you can do boarding party and you will have major deja-vu with Black talon/esseles, as well as have the impression of "why wasn't this just a brief part of the foundry flashpoint?".
This is the problem with SWTOR and the weekend testers. They see all the class story quests and do the fun flashpoint and assume it's the same up to 50 and it isn't. Class quests become such a small part of the game and the rest are filler go kill X because I said so quests or Go gather Y because the enemy took it. A lot of people are going to reach a point at ~25-35 and wonder what the heck happened to the game they started playing.
Probably playing past the introductory planets is a start, I took the time to actually reach level 25 on my beta weekend so yea...
Yes I did Esseles. Wouldnt dare to write review without doing that.
I agree , it was fun. (especially party chat , i laughed )
And I mean it was fun as any important story dungeon in Dragons Age, for example.
In no way did I feel it "sold" the game to me. I play such scenarios every day in singleplayer rpgs.
And I just thought : What if you have to go trough that flashpoint again and again ? (which i had to , because in first run Bioware closed the servers on us)